Wicomico County work session backs plan to raise landfill tipping fee in stages, outlines steps to fund Cell 7

Wicomico County officials at a May 22 work session directed staff to prepare a resolution to raise the county landfill tipping fee to $84 per ton effective July 1 and to $88 per ton on Jan. 1, 2026, and outlined steps to fund design and construction for a new cell (Cell 7).

County finance staff, landfill managers and council members spent the bulk of the meeting evaluating landfill operations, projected revenues and a shortfall of disposal capacity. County staff said continuing current rates would produce an operating loss; raising the fee to $84 in July and then to $88 in January would produce an estimated modest net profit of about $170,000 under the assumptions presented to council, while a single increase to $88 in January was modeled to produce a projected loss of approximately $276,000 for the next fiscal year.

The county’s environmental services director described plans to pursue design and state funding for a pump-station project to discharge landfill leachate into the Salisbury sewer system and called for forward-funding engineering fees that must be paid before state reimbursements are available. Staff said the FY26 budget includes a forward-funded design and permitting budget of $850,000 for the multi-year West Side Regional/Parsonsburg-Pittsville sanitary projects and small sewer extension work, with ongoing annual CIP amounts reduced after the design phase.

Why it matters: the county is operating near capacity. Staff reported current estimates that, at current disposal volumes, available landfill capacity could be exhausted in March or April next year and that the new cell will not be open until August. Without additional space, county officials warned of constrained operations and higher costs if trash must be transferred out of county.

Most of the…