Some communities, like the suburban Albany town of Colonie, have used such facilities as a means for tax stabilization and revenue. Colonie's success is more the exception than the rule, however. Municipally-run landfills don't have a high success rate in New York, Fusco said. A small landfill like the facility proposed in Ava is particularly difficult to maintain, Fusco said. That's because the counties must pick up the authority's debt if it ceases business or becomes financially strapped.
Solutions exist to mitigate risk to taxpayers over time.
One of those, as Clinton County has learned, is leasing the facility if it becomes a financial burden. Boonville-area landfill opponents have voiced concerns about the Ava site being leased or sold if it is built, in part because they fear New York City trash may somehow find a home here once the city's Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island closes next year. Fusco said those concerns can be addressed in a lease or sale pact. As part of its lease agreement with Casella, Clinton County fixed disposal rates for 20 years for trash coming from within its borders. That arrangement, Fusco said, will aid in economic redevelopment.