County proposes to realign solid waste oversight, shrink volunteer board and add blight authority

Dougherty County — County staff on Dec. 9 proposed a joint county‑city resolution to realign oversight of the Albany‑Dougherty Solid Waste program so that county administration (which funds the operation) directly manages staff and operations. The change would also disband the current 26‑member volunteer board and create a smaller board of 13 (or 13–14, depending on final appointments) with commissioners and city commissioners naming members.

Staff said the intent is to match management responsibility with the party that pays the bills and to make the governance structure more functional. The resolution includes annual reporting to the commission, a reporting requirement similar to the library reports, and an expanded role to address blight alongside traditional litter and solid waste activities.

The discussion was lengthy and at times pointed. Commissioners raised concerns about appointment authority, historical board performance and whether reducing the board would simply "get rid of the good people because you combine them to 13," as one commissioner put it. Staff replied the reformed board would follow updated bylaws and that the county administrator would retain hiring/firing authority for the executive director and staff.

Staff also noted operational details: the county presently pays for the staff through an SDS (service delivery strategy) arrangement with the city; the resolution would dissolve that arrangement and create clearer lines for personnel management and funding reconciliation. The plan calls for commissioners to have appointment authority beginning in January if the resolution passes.

No final adoption vote was recorded in the work session; staff said they would bring the resolution to both bodies for passage and would supply commissioners with attendance and board performance information to assist appointments.