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Waste Reduction District presents $3.25 million 2026 operating budget with community grant line
Summary
District officials proposed a $3,254,620 operating budget for 2026, highlighted a 3% COLA proposal, health-insurance adjustments, new $20,000 community grant line, hauling contract savings and limited capital purchases.
The Monroe County Waste Reduction District presented its proposed 2026 operating budget to the County Council on Sept. 11, seeking a $3,254,620 appropriation. District director Tom Glaskin and controller Teresa Gowans outlined personnel, services and capital requests and answered council questions.
Major items in the proposed operating fund included a 3% cost-of-living increase applied to median wages, an effort to reduce the historically over-budgeted health insurance line, and modest adjustments to supplies and services. The district proposed a new $20,000 community grant program—authorized, the presenters said, by state statute—that the board intends to make available to public or private entities carrying out work aligned with the district’s mission.
District staff said they entered a new hauling contract in June with Runkie Waste and Recycling and implemented operational changes expected to reduce hauling frequency, producing substantial savings in hauling lines. On the capital side the district budgeted $50,000 for an administrative/outreach vehicle replacement and $15,000 for a dump trailer intended to reduce outside trucking costs when replenishing gravel at recycling centers.
Councilors asked about municipal composting initiatives; Glaskin said roughly $20,000 of a $27,000 consultant line remains earmarked for composting, with an emphasis on apartment/multi-dwelling programs and a neighborhood-focused task force launched in 2025. Council voted to advance the district’s operating, debt-service and nonreverting capital fund budgets without recorded opposition.
The district’s operating presentation emphasized balancing service continuity with the revenue uncertainty from state-level changes in tax distribution.
