Dive Brief:
- Palm Beach County, FL's Office of Inspector General issued a report saying that the county's solid waste authority violated the state's Sunshine Law.
- The authority held a meeting to consider 13 applications for blighted property beautification grants totaling $1.5 million, but did not post public notice in advance or record minutes.
- A committee eventually narrowed the applications down to seven beautification grants totaling $500,000, but reportedly had no public discussion about that decision process.
Dive Insight:
The investigation did not find "willful intent" to violate the law and the authority has agreed to change its policy in the future. Mark Hammond, the authority's director, didn't agree with the inspector general's report, but wrote in a letter that he would abide by its recommendations "to avoid the appearance of impropriety."
Aside from this issue, the authority has been steady recently. Per a newly proposed budget, residents will see no increase in their trash fees and finances appear strong. This is thanks in part to a new waste-to-energy facility and a recent deal to import waste from Broward County.
The county is also working on a new project for its combustion ash as well. The University of Florida engineering team behind Pasco County's successful roadway built with bottom ash is currently working with Palm Beach on a similar type of beneficial reuse application.
