Anthony ? A dispute over a proposed landfill could force cash-strapped Harper County in south-central Kansas to borrow money before the end of the year.

Harper County’s spending authority for 2003 exceeds its available cash, Commissioner Bill McIntire said.

“It’s something that we have to watch,” he said. “We’re not talking about layoffs or work slowdowns, but it could come to the table depending on what happens in the next three months.”

Issuing no-fund warrants could be an option, McIntire said, although that would “pull against next year’s budget.”

No-fund warrants are the equivalent of an emergency loan and are usually viewed as a last resort.

Waste Connections of Kansas Inc. has sought for more than two years, with county support, to build a landfill in northeast Harper County. Legal challenges spurred by local activists have thwarted the project, but a host agreement specifies that Waste Connections will reimburse the county for costs, including legal and consulting fees, incurred during the permitting process.

But County Clerk Cheryl Adelhardt has been slow to request reimbursement. Her office sent the first request for repayment of 2003 bills on Sept. 19 to Waste Connections Inc. headquarters. WCI has 45 days to pay and, as of Friday, payment for $94,078.76 had not arrived.

Commission Chairman Robert Sharp and Adelhardt both cited understaffing and what Sharp called “extraordinary demands” on personnel to explain the delay.

A looming grand jury proceeding, to determine whether any laws were violated by the company, the County Commission or the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, will further strain the county’s coffers.

“We have no reserves to do that,” Adelhardt said.

A recent check of general fund vouchers for 2003 showed that Harper County paid the Wichita law firm of Hinkle and Elkouri more than $90,000 this year.

Last year, the county took more than $110,000 from its general fund, and in 2001, more than $27,000, to pay Hinkle and Elkouri bills.

The Overland Park law firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon also has performed work on behalf of the project, as well as solid-waste management consultant Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc., of Fairfax, Va.; plat-reviewing consultant Ruggles & Bohm, of Wichita; and the land appraisal firm The Marten Companies, of Wichita.

Tri-County Concerned Citizens Inc., which sprang up in opposition to the proposed landfill, has taken its battle to the courts. Thus the sharp split in opinion among area residents over the merits or risks of a landfill has contributed to the costs.