Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba gave an impassioned defense Monday afternoon of his administration’s actions in its ongoing dispute with the city council over who picks up residents’ trash.
In a news conference the following day, Councilmember Kenneth Stokes said the mayor was wrong about what happened during bidding, also known as the request for proposal or RFP process.
Lumumba’s statements came during his weekly news conference, just 10 days after he lost in court and only three after the city was sued by the company that is currently collecting garbage.
“My position, our administration’s position, is unchanged in this regard,” Lumumba said. “From the start our goal and our objective has been to have a contract or an agreement in place that works to the best interests of our residents, and also to abide by a fair and legal procurement process. Those things are necessary.”
Richard’s Disposal, a minority-owned business based in New Orleans, has been picking up the city’s trash since April 1 under an emergency contract enacted by the mayor, without the council’s approval, but they have yet to be paid. They are now suing the city, seeking the $1.6 million that the council has thus far refused to give them, citing the lack of a contract.
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Lumumba maintains that Richard’s offered the lowest cost bid for trash collection both with roll carts and without.
“First and foremost, we need a contract that we can afford,” Lumumba said.
Stokes said Lumumba’s statements were not accurate, pointing to the overall score in a ranking system for the contractors. He said Waste Management, the company with a competing bid against Richard’s, had a higher score than Richard’s when collecting trash without roll carts.
“They were not the low bidder on both, as the mayor tried to indicate,” Stokes said. “The citizens of the City of Jackson deserve clarity. Doubling down on a flawed RFP process is not helping. The mayor may be too close to the Richard’s bid.”
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The difference between lowest cost and best overall score, which factors in other things such as experience, qualifications and references, seems to be at the core of the dispute between the mayor and the council. Richard’s did have the lowest cost for both proposals, but they only had the best total score for providing services with carts. Stokes said the constituents he has heard from do not want carts.
“That is not what the citizens want,” Stokes said. “They do not want a cart. They want their garbage to be picked up wherever they put it.”
Lumumba has indicated he is likely to appeal the court ruling against him.
“Not only do we have pending litigation, but I anticipate the extension of more legal action over the coming days,” Lumumba said.
That said, during executive session Tuesday the city council voted not to allow him to use public funds for his legal defense.
“You’ve got to pay for your own lawyer, and if you win the city will reimburse you,” Stokes said, painting it as a policy in line with past actions by the city government.
Lumumba has argued he should not have to use personal funds for his legal defense because he was sued by the city council, and they brought the suit against him in his official role as mayor.
