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Seward County landfill described as regional enterprise; officials explain rates, reserves and closure fund
Summary
At an Aug. 14 town hall, county landfill director Brock Feiner described the landfill as a regional facility that pays its own costs, contributes a mill to the general fund and holds mandatory closure reserves; officials said out‑of‑county users pay the same gate rate and the landfill helps reimburse county services.
Seward County landfill officials told residents at an Aug. 14 town hall that the county-operated landfill functions as a regional facility that pays wages and benefits, contributes to the general fund and retains a regulatory closure fund that cannot be used for other expenditures.
Key points presented
Brock Feiner, landfill director, said the landfill covers 100% of its operating costs (wages and benefits), reimburses the county for approximately $2–2.5 million annually and returns a full mill to the general fund (about $266,000). The landfill’s operating budget was described as roughly $13 million, and county officials emphasized the facility has not been subsidized by tax dollars.
Closure fund and statutory limits
Officials explained that Kansas rules require a multi‑million dollar closure fund to cover eventual pit closure and remediation; the county cannot use those restricted funds for other purposes. “That fund is not a slush fund,” April Wharton said. The county said the required landfill closure fund target is about $5 million and that the facility pays cash for cell construction (a new 10‑acre cell costs about $1 million to build, officials said).
Regional role and gate rates
The county described the landfill as the regional Subtitle D facility that emerged when many smaller county landfills closed; it accepts waste from neighboring counties and across state lines. Officials told the meeting that the landfill charges the same gate rate to residents and non‑residents and that volume from a broad region keeps per‑ton costs manageable.
Transparency and reserves
Attendees asked why the county holds reserves; officials replied that reserves are legally segregated and, in some cases, restricted by statute. The county said open‑records requests can be used to obtain more detailed budget and court records where available.
Ending
County leaders said the landfill is a significant ongoing revenue source for the county and a required public service; they urged residents to use open‑records requests for line‑item detail and reiterated that the closure fund and restricted reserves are not available for general budget purposes.
