Finance committee approves resolution to seek $137,000 loan from general fund for landfill feasibility work

Vernon County’s Finance Committee voted to send a resolution to the full county board authorizing a roughly $137,000 transfer from the general fund as a loan (treated like a line of credit) to pay immediate costs needed to continue the landfill expansion feasibility process.

Committee members were told the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has declared the county’s most recent submission incomplete and has requested additional monitoring information, including a new monitoring well nest (two closely spaced monitoring wells: one to the perched aquifer and one to the regional aquifer). The committee was presented with estimated near-term costs: a DNR review fee of $24,000, an engineering estimate of about $63,000 and a drilling quote just under $43,000. Committee materials also reported the county has already spent roughly $635,000 on the expansion effort to date.

During discussion a committee member asked when the DNR could issue a feasibility determination; staff said, after the additional monitoring and sampling schedule, the earliest possible determination would be in October because samples must be taken over multiple 30-day intervals. The committee heard an overview of projected construction costs and long-term implications: the first phase of construction (requiring leachate collection, containment and pumping) was estimated at about $1 million, with later phases adding to a multi‑million-dollar project; one presenter estimated the expanded landfill could represent over $20 million in disposal revenue over its life depending on compaction rates and continued tipping fees.

The committee discussed options for funding the near-term work and agreed the preferred mechanism was a loan recorded against the general fund rather than drawing from some specific capital reserve (committee members noted this keeps accounting clearer for an enterprise activity). One member moved that the approximately $137,000 be provided from the general fund as a loan/line of credit to the landfill enterprise; another seconded the motion. With members voting “aye,” the motion carried and the committee will forward a resolution to the full county board for formal action.

The committee also discussed repayment expectations: the loan would be tracked and repaid from landfill enterprise receipts in the future if revenues allow; committee members noted that repayment capacity depends on future operational revenue and that the county could pursue other options if necessary. Staff noted that additional future monitoring or DNR requests might generate further costs.

The committee’s action authorizes submission of the loan resolution to the full county board; the county board will consider and, if it approves the resolution, set the formal terms (line-of-credit structure, interest rate and repayment schedule).