Landfill quarterly report: host fees steady but Teamsters picket cut July tonnage

The LaSalle County Land Use Committee reviewed the landfill’s quarterly report on Aug. 6 and was told host-fee receipts and tonnage tracked below recent levels after a hauling strike reduced deliveries. The county’s landfill presenter said the quarterly host fee totaled roughly $118,000 and year-to-date host fees were about $223,000, with year-to-date tonnage listed at roughly 71,000 tons. Committee members and landfill staff warned the July numbers will show a sharper decline because several hauling companies declined to cross a Teamsters picket line. Why it matters: host-fee revenue is a predictable local income stream that the county uses for landfill oversight and related expenses; a sustained drop in tonnage could affect near-term revenue and budgeting. Landfill staff told the committee that the landfill operation itself remained open and that in-county operators continued normal work but that some haulers — including a major carrier named in discussion as not crossing picket lines — were refusing to deliver, reducing July volumes "about half," a county staff member said. Staff said a few haulers have started returning in the week before the meeting, but Waste Management had not resumed service as of the committee discussion. County and Republic Services staff described service options for residents while haulers avoid the site. Joe Cook, operations manager for hauling, said, "we're hauling yard waste, as normal," and staff noted residents with municipal yard-waste accounts were offered alternative drop-off at the landfill and that two citizen drop-off boxes at the gate are being tracked. Republic Services representatives attended the meeting, and county staff supplied committee members with a day-by-day tonnage breakdown and a host-fee calculation summary. The presenter said small calculation irregularities appearing on printouts (a difference of a few dollars) were "a typo" and would not require remedial action. The committee voted to approve and place the landfill quarterly report and the Landfill Inspection Review on file. A motion to place the reports on file was moved by Tom Miller and seconded by Kathy (second name on the record); the motion passed on a voice vote with no recorded dissents. Committee members said they expect the next quarterly packet, in November, to reflect the strike’s full effect and asked staff to include those updated figures.