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Assembly Finance Committee hears ordinance to appropriate $720,000 from solid waste enterprise fund for new landfill dozer
Summary
The committee received a staff report on an ordinance to appropriate $720,000 from the Solid Waste Disposal Enterprise Fund to purchase a Caterpillar D6 landfill dozer via Sourcewell; solid waste manager said a new D6 is less expensive than rebuilding the existing machine, and the enterprise fund balance can cover the purchase.
The Assembly Finance Committee on April 3 heard a staff report and questions on an ordinance (6A) that would amend the current budget to appropriate $720,000 from the Solid Waste Disposal Enterprise Fund to the solid waste project fund for the purchase of a landfill track-type dozer.
Craig Jordan, Solid Waste Manager for the borough, told the committee the landfill relies on heavy equipment for daily operations and that the current medium-sized Caterpillar D6 has about 9,000 hours and will exceed its useful replacement time within the next year. "This machine is used for processing trash, constructing roads, ramps and berms, fine tuning slopes and other surfaces, and covering trash at the end of the operating day," Jordan said.
Jordan said procurement through the Sourcewell cooperative produced a $720,000 price for a new Caterpillar D6 and that a rebuild quote came in approximately $1,100,000, making a new machine the lower-cost option. He said the purchased machine would carry a 36-month/5,000-hour powertrain warranty and that proceeds from auctioning the existing machine would return to the enterprise fund.
Why it matters: The Solid Waste Disposal Enterprise Fund is supported by commercial tipping fees, not property tax. Jordan reported a current enterprise fund balance of about $33,000,000 and said the fund can cover the appropriation without tapping the general fund.
Committee questions and details: Members asked about local service and warranty support, the machine's origin, tariffs and other procurement details. Jordan said Sourcewell would procure the machine through the local Caterpillar dealer and that the local dealer would provide warranty service. He acknowledged some uncertainty on whether tariffs could affect the quoted price and said he would follow up with more information. The ordinance sponsor is Mayor Bryce Hopkins; the staff report did not record a committee vote at this meeting.
Ending: The ordinance received a staff report and committee questions but no recorded committee action or vote; staff said they would follow up on warranty and sourcing details before the item returns for further consideration.
