Commissioners request City representation

“Items under Reports are informational only and are not subject to discussion.”

That line, seen in the Nov. 17 City Council agenda, caught the attention of the Kimball County Commissioner’s when Kimball County Deputy Clerk Josie Morgan handed the board a copy of the agenda.

“What is this that their reports are not subject to discussion?” inquired Commissioner Tim Nolting.

Nolting then addressed the funding the 2012 Board of Public Works voted to add, as a line item, to utility bills specifically for the local recycling center - a line item that never appeared on statements.

“I do know that the two dollars a month that we agreed to pay for the recycle center – the additional charge on top of the landfill fee – we asked about that and the City told us that it is not landfill fee and that it is recycle only,” Nolting continued. “They (the City) have taken that money from the Recycle Center and what they are trying to do is shut down the recycling center. They are not allowing discussion. They told Larissa, who is in charge of that, that ‘we are not going to have a public meeting with you, because we are afraid of what you are going to say.’ All of this is going on behind the scenes. They (the City) told Larissa that they can do whatever they want to with that money and that it doesn’t have to go to what they originally indicated.”

“Yes, it does, unless they decide to make a formal motion public hearing to transfer those funds.” responded the attorney for Kimball’s commissioners, Audrey Elliott. “It has to be on the agenda, just like we do here, so the public can discuss why we are taking the funds from this.”

If the funds are earmarked and not being used correctly, the officials potentially put themselves in a situation where they are then audited according to Elliott. The attorney then suggested the commissioners ask someone to represent the city at their Dec. 1 meeting. to explain the wording of their agenda and discuss the landfill fees.

City Administrator Daniel Ortiz was subsequently asked to attend the most recent Kimball County Commissioner’s meeting and was placed on the agenda. According to Morgan, Ortiz declined the request via email, stating a scheduling conflict.

However, Larissa Binod, Director of Keep Kimball Beautiful and the Recycle Center did attend that meeting and used the time to explain her concerns regarding the City Administrator’s and city council members action – or rather – non-action since June of 2015 on the issue.

“As far as we (KKB) are understanding it, there are no more negotiations for the agreement and that if we don’t sign the agreement, that we will get no more money from that fund. There has never been a formal, written, obligations/responsibilities agreement, and Mayor Prunty has requested that this happen. That what this agreement is, but the terms of the agreement do not reflect that it will be two dollars per landfill fee. It will be determined every budget year or it can change at anytime. Is this the commitment of the city?” Binod questioned. “Back in June, I requested a public meeting so that everyone could be a part of this dialog of what does the future of recycling look like.”

The board hopes to reschedule a conversation with the city administrator at their next regular meeting on Dec. 15.