LEWISTON – The future of the city’s landfill could rest in voters’ hands this fall.

“If we do something different, the state will have to sign off and we’ll have to show community support,” City Administrator Jim Bennett said. “I believe we’ll have to go to a vote to show that, because frankly the people don’t trust the council.”

Councilors met with members of the task force that’s been studying the city’s trash collection and landfill needs since April. That report found the landfill and city’s trash collections well-run overall.

“In fact, we were able to look at this landfill as a true asset to the community because of the way it has been managed and run,” said Robert Reed, a member of the task force.

The city has about five years of constructed space left at the landfill. The state has approved two expansions that would extend the landfill’s life by another 15 years but they’d be costly.

Bennett estimated the city would have to borrow about $3 million in the next few years to pay for the expansion, adding another $300,000 per year in debt payments and another $35 to the average tax bill.

The city tried to work a deal with Casella Waste Systems in 2004, giving the company management of the landfill. According to the deal, the company would have paid for the expansion but would have been allowed to bring in out-of-state trash.

The Maine Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Environmental Protection put a stop to the deal, fearing the company would start bringing in trash from out of state.

Task force members said it was worth looking at future deals with Casella – as long as Lewiston’s interests are protected.

“The biggest risk is to get any economic benefit, the company needs to bring waste from outside of the community,” said member Leo Larochelle. It can be done.

“But do it carefully,” he said.

Bennett said he’ll ask councilors for some direction next month.

“Whatever you decide, we need to make sure it fits within the niche of what the state wants us to do and what our residents will support,” Bennett said. State officials might support some sort of management deal with a private company if voters have approved.

“If we learned anything at all this last year, it’s that we need to do a better job of explaining the situation to our residents,” Bennett said.

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