Winnebago County may have to pay New Milford $300,000 because of bureaucratic oversight.
The Rockford Register Starreports the County agreed to reduce the amount of money it charges Groot Industries to dump garbage at Winnebago Landfill from $3.47 per ton to $2.47 per ton. Concurrent with this deal, it also agreed to reduce landfill hosting fee payments to the village from 20 cents per ton to 14 cents.
However, the county ran into two problems. First, the original agreement lacked signatures from village officials. Second, no New Milford leaders remember such a deal, and the village's president at the time is dead. Unless Winnebago County can find the original signed document, it will pay the difference between hosting fee payments ($296, 012). Then, New Milford officials say they will sign on to the reduced rate retroactive to January 1.