Commissioner Brad Rogers is seeking a second term as an elected County Commissioner. He currently serves as the President of the Board. Previously, Rogers served two terms as Elkhart County Sheriff from 2011 through 2018. Brad is a graduate of Goshen High School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Evansville. He graduated first in his class from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield – the first member of the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office to do so. Brad received the Elkhart County Commitment to Service Award in 2005 and the Circle of Corydon from the office of the Governor of Indiana in 2019. He is married to his wife Susie (who serves on the Elkhart Township Board) and has three adult children, Benjamin, Abigail, and Ethan.

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Today’s topic is the Elkhart County Landfill. As of today, the total space permitted in the landfill is 13.5 million tons. The question of concern to a County Commissioner related to the landfill is: What is the life of our landfill?

Interestingly, the life of our landfill depends on three areas: The cost/rates of bringing trash to the landfill, the economic vibrancy of our county and the management of the landfill. All three will be explored here.

If your county landfill rates for disposing of trash are better/lower than other landfills, consumers (including contracted haulers for cities and manufacturing companies to personal disposal by private individuals) will choose the cheaper route and more trash comes to our landfill, including from outside of our county. This decreases the life of the landfill. There is a delicate balance of keeping the rates competitive, slowing the rate of trash incoming and penalizing the local taxpayer who would like to dispose of trash locally economically and conveniently.

As companies are robust in Elkhart County, the landfill sees an uptick in industrial trash, mostly from the RV industry. The industry would like to do more recycling, but it’s just not cost-effective at this time compared to the value of the space at the landfill and the speed by which they are producing product. The more industries are doing better, the more trash they create for the landfill. If the cost of dumping the trash is more cost-effective for manufacturers than recycling, then economics dictates that the trash will come to the landfill. All recycling, whether industry or residential, is not currently cost-effective. Yet, clearly, many residents want to recycle.

However, in the landfill business, recycling does very little in the big picture of extending the landfill’s life. But, don’t fear, if you feel recycling is your duty, the concept is not likely going away.

In 2016, we were averaging 100,000 tons of trash annually which would have given us 135 years of space. In 2017, we had 175,000 tons, which would give us 77 years left. In 2020, we took in 250,000 tons of trash. With the private landfill on CR 26 nearing its capacity and will soon be closing in the coming years, we can project that our annual volume will increase possibly to 640,000 tons per year, allowing us only 21 years remaining in the life of the landfill. It’s debatable we can even physically handle that much trash annually. Figuratively speaking, we would be buried in trash.

One way to mitigate and help control volumes is with the rates. We don’t want to be the most expensive, yet we don’t want to be so cheap that adjacent counties are bringing their trash to Elkhart County instead of using the landfills in their county. Thus, we need to stay competitive in our rates.

You might ask, why don’t we charge more for those trucks coming from outside the county? We can do this for private individuals, but this can be difficult to ascertain with the commercial trucks who may be contracting with local cities or companies for trash service.

Managing trash is the job of the Director of Landfill Operations. Their job is to manage the site to keep trash from blowing around, fire from developing on the site, and efficiently managing the space for our future. The Landfill Director meets with the County Commissioners often to brief them of any issues and continually works on plans to provide for a long future for landfill operations.

Did you know?

• All Uncovered loads will be fined by the gate attendant or county sheriff’s deputy per county ordinance with fines up to $250.
• No fee trash is accepted on Wednesdays only; 3 bag limit. No size or weight limit on the bags. The number of bags is enforced.
• County landfill on CR 7, north of CR 26, is open from 7am-4:45pm, Monday-Friday. Must be out by 5pm. April-November, Saturday hours are 9am-11:45am, must be out by Noon.
• Leaves can be disposed of at no charge; both residential and commercial.
• Electronic waste (computers, TVs, stereos): $10 per item
• Regular residential trash: $40/ton or a minimum of $20 for Elkhart County residents and any resident in a county adjoining Elkhart County. All other locations will be $100/ton.
• No hazardous waste accepted. This also includes car batteries, liquid waste, appliances with coolant, and larger propane tanks. Camping propane tanks accepted.
• No tires are allowed in the landfill unless they are cut into fourths or shredded (state law).
• The landfill has an HDPE 60 mil. liner (plastic) at its base and along the sides, and when it will close someday on into our future, it will be like a giant ziplock bag that keep any hazards from leaching out and allows us to capture the methane produced by rotting trash.
• The methane gas from the county’s landfill that is captured is transported via pipe to the Elkhart County Jail to heat the water and building, saving the taxpayers approximately $225,000 annually in utility costs.
• The first Saturday of the month, 8am-3am, the landfill hosts a hazardous waste collection site, at the utility building of the county jail off of CR 7, south of the landfill.
• One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, but no scavenging is allowed inside the landfill.

