Many Jackson residents have questions following Thursday’s news that Richard’s Disposal Inc. may soon quit collecting Jackson’s trash after not being paid for six-months due to a contract dispute between Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and the City Council.
Some of those questions have clear answers, while others are still being worked out by city leaders, courts and leadership at Richard’s.
When will trash collection end?
According to Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, unless an agreement is reached the last day of normal trash collection will be Saturday, Oct. 8. Richard’s has been picking up residents’ trash twice a week since they took over collection in April.
Why won’t the trash be picked up?
Richard’s has been collecting trash in Jackson since April under an emergency contract issued by the mayor. However, the city council has refused to pay Richard’s for that work. After six months of paying their workers and covering other expenses, attorney for Richard’s John Walker said the financial strain has grown too significant.
Trash collectionMayor, council fight over Jackson trash collection as Monday deadline nears
Why hasn’t Richard’s been paid?
The fight over who picks up the trash goes back to Lumumba’s first campaign in 2017. Lumumba promised to hold a blind bidding process to decide who would receive the city’s next garbage collection contract. When the request for proposal process, commonly known as the RFP, was complete, the mayor’s administration believed Richard’s had won, while a majority of the city council believed Waste Management had won.
State law instructs contracts be granted to the “lowest and best” RFP bid. The highest overall score of any twice-a-week bid came from Waste Management’s bid without roll carts. However, Richard’s bid with roll carts scored higher than Waste Management’s bid with them, and the Richard’s bid was about $1.2 million cheaper per year. The subsequent battle between the mayor and council lead to accusations of bribery and lying.
When Lumumba proposed a contract for the Richard’s RFP to the council in March, the city council repeatedly voted against it. Lumumba attempted to veto the council’s no-vote on an emergency contract with Richard’s, an action of questionable legality for which the mayor and council remain locked in a legal battle.
Despite the lack of a contract, Richard’s began picking up the trash on April 1, but the councilmembers have repeatedly refused to provide payment. In July, Richard’s sued the city seeking payment for the first two months of work it had performed. Earlier this week, Richard’s filed a motion for summary judgment, seeking a court to order the city to pay them.
Could the city reach an agreement before trash pickup ends?
Members of the city council, including Council President Ashby Foote and longtime supporter of the Waste Management bid Kenneth Stokes, said Thursday evening that they were committed to doing whatever they could to prevent residents’ trash from piling up.
Earlier on Thursday, Walker said Richard’s would consider remaining in Jackson, even without a long-term contract, if they receive payment for the work they have performed since April.
Outside of the council, there is also a chance that a court could grant Richard’s the summary judgment they are seeking and order the city to pay.
What should residents do if their trash is not picked up?
In a news release Thursday, city spokesperson Justin Vicory said the city is recommending residents take a number of steps if trash collection does come to a halt next week:
- Reducing the amount of household waste by using reusable containers and other sustainable household products and goods, rather than disposables;
- Freezing seafood waste until garbage pickup resumes;
- Continuing to drop-off all Household Hazardous Waste to 1570 University Boulevard; and
- Staying informed by following updates via the City of Jackson’s official website, through social media and the local news.
Will there be places to drop off trash if collection is not happening?
In the release Thursday, Vicory said the city is considering the possibility of “designated local pick up spots.” That said, no announcement on any such locations has been made at the time of publication.
