Clearer heads must prevail

Earlier this year, we praised the Loudon County Solid Waste Disposal Commission for a spirit of cooperation as members negotiated an amendment to the contract to manage the Matlock Bend Landfill. While they were far from finished with the work at hand, the atmosphere at meetings was collegial and productive.

A lot changed in less than nine months.

Problems seemed to begin after disclosure that Republic Services had sent a $500 campaign donation to a member of the commission who decided not to run for office. Members of Loudon County Commission were less than thrilled by the optics of the donation.

Communication between the two commissions then broke down. Some county commissioners lobbed more criticism at the waste commission and the impending contract when Tellico Village residents and Loudon County Schools complained Republic was missing trash pickups. It didn’t seem to matter that picking up trash had nothing to do with managing the landfill.

The county also began hearing about deficiencies in the contract amendment, including the share the county receives from operation of the landfill. The solution was to raise tipping fees.

Ultimately, county commissioners requested the LCSWDC not approve the contract amendment and extension with Republic. Waste commissioners approved the contract anyway.

The county was told one key improvement in the new contract was that responsibility and expense for closing the landfill was transferred from the county to Republic. After the contract amendment was approved, officials learned the county was still on the hook for paying millions of dollars in post-closure landfill costs. County commission also discovered the unintended consequence of raising tipping fees was local businesses would pay increased tipping fees.

After the county recently removed several members of the LCSWDC — even some longtime and experienced members — several who remained resigned in protest, as did the attorney representing the waste panel. County commissioners were placed on the LCSWDC to fill empty seats and attain a voting majority.

The waste commission now consists of a majority of inexperienced county commissioners who must learn the ropes of managing a landfill as they attempt to negotiate with Republic for a better deal and manage the approval of a major expansion of the landfill without the benefit of an attorney familiar with the issues. All are major challenges, and what is uncertain is when or if the county will end up in a better situation.

What might be best for everyone involved is to take a step back, breathe deeply and digest all the changes made in a short period of time. When mistakes have been made, often the worst approach is running headstrong ahead toward more major decisions.