Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba's preferred trash collection company, Richard’s Disposal, may soon get the green light to resume residential services in Mississippi's capital.
Following a six-hour meeting between the mayor and city council mediated by Special Judge H. David Clark, the sides came to a tentative agreement to award a 12-month temporary contract to Richard's, the Clarion Ledger reported.
The contract is worth $808,000 per month, the same terms for an earlier emergency contract with Richard's that the council previously voted down. The council is scheduled for a vote to approve the new contract this afternoon.
Jackson will launch a new request for proposals for permanent collection service once a temporary contract is approved.
The impasse between Lumumba and the council has lasted for months, and the city lost service after its previous contract with Richard's expired at the end of March. The two sides ended up in court after the council sued the mayor.
Judge Clark criticized the situation during a hearing Monday, saying the suit should never have been brought to court, the Clarion Ledger reported. The deal was hashed out behind closed doors.
Richard's has twice sued the city in the past year, once over lack of payment for its emergency hauling service last year and again this April over the council's vote not to approve Richard's for a permanent, six-year contract.
