Garbage disposal fees will increase by $1.50 per month for the next two years to help offset fuel costs and help pump up the low ending balance in the solid waste department.

Contracting with a trucking company, the city sends about two loads a day to the landfill at Ogallala, a 200-mile round trip. To help plan for surging fuel prices $40,000 had been budgeted for fuel and hauling costs, using $4.50 per gallon for diesel, said Kyle Potthoff said, Public Work Director.

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City Manager Kurt Fritsch also mentioned that a closer landfill location might be a possibility in the future.

Fritsch said he's been approached by another entity the city would partner with to transport trash at a closer location. This location would not be in Red Willow County, he clarified.

After questioning by the council, Fritsch said he has been in talks with North Platte, who also uses the Ogallala landfill but the idea of partnering with McCook is not a "front burner" issue.

"It's not a done deal," he stressed and as McCook would be the minor player in the deal, it would not be in the position to push the concept.

The current contract with J Bar J landfill in Ogallala is up September 2011.

The Solid Waste Department is self supporting, like the water and sewer departments and is funded by user fees.

The department is actually composed of three divisions: collection of city-wide trash, recycling and the transfer station itself, that houses the trash before it is hauled off and the recycling center.

Total resources available for solid waste department is projected in the 2008-09 budget at $1.9 million, with $1.8 million in disbursements, leaving $47,000 as the ending balance, an amount that the city would like to increase per recommendations of an auditor.

Charges for services last year came to $1.09 million. Next year, $1.13 million is estimated to be collected in charges.

There are reserve, or contingency accounts in the solid waste departments as well, which are used for emergency expenses. This includes $166,000 in landfill, a portion that will go toward a truck purchase next year; $63,000 in the transfer station and $47,000 in collections.

For the 2008-09 budget, the recycling department has budgeted $20,000 for a grant it hopes to receive for two recycling trailers. These trailers would have compartments to store paper, glass, plastic and other items and would be placed in residential areas for community clean-ups.

If the $20,000 grant is not received, the department would not purchase the trailers, Potthoff said.

Other purchases next year in the solid waste department include: collection-$26,000 for new trash receptacles; transfer station-$3,000 for a water tank to be used for moisture for the compost pile and $22,000 for the lease /purchase of a loader.

Potthoff also discussed briefly the post-closure budget for the landfill that used to be at the current transfer station location. There is a an $8,000 decrease due to less testing that has to be done, with 18 years left in a 30-year monitoring period.