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“As a respecter and defender of our National and State Constitutions, I defend the right of anyone to have their freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances, all done peacefully. This does not include rioting and tumultuous behavior that causes property damage and/or injury, and the taking over of government buildings or otherwise disrupting lawful assemblies. The actions by individuals on January 6, 2021, who have resisted and assaulted law enforcement officers to possess, damage, disrupt and take over the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., is abhorrent and without excuse and those who did so should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

In regards to Oath Keepers, I already spoke with Buzzfeed about this late last year and provided their reporter with additional information. I have not been a member of Oath Keepers for 8 years.

The original stated mission of Oath Keepers centered around non-violent non-compliance with orders that violated the rights of all individuals. However, Oath Keepers leaders began to go on record that there will be “blood in the streets” and began promoting or encouraging civil war. These egregious statements are against the stated Oath Keepers’ bylaws that I initially found acceptable which say,

“No person who advocates, or has been or is a member, or associated with, any organization, formal or informal, that advocates the overthrow of the government of the United States or the violation of the Constitution thereof, shall be entitled to be a member or associate member and All members are to conduct themselves in a courteous and lawful manner at all times, and Oath Keepers shall have a zero tolerance policy for actions that bring disrespect, dishonor or disrepute on Oath Keepers or the military, law enforcement, firefighters and first responder community.”

When this violation of their bylaws began, I and many others left the organization. When board members brought up concerns about the shift in direction Oath Keepers was taking, they were ignored – circumventing the organizational structure. They became disorganized, hence, why my outdated contact information is still on some of these lists. (The email list shows me as Sheriff, a position I have not held since 2018.)

I am an advocate for the protection of individual rights and the Constitution as our rule of law – something that Oath Keepers now stand opposed to. This is why I left the organization those years ago.

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• COVID-19 is real. It isn’t a hoax. Statistics show that the virus is persistent and serious. I personally know several people that have been seriously impacted by this illness. One person I know has died from it. Even though the death rate in Indiana is down compared to earlier this year, there is no denying the serious complications that this virus can cause. We must remain focused on what was our original goal, to ensure healthcare providers do not go over capacity and reducing the test positivity rate.

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Bristol United Methodist Church, 201 S. Division St., Bristol

First Baptist Church, 53953 C.R. 17, Bristol

AMBS, Lambright Center, 3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart

Calvary United Methodist Church, 2222 W. Indiana Ave., Elkhart

Jimtown High School, 59021 C.R. 3, Elkhart

Mary Feeser Elementary, 26665 C.R. 4, Elkhart

North Side Gym, 300 Lawrence St., Elkhart

FOP No. 52 Nagy Hall, 1003 Industrial Pkwy., Elkhart

River of Life Community Church, 2626 Prairie St., Elkhart

St. James AME Church, 122 Dr. MLK Jr. Drive, Elkhart

Tolson Center, 1320 Benham Ave., Elkhart

Trinity on Jackson Church, 2715 E. Jackson Blvd., Elkhart

Osolo Township Fire Station, 24936 Buddy St., Elkhart

Granger Community Church, Elkhart Campus, 2701 E. Bristol St., Elkhart

Elkhart County Public Services, 4230 Elkhart Road, Goshen

Sugar Grove Church, 58512 Old C.R. 17, Goshen

Grace Community Church, 20076 C.R. 36, Goshen

Greencroft Community Center (restricted addresses), 1820 Greencroft Blvd., Goshen

