Commissioner Buch is misleading the public about public safety funding in respect to CleanLane

On September 21st, 2026, Commissioner Buch was on the Beeper Show and made comments in response to a caller concerning CleanLane and funds that could have been allocated towards public safety. Commissioner Buch stated that:

“We don't have any other contracts out there that could have been used for public safety. That doesn’t exist. I want to ensure the public that we are looking under every stone to try and figure out how to fund public safety. Which is why 75% of our General Fund goes to public safety as it is. So whatever is out there is saying there is millions of dollars of contracts for something else that could have been utilized for public safety is simply untrue. That does not exist.”

This response from Commissioner Buch was her opportunity to respond to consistent criticism I, along with others like Former Sheriff Byron Trapp and Mayor Candace Solesbee, have had.

Now it is my opportunity to correct the record and explain how the county could have paid for more deputies with the funds they are dedicating towards CleanLane. 

CleanLane is an extremely expensive waste processing facility; once operational, this facility will cost $11.2 million dollars annually. With $9.2 million going to Bulk Handling Systems, the operator of the facility, and nearly $2 million going to repay a bond for construction of the facility. The county has proposed paying for this by raising tipping fees 46% over 4 years. Tipping fees are fees the county collects when someone disposes of waste. Commissioner Buch was the deciding vote on this project.

Lane County is one of the least patrolled counties in the nation, with as few as only three deputies on patrol at any given time. We also are understaffed in the district attorney's office, resulting in a limitation of convictions. In response, the board of commissioners established a Public Safety Funding Taskforce in October of 2023. This committee was tasked with identifying the additional needs of service and options for the commission to raise revenue to meet the needs. This committee held 18 public meetings between the start and when they published their final report in 2025.

Their final report listed several taxes and fees: 

Payroll Tax

Income Tax

Transient Lodging Tax

Base Tax Rate Increase

Entertainment Fee

And adding a fee to the Tipping Fee 

After talking with people on the committee and those who have served as commissioner before, the way you can add a fee onto a service and tie it back to public safety is by having a direct connection to public safety.

Let me repeat myself for clarity. The task force put together by the commissioners to identify ways to pay for public safety identified using tax revenue raised from garbage collection to pay for public safety. 

Is Commissioner Buch not aware of this, or does she not want the public to know this? I will let you be the judge of that.

Commissioner Buch voted for CleanLane, an extremely expensive garbage processing facility. This vote has resulted with the county being tied up in a contract with financial obligations of $11 million annually and has resulted in lost garbage revenue, from broken relationships with cities. 

Votes and budgets reflect priorities.