Finance Committee appropriates $300,000 to sustainability; $30,000 added for staff position

At a Finance Committee meeting, members voted unanimously to appropriate $300,000 to the county’s Sustainability and Resource Conservation budget under a joint resolution with the health committee and to appropriate an additional $30,000 to fund a sustainability generalist position.

Becca (staff member) told the committee the $300,000 follows an anticipated distribution from the closing of Landfill 2 under the new city–county landfill agreement and asked that the money be appropriated to the sustainability budget. "Following that anticipated, $300,000 from the closing of Landfill 2. We just need to we did anticipate it. We'd like to have it appropriated to the sustainability and resource conservation budget," Becca said. She also described the requested $30,000 appropriation as funding for a sustainability generalist position and said it "does include the health care allotment, assuming they were to take the family coverage."

Mr. Renault (committee member) made the motion; Member Blair (committee member) seconded. After limited discussion and clarification questions from committee members, the committee voted; the chair said, "That passes unanimously." The transcript does not record individual roll-call votes.

Member Renaud asked whether money had already been appropriated earlier in the year to the City–County Landfill Committee as a cash-flow backstop. Becca (staff member) replied that the committee did appropriate money earlier as a backstop, and that because the landfill committee recently received a $300,000 allocation from GFL and because the transfer station is expected to begin generating revenue for the three entities, "it's looking very strongly that the landfill committee will not need those dollars." She said if that occurs, "that money will roll back into reserves at the end of the fiscal year." Becca clarified the earlier appropriation was to the solid waste fund, not the general fund.

The action is a formal appropriation that the committee approved; the transcript does not specify hiring steps, a hire date, or whether the position will be filled immediately. The $30,000 appropriation includes the stated health care allotment only "assuming" the hire elects family coverage, as Becca said.

Implementation details — including hiring, start dates, and whether the solid waste fund reserves are ultimately available to transfer — were not specified during the meeting.