MOSA Future

Actually, there's no future for MOSA, at least in Otsego County; it seems that that bridge has been burned. But what's the future of solid waste disposal in Otsego County?

There are a number of suggestions regarding how to extract ourselves cleanly, and without unnecessary expense. Simply asking for a re-do, or taking MOSA to court without objective evidence of the true value of the properties, don't seem like good alternatives. The former has already been done, and MOSA has been particularly unresponsive. The latter will be expensive and uncertain – and Otsego County will, essentially, be paying 40% of MOSA's court costs, as well as all of ours. There may be a way to let the free market determine the properties' value; more to come, if that turns out to be a fruitful avenue of investigation.

More important than all this, at least in the long run, is the question of whether Otsego County should be in the trash business at all. There are those on the Board who answer this with an emphatic “No!,” and those who feel that leaving it all to the free market would encourage monopoly and put a lot of local trash haulers out of business.

A year or so ago, the Board indicated its interest in pursuing a combined public/private approach, where the County retained some control over the transfer station and established fees which leveled the playing field. If this were the result, fees would be designed so that the County would break even. Our consultant in this area, Hans Arnold, has told us that this approach would be economically feasible.

He has also said, when I asked him, that he didn't think that completely privatizing solid waste disposal in Otsego County would mean the loss of any jobs or the demise of any small businesses. But there was a mighty long pause before that answer.


So that's where we are at the moment. We actually have to look at all the options, talk about them, and decide relatively soon, so that we can proceed with the complex process of extracting ourselves from MOSA and replacing it with something – or nothing.

Karen Sullivan, the Director of the Planning Department, will be preparing a training for those of us who don't have extensive knowledge and experience in this area. I'll pass on what I learn, and, as always, please let me know what you're thinking.