Commission declines Fort Hays request to waive landfill branch‑fee under secure‑load policy

A Fort Hays representative asked the Ellis County Commission to waive charges for branches and similar campus debris at the county landfill, saying such loads had not been charged in recent years. "We haven't been charged for it in the last 6 or so years," the presenter said when requesting the waiver.

Justin Craig, environmental services director, explained the county’s billing practice: "The city pays us the landfill fee every month of $1,200 that is built into the residential pay scales for their utilities," he said, and commercial or nonresidential accounts are not covered by that arrangement. Craig added that the secure‑load policy now routes vehicles across the scale and picks up loads that previously bypassed weighing. Several commissioners raised the concern that waiving the fee for Fort Hays would create precedent for other non‑city entities—churches and nonprofits—to request similar exceptions. The commission said it would adhere to the secure‑load policy and not make an exception.

Why it matters: the decision reinforces the county’s secure‑load policy and clarifies that the city’s residential service arrangement does not extend to other institutions unless explicitly paid. The commission suggested the matter could be revisited only if the underlying fee arrangements or policy changed; no motion to waive was approved.