Maple City Chapel, 2015 Lincolnway East, Goshen

Pleasant View Church, 58529 C.R. 23, Goshen

Goshen Church of Christ, 61073 Ind. 15, Goshen

Model Elementary School, 412 S. Greene Road, Goshen

Middlebury Church of the Brethren, 507 Bristol Ave., Middlebury

Millersburg Fire Station, 500 Carriage Lane, Millersburg

First Brethren Church, 1600 N. Main St., Nappanee

New Paris Sunnyside Park Pavilion, 68546 Clinton St., New Paris

Bible Baptist Church, 205 E. Waterford St., Wakarusa

First Presbyterian Church (North 5th Street parking), 215 E. Lincoln Ave., Goshen

Lincoln Center, Health Department Building, 608 Oakland Ave., Elkhart

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There are minor exceptions to some of these duties, particularly if you live in Lake, Marion and St. Joseph counties, but all other counties follow the information I will give you.

The structure of county government in Indiana is separated among various officeholders to create a system of checks and balances. Power is diversified to prevent corruption and make county decision making inclusive. Of course, the ultimate authority rests with you, the voter, as important county positions are elected rather than appointed by other elected officeholders. And it needs to stay this way. Recent activity at the State House has seen a push for legislation that would make many of these positions (Commissioner, Auditor, and Sheriff to name a few) appointed or consolidated into a single officeholder, severely concentrating power. We need to continue to make sure we can elect our local county officials to hold them accountable and keep them answerable to the people.

There are 3 county commissioners, which as a whole, are called the Board of County Commissioners or Board of Commissioners. Each Commissioner is technically a representative of a district in the county. However, the entire county can vote on all the Commissioner races, not just those in the district you live in. In essence, each Commissioner is practically a representative of the entire county as they conduct business that may affect you regardless of where you live in the county.

County officials, including Commissioners, are elected to 4-year terms of office. They have unlimited terms of office. However, we know that anyone serving in an office with unlimited terms can have their term-limited by the voters by not electing them again! This is the ultimate in term limits. In 2020, two of Elkhart County’s Commissioner seats will be on the Primary ballot. Early voting starts on April 7, 2020, and the election is on May 5, 2020. In the Indiana primary election, as a voter, you must declare a party affiliation and you will receive a Republican or Democratic Party ballot. Then, those who win in the primary will be on the ballot for the General election to be held on November 3, 2020. The winners will take office on January 1, 2021.

The Board of County Commissioners is the executive and legislative branch of the county government. The Commissioners have jurisdiction over matters concerning either the exercise of regulatory (such as via ordinances) or administrative powers. In contrast, the County Council (7 elected officials which include district representatives and county at-large members) have jurisdiction over the fiscal matters. In other words, the Council has authority over who spends the money, how much is spent and where the money will come from in the budget or funds available. The Commissioners and the Council work hand-in-hand, along with all the department heads and their employees, to facilitate the business of the county.

In a future post, I will continue with the specific duties of the County Commissioners and how it can impact the public. Please give me feedback in the comments below as to whether this information is helpful. If you would like for me to address a specific issue relative to County Commissioners, please contact me.

As a Republican candidate for County Commissioner, I ask for your vote on May 5, 2020, or in early voting beginning on April 7, 2020.

The post What is a County Commissioner and what do they do? – Brad Rogers for Commissioner appeared first on Brad Rogers for Elkhart County Commissioner.

1/08/2020 – Former Republican Sheriff Brad Rogers has officially filed his candidacy for Elkhart County Commissioner, District 2. Brad was joined at the Elkhart County Courthouse by his Campaign Chair Wes Culver and his Campaign Manager Benjamin Rogers.

To get involved with the campaign, click here.

? Today, I officially filed my candidacy for Elkhart County Commissioner, District 2. I value your support as we work toward the May Republican Primary Election. I look forward to serving you! ?

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