Downturn in landfill garbage could hike taxes

The Albany landfill was closed Friday for the 4th of July holiday but it still looms large over nearby neighborhoods, a growing pungent mound that also makes money.

And as the City of Albany tries to figure out what to do next when the landfill is closed landfill manager Joe Geibelhaus tells CBS 6 that every week since January of this year they have seen a drop of about 100 tons of garbage a day coming into the landfill. 

That equates to a reduction of about $5,000 a day -- or $25,000 a week -- that is not making its way into Albany's revenue stream.  City officials say Albany makes about $11 million a year from the landfill from other communities who cart their trash.

The landfill has been a cash cow for Albany for years but Albany Common Councilman Dominick Calsolaro says if a drop in tonnage going into the landfill persists it could be a real problem for taxpayers.

Mel Feldman of Courtland Street, who has paid real estate taxes in Albany since 1954, said taxpayers like himself will have to bear the brunt.  He says a loss of revenue from reduced tonnage to the dump could lead to the end of free garbage pick up in Albany to help cover the landfill costs.

Albany's landfill is a complex issue with stringent DEC regulations -- a decision by Guilderland to pull out of the dump after 20 years and with a landfill shelf life about to come to an end.

Calsolaro says Mayor Jennings has had 16 years to come up with a solution but at the threshold of the dump being closed, the Councilman says the city still has no firm plan to move forward.