Legislature raises yard‑waste tipping fee to $65/ton and approves capital increase for transfer‑station screener

The county legislature approved a $15 increase to the yard‑waste tipping fee at county transfer stations — from $50 per ton to $65 per ton — and authorized additional bonding to purchase a large capacity screener for the county compost operation.

Solid waste officials said the $65 per‑ton fee positions the county in the middle of surrounding vendors’ rates; examples cited in the meeting included a private vendor in Montgomery charging $75 per ton and Ulster County at about $40 per ton. "The $65 gets us where we wanna be. It's kind of in the middle," the solid waste director said. Officials said yard waste (sticks, leaves, brush) is charged at the yard‑waste rate and that stumps are charged at municipal solid waste rates.

Officials defended the fee increase as a way to limit the need for additional taxpayer subsidy of the landfill budget. "Any revenue that we don't bring in, we have to subsidize with further taxation," a legislator said.

Separately, legislators approved increasing a capital project estimate to acquire a trommel/screener for compost processing after receiving higher cost estimates for the machine. The county presented vendor cut‑sheets showing a large perforated drum screener that will turn ground yard waste into a more marketable compost product for sale to parks and contractors.

Both measures passed by voice vote; the transcript records "motion carries" for each action. The meeting record does not include a roll‑call tally.