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The Waste "Authority"The information below was gathered directly from websites of the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority and the County of Oneida, New York.Main points presented in the excerpts below: • The Authority started in 1988 and immediately borrowed $50 Million. It lost money in the “initial years”, but showed a net gain in 2002. The county’s auditor attributes the OHSWA losses to debt payback costs on the loans, and costs of “landfill siting” prior to 1995. • 9 of the 12 original Board of Directors came from “big business”; 4 from the same company (GE); 6 are listed as retired from at least one of their previous employments; 5 are affiliated with Oneida or Herkimer County government • The “Authority” consists of eight paid members. • The Authority was created by the counties under authority of state law. Now that they created it, the counties have no real control over the Authority, yet are obligated to cover any debts it incurs and under unspecified circumstances to pay the Authority “service fees” to cover operating expenses. This fact has already led to serious financial impacts on Oneida County. The county bond rating has been degraded. (In fact according to a recent (9 July 2004) article in the Utica Observer Dispatch, Oneida County’s bond rating remained at a modest A2 rating by Moody’s Investor Services, because the bond raters noted that Oneida County would have to cover any debts generated by OHSWA if OHSWA got into financial difficulty.) The net result for the taxpayers of Oneida County is that, all else being equal, when the county has to borrow money, a poorer bond rating will lead to higher taxes since it will cost more to repay any amount borrowed. (Onondaga county recently received a Aa2 rating, by comparison, and the county estimates that dropping a single rating level to A1, would cost approximately 1 percentage point in the effective interest rates, or approximately $1 Million per year in their case. A1 would still be a step better than the current Oneida County rating of A2. The OHSWA rating is A3, one step lower still.) This heavily-funded and fully-authorized organization has been working since 1988 to overcome local resistance to a landfill which they now plan to locate in an existing 1000 acre plus wetland adjacent to the Veterans’ Memorial Forest. Incidentally, this site is in a location the Authorities earlier site planning documents showed as “unsatisfactory”. They have recently taken a number of properties via eminent domain, declaring that there is an immediate and urgent need for the property. Subsequently the Authority’s own technical and financial consultant (Beck, June 2004) has stated in a report posted on the OHSWA website that the Authority actually has acquired up to three times as much property as required for the waste tonnage cited in their permit application. From the OHSWA WEB SITE: “WHO WE ARE” BOARD OF DIRECTORS Donald Gross, Chairman Neil C. Angell, Vice Chairman Harry A. Hertline, Treasurer Louis R. Critelli James M. D'Onofrio Barbara Freeman Kenneth Long Robert McLaughlin David F. Yeaton ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Hans G. Arnold, Executive Director Excerpted from : The Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority (the Authority) was established in 1988 as a public benefit corporation under New York State law to provide solid waste management services and to plan and implement a modern integrated solid waste management system for the benefit of Oneida and Herkimer Counties (the Counties). The Authority’s initial capitalization for the facilities as well as short-term funding of administrative and operating costs were provided from the issuance of approximately $50 million of Solid Waste System Revenue Bonds. The Authority owns and/or operates seven facilities, the Western Transfer Station (formerly the ERF), the Eastern Transfer Station, the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), the Oneida County Ash Landfill (ALF), Green Waste Composting Site (GWC), Household Hazardous Waste Facility (H}IW), and the Webb Transfer Station. As part of its operating plans, the Authority has generated net losses during its initial years of operation. These losses resulted primarily from interest on long-term debt and landfill siting costs incurred prior to 1995. These costs were funded from bond proceeds. The Authority generated a net income during 2002. The Authority continues to cover all operating cash requirements from its operations and cash reserves. In addition, the Authority’s ability to meet its cash flow needs is supported by a Solid Waste Management Agreement between the Authority and the Counties which calls for a service fee to be paid to the Authority under certain circumstances. (Highlighting not in original document) The Authority’s ten-member board, which consists of four members appointed by the County Executive and confirmed by the County Legislature, three members by the County Legislature, and three by Herkimer County, has complete responsibility for its management and financial operations. County officials do not exercise oversight responsibility for the Authority operations, and the County does not provide assistance to the Authority. However, the County is obligated to finance deficits, if necessary, and the County is a joint guarantor with Herkimer County on the revenue bonds disclosed in Note 11(B). (Highlighting not in original document) Based upon the financial obligation the County assumes and because the County appoints the voting majority to the Authority’s board, the Authority is included as a discretely presented component unit within the County’s basic financial statements. All of the financial data for the Authority was derived from the independently audited financial statements. Certain amounts have been reclassified to conform with the County’s presentation. The financial statements of the Authority can be obtained at its administrative offices located at 1600 Genesee Street, Utica, New York 13502, (315) 733-1224. Information last updated 6/18/07 |
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