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Atchison County authorizes publication for $150,000 solid-waste budget amendment to cover shortfall
Summary
Atchison County commissioners voted 3-0 Oct. 21 to publish notice and schedule a public hearing for a $150,000 budget amendment to cover a projected shortfall in the 2025 solid waste fund driven by higher trash and recycling costs. Staff will seek commitments from haulers before the hearing.
At a meeting Oct. 21, the Atchison County Commission voted unanimously to authorize publication of a notice and schedule a hearing for a $150,000 budget amendment to the county’s solid waste fund.
Finance director Mark Ziltner reported the solid waste trash and recycling line items are running above budget and that, after accounting for October bills, the fund risks going negative before year-end. "So if the board would like to go ahead with my recommendation of doing a $150,000 budget amendment," Ziltner said, "we do it does follow the same guidelines as a normal budget," including a 10-day publication requirement before a hearing. The board approved moving forward to publish the amendment and set the hearing, voting 3-0.
Commissioners and staff discussed possible revenue approaches to cover the shortfall and reduce future deficits. Options under consideration include billing haulers based on tonnage, establishing memoranda of understanding with the three primary haulers identified (Martin Trash, CityVac and Waste Management), and reallocating available cash from the joint communications fund where appropriate budget authority exists. Commissioner comments emphasized the need to identify a sustainable revenue source rather than one-time fixes and noted the county is limited to a single budget amendment under current rules.
Ziltner told the board the $150,000 figure is aimed to cover the remaining months of 2025; he and staff will publish the notice, work with haulers to secure commitments or billing agreements, and schedule the public hearing. The board also discussed timing to avoid passing costs abruptly to residents and asked staff to prepare projections for 2026 that reflect expected contract increases and average monthly tonnage.
Next steps: staff will publish the notice for a hearing at least 10 days after publication, circulate tonnage and cost projections to the three primary haulers, and return to the commission with updated revenue options before final adoption of the amendment.
