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Lawrence County Commission votes to terminate residential waste agreement covering Courtland-area municipalities
Summary
At its December meeting the Lawrence County Commission voted to terminate the county's residential waste disposal agreement with Courtland, North Courtland and Hillsburg, citing long-running billing problems and a desire to protect residents who consistently pay for pickup; the termination is effective April 1.
The Lawrence County Commission voted in its December meeting to terminate the county's residential waste disposal agreement with Courtland, North Courtland and Hillsburg, a move commissioners said is intended to protect county residents who consistently pay for solid waste pickup.
Commissioner Burch moved to terminate the contract, with Commissioner P seconding; the motion passed and the commission set April 1 as the contract end date to allow time to resolve outstanding issues. Commissioners said the county provides collection for unincorporated areas and must safeguard service for paying residents while municipalities resolve billing arrangements.
Linda Pebbles, who said she is a Courtland citizen and served previously as mayor, told the commission the town of Courtland does not owe money and blamed the Solid Waste department's billing and collection practices for the backlog. "The town of Courtland does not owe anybody anything," Pebbles said, adding that she believes the department did not follow its standard operating procedures for delinquencies and that compliant residents were unfairly penalized.
County officials responded that municipalities and residents will have options, including continuing with the current billing contractor (referred to in discussion as Joe Wheeler), having municipalities bill residents themselves, or each municipality hiring a private vendor. Commissioners said the county will consult its attorney and work on alternate agreements to ensure continuity of service.
The commission also instructed staff to work through outstanding items before the April 1 termination date so that service disruptions are minimized for county residents. The meeting record shows the motion passed; the recorded vote was announced as 2'to'1 in favor at the meeting.
Next steps include attorney review of municipal contracts and planning for any transfers of billing responsibilities; commissioners said they will provide further details as those reviews are completed.
