COOPERSTOWN —
Legislation allowing Otsego County to sever its ties with the regional trash authority known as MOSA was signed today by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, officials said.
Otsego County officials have been maneuvering for months to break away from the Montgomery-Otsego-Schoharie Solid Waste Management Authority. The county has been locked into a 25-year service contract with MOSA, one that doesn't expire until 2014. Otsego officials have contended the county can, with a private partner, get rid of trash at a more-economical cost than what MOSA charges.
Officials from Schoharie and Montgomery counties had been urging Cuomo to veto the legislation. MOSA's management team also opposed allowing Otsego to split from the public authority.
The home rule measure was drafted by a native son of Otsego County, Sen. James Seward, R-Milford, who had argued that county officials here should be empowered to chart their own course on matters relating to refuse disposal.
"I appreciate Governor Cuomo honoring the home rule request made by the Otsego County Board of Representatives to leave MOSA and pursue other options for trash disposal," Seward said in a statement.
Otsego County Board of Representatives Chairwoman Kathy Clark, R-Otego, said she hoped that officials from all three counties involved in the authority will meet "and equitably make the split."
"MOSA hasn't been a good deal, and even though they have made changes they continue to have tipping fees higher than private industry," she said.
She said she fears the effort to have Otsego break from MOSA "could be more protracted than we would like" because MOSA and Otsego County differ on which assets should be included in assessing the value of the authority's holdings. The legislative gives Otsego County claim to 40 percent of the MOSA assets.
Otsego County Treasurer Dan Crowell, who has said the county can save more than $1 million a year by leaving MOSA, called the legislatioin's enactment "a very significant step," adding: "But we still have a few steps left on the journey."
Crowell said while MOSA has become more efficient under its new director, Dennis Heaton, its tipping fee - the amount collected to drop off a ton of trash - remains at $87, a sum he says that is far in excess of what Madison County has to pay. "MOSA is still not competitive with what our neighbors are paying," he said.
Hans Arnold, a solid waste management consultant for Otsego County, said of the enactment of the home rule legislation: "This is definitely good news. It's been a long time coming. I'm very hopeful we can meet soon and begin hammering out the allocation of assets."
Arnold said he believes MOSA's assets are worth at least $5 million, including the two transfer stations in Otsego County. He said Otsego County will need to gain title to those transfer stations from MOSA in order to operate its own independent public-private partnership for trash disposal.
"It's really in everyone's interest to work for a good conclusion for all three counties," Arnold said.
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Otsego County officials have been maneuvering for months to break away from the Montgomery-Otsego-Schoharie Solid Waste Management Authority. The county has been locked into a 25-year service contract with MOSA, one that doesn't expire until 2014. Otsego officials have contended the county can, with a private partner, get rid of trash at a more-economical cost than what MOSA charges.
Officials from Schoharie and Montgomery counties had been urging Cuomo to veto the legislation. MOSA's management team also opposed allowing Otsego to split from the public authority.
The home rule measure was drafted by a native son of Otsego County, Sen. James Seward, R-Milford, who had argued that county officials here should be empowered to chart their own course on matters relating to refuse disposal.
"I appreciate Governor Cuomo honoring the home rule request made by the Otsego County Board of Representatives to leave MOSA and pursue other options for trash disposal," Seward said in a statement.
Otsego County Board of Representatives Chairwoman Kathy Clark, R-Otego, said she hoped that officials from all three counties involved in the authority will meet "and equitably make the split."
"MOSA hasn't been a good deal, and even though they have made changes they continue to have tipping fees higher than private industry," she said.
She said she fears the effort to have Otsego break from MOSA "could be more protracted than we would like" because MOSA and Otsego County differ on which assets should be included in assessing the value of the authority's holdings. The legislative gives Otsego County claim to 40 percent of the MOSA assets.
Otsego County Treasurer Dan Crowell, who has said the county can save more than $1 million a year by leaving MOSA, called the legislatioin's enactment "a very significant step," adding: "But we still have a few steps left on the journey."
Crowell said while MOSA has become more efficient under its new director, Dennis Heaton, its tipping fee - the amount collected to drop off a ton of trash - remains at $87, a sum he says that is far in excess of what Madison County has to pay. "MOSA is still not competitive with what our neighbors are paying," he said.
Hans Arnold, a solid waste management consultant for Otsego County, said of the enactment of the home rule legislation: "This is definitely good news. It's been a long time coming. I'm very hopeful we can meet soon and begin hammering out the allocation of assets."
Arnold said he believes MOSA's assets are worth at least $5 million, including the two transfer stations in Otsego County. He said Otsego County will need to gain title to those transfer stations from MOSA in order to operate its own independent public-private partnership for trash disposal.
"It's really in everyone's interest to work for a good conclusion for all three counties," Arnold said.
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