Wilson County solid waste board approves status-quo budget and adds supervisor request

Wilson County Solid Waste Board members voted to approve the department's monthly report, a status-quo budget and a five-year capital improvement plan, and to accept a needs assessment that included a request for an additional convenience-center supervisor.

The moves came during the board's regular meeting when Cindy Lynch presented the department's March activity, including a landfill activity figure of “81,000” for the month and increased recycling tonnage. Lynch said recycling totaled 336.34 tons for March and that recycling revenue had risen by about $8,400 “due to the cost of the price of metal going up.” She also reported that convenience centers produced 571 loads in March, an increase of 59 loads over March 2024.

Lynch asked the board to add “an additional convenience center supervisor” because the centers operate seven days a week and she has been covering multiple days herself. She stated the total annual cost for the position — including insurance and unemployment benefits — as $69,544,000 in the meeting record. She also said that the solid waste fund balance is approximately $2.6 million and that the fund balance could be used to meet the need. Lynch characterized the needs assessment as recurring personnel expense that would affect future budgets.

Board members moved and seconded approval of the status-quo budget and the needs assessment; each motion was adopted by voice vote. The board also approved the five-year capital improvement plan, which includes a plan to acquire property for a new Norton Convenience Center and to continue looking for sites for another convenience center. Members approved a sheriff's department request for “about 10 loads of dirt” for work at the fairgrounds.

Board discussion included budget-process context: members said the county budget committee will review these items and that recurring personnel costs will be folded into the county general-fund budgeting process if the commission proceeds that way. Board members also discussed planned countywide employee pay adjustments that staff said will be calculated as a 4% table increase plus a 2% step increase (described in the meeting as a combined 6%), and members asked whether part-time convenience-center employees will receive comparable increases; the transcript indicates part-time increases were not yet finalized.

The board recorded no roll-call tallies in the meeting transcript; votes were taken by voice as “all in favor, say aye.”