TIFTON — Tift County commissioners continue reviewing options for the city-county landfill.

And they want to weigh those choices with city leaders.

Tift County Commission began discussing the next course of action at the Feb. 7 meeting, following Tifton in looking for a solution to the rapidly filling landfill.

Civil engineer Michael Stubbs had been slated to appear at the Feb. 7 meeting but was unable to attend, leaving County Manager Jim Carter to provide an outline of his suggestions.

Stubbs attended the Feb. 13 meeting and offered the same options for dealing with the landfill that he had given city leaders when they consulted him.

The best options for the county would be to either close the landfill, a process that would take about 30 years and cost approximately $6 million to fully execute, or expand the landfill, which would be less expensive, but requires a permit that needs to be obtained soon.

Stubbs said the landfill would likely be full within four or five years, while the application for the permit would take at least four years. If the county chooses this course of action, it would need to begin the application process no later than the end of the first quarter, at the end of March.

Larry Lawrence, county chief financial officer, said the city and county would jointly have access to $8.3 million in financial insurance for post closure, as well as $5.4 million for a future expansion or general financial insurance.

Should they decide to move forward with closing the landfill, it would give them a total of $13.7 million to use for the closing process.

Carter said he believes the intricacies and impact of the options presented could not be fully understood in the time they had at the meeting, and suggested commissioners organize a separate meeting, with Tifton City Council present, to discuss the landfill.

In the meantime, the county manager assured that he and City Manager Emily Beeman would discuss their options regarding the landfill and that Lawrence would continue to run calculations on the funds the two governments have available for their next move.

Commissioners agreed to postpone their decision until the county and city can meet.