IWM reports no expected overexpenditures; task force seeks county action to fill grant-funded positions

Selena Stottler, Integrated Waste Management manager for San Benito County, presented the regional agency’s quarterly budget performance report to the local task force on June 6 and said the agency does not expect any overexpenditures at this time.

Stottler summarized the financial snapshot: budgeted expenses of approximately $1.7 million with actual expenses to date around $899,000; regional agency revenue was budgeted at about $594,000 and includes grants and payments from Recology. She told the task force miscellaneous revenue includes reimbursements from the Mattress Recycling Council and Med Project for household sharps-disposal services, and that any revenue received on behalf of the regional agency is deducted from grant- or program-related expenditures so member agencies would not be billed for those costs.

The presentation prompted questions about staffing and the ability to spend grant funds. Stottler said the department had temporary staffing funding (an intern, Lori Tinkersley) and recommended continuing a $100,000 temporary-staffing allocation; however, some recruitments have been stalled. She said one recruitment for a staff-service specialist was approved by the board but administration would not allow the hire to proceed. A request for a limited-term recycling coordinator to help spend nearly $200,000 in unspent grant funding due by April 2026 was not included in administration’s recommended budget, Stottler said.

Task force members and chair discussed county budget-policy decisions reached during the board’s budget hearings earlier in the day. Chair Currow summarized the board’s direction: positions funded by subvented (non-general) funds that would be used to “bump” general-fund employees may be held open, but positions that require special certifications or licensing will not be frozen. Task force members warned that unspent grant funds could be at risk if the county does not allow hires or use the funds in time.

After discussion members asked staff to draft a letter to the county outlining the positions to be filled, the consequences of not filling them (including the potential of returning grant funds), and the specific funding at risk. Task force members agreed to authorize the chair to sign the letter; members also noted the chair would recuse from any future votes affecting departments where the chair is a funder. Stottler and staff agreed to provide more detailed revenue timing (billing and expected posting) on future budget performance reports.

Earlier in the meeting, during public comment unrelated to this presentation, a resident asked about a separate Board of Supervisors ad hoc sanitary committee considering a transfer station and a potential smaller-scale landfill expansion. Staff clarified that the sanitary ad hoc formed by the Board of Supervisors is separate from the IWM local task force and that a presentation on landfill disposal capacity was scheduled for the task force’s December 8 quarter 4 meeting.

The budget presentation was informational; the task force provided direction to staff to prepare the requested letter and additional revenue-detail reporting.