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Bourbon County commissioners debate, then withdraw motion to separate landfill from public works
Summary
After hours of discussion and public comment about staffing, budgets and rates, a motion to split the landfill from Public Works was introduced, tabled for an executive session on non‑elected personnel, later taken off the table and ultimately withdrawn without adoption.
Bourbon County commissioners debated whether to separate the county landfill operations from the Public Works department during the May 19 meeting, but the motion to do so was withdrawn before a final vote.
The discussion began after one commissioner moved to make the landfill its own department, add one employee from the current Public Works roster, transfer control of landfill equipment (including an offsite dozer) to a landfill supervisor, and require that landfill revenues be presented to the commission before use. The motion specified that both landfill and Public Works would operate under the approved 2025 budget.
Why it mattered: speakers said the change could prioritize landfill operations and give them more direct operational control, but others warned the change would increase costs, require a clearer cost‑closure fund and could reduce flexibility Public Works now uses to cover staffing and equipment needs.
Commissioners and members of the public pressed for a detailed cost analysis. A county speaker noted the landfill fund must meet a KDHE cost‑closure requirement of $250,000 and that the fund balance was below that level; another speaker cited recent transfer station rates and costs (in‑county municipal solid waste charged at $40 per ton and an estimated county cost of $33.70 per ton). Several people asked for three years of profit‑and‑loss (P&L) or transfer‑station accounting to inform any decision.
Procedural steps: the motion was placed on the floor and then tabled pending an executive session under KSA 75‑4319(b)(1) to discuss personnel matters of non‑elected individuals. The commission entered and later exited that executive session. On returning to open session the motion was taken off the table so discussion could continue; subsequently, the mover asked to withdraw the motion and that withdrawal was seconded and approved. No formal separation of the landfill from Public Works occurred.
Public comment was extensive. Several haulers and local landfill customers urged the commission not to rush a change and requested a work session and accounting data first. One local hauler requested three years of P&L statements for the transfer station and landfill so the commission could evaluate whether rates could be lowered rather than increased.
Next steps: commissioners repeatedly said a work session and more detailed financial data were needed before making an organizational change. The motion to separate was withdrawn, leaving the landfill within Public Works under the existing 2025 budget until follow‑up analysis or future agenda action.
Ending: Commissioners directed staff to continue gathering financial detail and suggested scheduling a work session to review transfer‑station P&Ls, fund balances and the projected cost to meet KDHE closure requirements before any further action on departmental separation.
