Budget Committee Discusses Water Lawsuit Against County

The Wayne County Budget Committee met on Thursday, February 12, 2026, at the Wayne County Administrative Building. All committee members were present: County Commissioners Sherrie Powers, Logan Shull, Tom Mathis, Stan Hanback, David Martin, Rickey Kelley, and Colby McDonald. County Executive Jim Mangubat was in attendance as well, along with Solid Waste Assistant Director Lindsay Ross. The main item on the agenda was the situation with a lawsuit filed by the Gallaher family against the county.

The original lawsuit was filed when the Gallaher family discovered in the 1980s that their water source was contaminated. Their property is located on Banjo Branch, which is between Waynesboro and Collinwood.

The Gallahers asserted that their water was fine until the county started using land near their home for a dumping site. There have been allegations since then that toxic waste from Mallory Capacitor Company that was supposedly dumped into the county landfill could have contributed to, or been the cause of, water contamination on the Gallaher property. Regardless of where the contamination came from, a court judgment found the county liable for damages to the Gallaher’s water source caused by toxic substances leaching from the county landfill into the soil and water in the area.

The judgment ordered the city to provide a permanent uncontaminated water source to the Gallahers. The county fulfilled this order in the only way they found possible at the time – by installing two large reservoir tanks on the property that were filled regularly with water for several years, and by delivering bottled drinking water to Mrs. Margaret Gallaher. Several potential well sites on the property have been drilled over the years, all of which came back with contaminated water. Mrs. Gallaher passed away in 2017, and the property has since remained unoccupied.

The children of Mrs. Gallaher have now filed suit against the county for not fulfilling the original order to provide a permanent water source. This suit gives the county two options: either fulfill the order to provide water, or pay a substantial amount of money to the Gallahers that will release the county from any obligation to provide water.

County Executive Mangubat asked Attorney and County Commissioner Patrick Butler to address the committee in the absence of County Attorney Andy Yarbrough. Commissioner Butler reminded the committee that the Capital Improvements Committee recently voted that County Executive Mangubat and County Attorney Yarbrough negotiate a settlement with the Gallaher family. Butler went on to say that in his opinion, the dollar amount of the settlement and other details should not be discussed in committee meetings.

There was further discussion about a solution to the water problem. Commissioner Martin said he had done some research and thought it would be feasible to run a two-inch water line from Collinwood to the property. He said it would only be a distance of four miles. There was no confirmed dollar amount of how much it would cost to run water lines from Collinwood, but it was stated that it would be closer to run them from Collinwood than from Waynesboro.

Commissioner Powers asked for more detailed monthly reports, especially from the Solid Waste Department, and Commissioner Kelley agreed. Solid Waste Assistant Director Lindsay Ross told the Budget Committee the same thing she told the Solid Waste Committee in their earlier meeting, that the new efficiency measures at the solid waste facility had only been implemented in January, and she would not be able to provide accurate numbers for a few more months. She did inform the committee that before the changes were implemented, the facility had 11 full-time and 5 part-time employees, and they now have 8 full-time and 5 part-time.

Commissioner Mathis questioned whether all three supervising positions are necessary. The positions considered as supervising are the Director, Assistant Director, and Mechanic. He said he was not referring to Ms. Ross, and he considered her a hard-working and valued employee.

Following the solid waste discussion, Executive Assistant Cindy Risner said there had been three requests for funds from the opioid settlement, and there was information about that in the committee members’ packets. The meeting was then adjourned.