AUBURN - City councilors want to take a look at more information before the city spends tens of thousands of extra dollars on a project to expand the landfill.

The council tabled during a business meeting Tuesday a resolution that would have authorized a $60,000 change order for the expansion. Before the vote, multiple members of council said they want to see a list of the extra expenses before spending the money.

The change order is for the engineering costs associated with a project to add a new cell to the city landfill. The original contract stated that the city would pay the firm Barton & Loguidice no more than $486,000 for engineering services.

However, Sanitation Supervisor Michael Talbot told the council that permitting problems, geologic work and other issues with the state Department of Environmental Conservation delayed the project and caused the increased costs.

Talbot also said the overall expansion - a $6.5 million project - is $170,000 under budget.

“We watched our dollars

pretty closely,” he told the council.

But Councilor William Graney told Talbot that he is not comfortable paying more than the amount listed in the contract unless he sees an itemized bill.

“That's a lot of money,” Graney said.

Councilor Matthew Smith agreed, saying that $60,000 is “not chump change.”

Talbot also told council the landfill project only needs state authorization before it can be used. The first 10 feet of fill will have to be soft, household garbage, according to regulations. That should take only a few months, he said.

“The (landfill) cell is sitting there. It's prepared,” Talbot said.

In other news:

* Council unanimously accepted a $58,000 grant from the Stardust Foundation of Central New York. The donation is meant to fund half of the city's 10-year, comprehensive plan project.

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.