Director becomes full-time position

Overseeing Jay County Solid Waste Management District will now be a full-time job.

The district’s board on Monday voted to shift its director position to 40 hours per week and approved the hiring of George McGinnis for that role.

Board members also gave final approval to increasing the tipping fee at Jay County Landfill.

The board had previously discussed the future of the director position, saying they felt it should be a full-time role but that the question remained whether such a change was financially viable in the face of budget deficits. The director position has been part-time (24 hours per week) since 2012.

Board member Chad Aker, who interviewed candidates along with fellow members Randy Geesaman and Gene Ritter, recommended that the position be made full-time.

“I know we’ve got a budget deficit,” said Aker. “Somehow we’re either going to have to cut or we’re going to have to absorb this cost … But for a director to fulfill our expectations, I think it needs to be a full-time position.”

He noted that only one of the four finalists for the position was interested in a part-time position.

The board agreed to hire George McGinnis as its full-time director at 40 hours per week with a salary of $32,000 and an annual stipend of $2,000 toward health insurance. Holidays and office closures will follow the county schedule.

The board will work with attorney Bill Hinkle to draw up a contract with hopes of having McGinnis start in early August. Former director Samantha Rhodehamel, who resigned in June, has continued to help the district on a part-time basis until the new director is in place.

McGinnis currently works as the shipping and receiving administrator at Portland’s Dayton Progress, which is scheduled to close its doors by the end of September. A Jay County High School graduate, he previously worked for both Jay Products and Carquest. He also owns and operates Creative Awards and Gifts.

Board members Mike Leonhard, Chuck Huffman, Bill Gibson, Mike Rockwell, Aker, Geeaman and Ritter also approved an ordinance to increase the tipping fee at Jay County Landfill to $2 per ton from the previous $1.75. The hike, which will go into effect Aug. 1, was enacted in order to help the district bring in more income as it is project for deficit spending this year and again in 2020.

The vote came after a public hearing in which members of the district’s citizens’ advisory committee spoke in favor of the increase.

The last time the district increased the tipping fee was in 2011, when it was bumped by 50 cents to the current $1.75 per ton. (The district board controls tipping fees at the landfill, with a cap of $2.50 per ton.) 

After Monday’s hiring and fee increase, the board made the requisite changes in its proposed 2020 budget. The full-time director will cost the district an additional $11,100 while the increase in tipping fees is projected to bring in about $10,000 in additional income.

The only other change the board discussed is the possible elimination of its annual $10,000 grant to Jay County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Jay County Commissioners plan to discuss whether they would be willing to take on that grant in order to continue supporting the conservation district while also providing some financial relief to the solid waste management district.

The proposed budget, which will be presented for review to Indiana’s Department of Local Government Finance on July 31, currently shows a deficit of $64,120. That follows the recent pattern as the district had a budget deficit of $95,029.19 in 2018 and is projected for a budget deficit of more than $80,000 this year. Changes can still be made to the 2020 budget until it is approved by Jay County Council in October.

In other business, the board:

•Heard that it brought in $18,482.97 in tipping fees in June on 10,668.38 tons dumped at Jay County Landfill. After paying claims totaling $17,502.24, the district has a total balance of $387,385.81 in its savings, checking and investments. The group also agreed to seek new quotes for certificates of deposit as its current CD with First Merchants Bank will mature Aug. 31.

•Made donations of $100 apiece to the Jay County Special Olympics golf outing and Jay County Cancer Society’s WALK Against Cancer.