Orange County committee authorizes $86,468 recycling grant and local match

The Orange County Legislature’s Physical Services Committee voted Aug. 25 to authorize the county executive to accept $86,468.04 from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for municipal waste reduction and recycling grant assistance, with the county providing an equal local match.

The grant "covers essentially 50% of the recycling coordinator's salary benefits, and then additionally 50% of our sort of a public outreach program for some of the recycling programs," Eric Dudanaga, Department of Public Works, told the committee. He said the funds would also support outreach items such as composting barrel sales and main barrel sales.

The grant term is Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2025. Committee discussion noted that the county typically receives reimbursements for grant-eligible costs on a lagged schedule; staff said reimbursements for one year are commonly received in the following year. No committee member opposed the authorization, and the motion passed on a voice vote.

Why it matters: the grant subsidizes staffing and outreach that the county uses to run recycling programs. Committee members said the county has successfully applied for this program repeatedly and that the funding helps maintain ongoing outreach and operational activities tied to recycling.

What was decided and next steps: the committee authorized the county executive, in conjunction with the Orange County Department of Public Works Division of Environmental Facilities and Services, to accept the NYSDEC grant and to provide the required local match. Staff will proceed with grant acceptance and file required paperwork. The committee did not adopt any additional policy changes or rate adjustments tied to this item during the meeting.

Background and details: committee members asked about the timing of reimbursements; Dudanaga said that the county had been caught up for the new year and that the reimbursement cycle was expected to continue as in prior years. The action was recorded as a legislative request (No. 240). No additional funding sources or offsets were specified during the discussion.

The committee meeting agenda and supporting documents are available on the county website under the Legislature tab.