Floyd County Council approves initial appropriations to consolidate solid-waste operations

Council members on Tuesday approved a series of steps to consolidate the county’s newly formed solid‑waste operation, moving existing cash balances and authorizing salary lines so the program can operate through 2026.

Stanley, the county staff member leading the effort, told the council the former solid‑waste district “actually have a money market account and a checking account that has approximately 185,000 in cash. We are going to consolidate those funds, bring that over, and and deposit that into the 4013 fund.” The council approved the appropriation to start operations (item 2A).

The council also approved a salary appropriation to cover the director, an office manager and part‑time staff for the remainder of the year. Stanley said the director’s pro‑rated pay through the first pay periods was about $46,000 and that extrapolating current part‑time payroll suggested an $85,000–$88,000 target for the year; the motion to appropriate the salaries (item 2B) carried.

Council member Bagshaw urged caution about using general funds when special‑purpose money exists, saying that if money had been budgeted for solid waste “personally, I think it still should stay with solid waste.” Council members discussed using EDIT and other fund lines for specific contracts such as household hazardous waste before approving the staff request.

The approvals also included smaller, related items to support the solid‑waste transition: a $15,000 riverboat donation to the small‑business committee (2C), redistribution of redevelopment legal fees (2D) and stormwater engineering and tile replacement funding (2E). Stanley told the council he would return with more detailed budgets during the formal budget process.

Next steps: staff will complete the fund consolidation into Fund 4013, process outstanding invoices, and present a detailed 2027 budget proposal for the solid‑waste operation during the county’s budgeting timeline.