The City of Jackson has no garbage-disposal contract operational starting Oct. 1 after the Jackson City Council rescinded Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumbaās Sept. 17 emergency declaration at a special meeting this afternoon. That overrode the legal basis for the emergency garbage disposal contract that Lumumba announced Monday, Sept. 20, that he executed.
Before Wednesday, a war of words has continued between Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba and Waste Management over a new garbage disposal contract.
Waste Management, a national company with an outlet in Jackson, contends that it is not legally permissible for it to enter into negotiations for a one-year contract to the City instead of the six years indicated in the Cityās request for proposal. The mayoral administration, however, says it is within its legal bounds to offer a one-year contract.
At a press briefing on Monday, Sept. 20, the mayor said that the City had executed an emergency contract with an unnamed garbage disposal vendor, which will take effect at the expiration of the current contract with Waste Management on Sept. 30, one week away. The mayor declared a state of emergency on Friday, Sept. 17, to allow him to circumvent the standard contract procedure given the short time before the end of the Cityās current waste-disposal contract.
āWeāve executed an emergency agreement, and we have a localāby coincidence, and I think this is also beneficialāminority group that will be prepared to collect the waste across the city,ā the mayor said at a press briefing. āWeāre going to make sure that we can do everything that we can to ensure that the residents donāt suffer through their trash not being picked up.ā
Lumumba Alleges āEgregiousā Worker Treatment
At the briefing, the mayor continued leveling missives against Waste Management, reiterating accusations of poor services and lack of workforce protection. Waste Management has been in charge of the Cityās waste disposal for 35 years.
āWe consistently get calls from west and south Jackson,ā Lumumba said. āWe consistently get calls for inconsistent services or when there are planned roll-throughs, when one day the trash may be picked up at 11, one day it may come at 7 a.m. or 6 a.m, so people are unable to make proper accommodations. Or we get calls where there is one man on the back of a truck, and they have trouble getting to those service areas.ā
āI do believe that having to enter into an emergency circumstance is difficult. It is not the alternative that I would have preferred,ā he added. āBut Iād rather struggle through this while we put out another RFP than agree to an agreement that gives me trepidation, which we know is a company that weāve tried to cure, or give them opportunity to cure the things that weāve had problems with.ā
The mayor said during negotiations that Waste Management agreed to offer a āshort-term agreementā but āreneged on that.ā
āSo, what we have now is a history of promises being made, but them not fulfilling those promises,ā Lumumba said. He called it āegregiousā that the City gets reports of ātemporaryā staff working for the company for 10 years.
āThatās egregious because you havenāt given anything to that personās health care, to represent their sacrifice,ā he added. :Itās egregious because ā¦ weāre hearing that one person is on the back of the truck, sometimes carrying 18 tons by themselves.ā
āWaste Management Has a People First Cultureā
Waste Management attorney J. Chase Bryan defended the companyās position, including workersā treatment, in an Aug. 30, 2021, letter to the mayoral administration that WLBTās Anthony Warren posted on Tuesday, Sept. 21.
āWaste Management strongly disagrees with the Cityās characterization of how we treat our team members,ā Bryan wrote. āWaste Management has a People First culture at Waste Management.ā Waste Management attached testimonials from five employees who have ranged from two to 35 years in their employment.
āAfter the City Council voted down the proposal to make FCC the provider for solid-waste collection services, the Mayor held two meetings with Waste Management,ā Bryan explained. āHowever, instead of entertaining a six-year contract such as the one the Mayor recommended with FCC, the Mayor insisted that Waste Management provide a one-year proposal.ā
āWaste Management will not provide a one-year proposal, and instead requests the City follow its RFP and state law and consider Waste Managementās proposal for a six year contract.ā
The attorney asserts that it is unlawful for the City to enter into a one-year proposal. āPursuant to Mississippi law, where a request for proposal has a requirement, a
requirement cannot be waived or ānegotiated away,’ā the attorney said. āThe Office of the Attorney General of the State Mississippi has rendered an opinion on this topic.ā
In its proposal attached to the letter, Waste Management offered $13.02 per household per month for a six-year contract for current service level with $3.70 for additional services, which will include a Jackson-based call center , investment in āthree boom trucksā five days a week, pick up āout of compliance bulk and yard waste (exclusive of storm debris), reducing illegal dumping and beautifying the City.ā
Conservative blog Jackson Jambalaya shared a Sept. 13 letter from the city attorney in charge of the public works department, Terry Williamson, responding to Waste Managementās letter.
Williamson disputed Bryanās interpretation of the attorneyās general opinion as legally binding.
ā(An) attorney General opinion is simply that, an opinion by the attorney general about their interpretation of Mississippi law,ā he wrote. āAs you are well aware, an opinion provides no protection for any one other than the immediate party requesting the opinion. In this case, the language of section 31-7-13 (r) is a better indicator of the meaning of that statute for purposes of the term of the contract and other provisions within the Request for Proposals.ā
āUnder the current circumstances, it appears that the City and Waste Management disagree as to what is in their best interests with respect to the length of the contract,ā Williamson added in defense of the Cityās one-year contract request.
Four Council Members Votes To Rescind Emergency Declaration
The Jackson City Council held a special meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 21, where the mayor explained that after the council did not approve the contract with FCC Environmental Services, the administration approached Richardās Disposal Inc. as well as Waste Management, which is the current holder of the contract. Richardās Disposal Inc. said they are not able to effectuate a contract based on time constraint. The mayor said that Waste Management āwanted a longer arrangement.ā
āThe administration agreed to look at a longer-term agreement, but asked for a shorter option as well for us to review. In that meeting, they actually agreed to present both options only to come back to the next meeting and not do so,ā the mayor told the council on Tuesday.
āThe emergency vendor did their research to find out how many trucks were rolling, how many employees are servicing our area, and they have compiled all of that in an effort to make certain that they can facilitate the services that we need,ā the mayor told the city council. āThey will be working with people who are familiar with routes in our city, working with people who are familiar with the communities in which they serve.ā
Nevertheless, the order to rescind the mayorās executive order passed 4-2 on Wednesday. Council President and Ward 7 Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay, Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley, Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks, and Ward 7 councilman Ashby Foote voted to rescind the mayorās executive order. Council Vice President and Ward 2 Councilwoman Angelique Lee and Ward 4 Councilman Brian Grizzell voted against the order. Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes was absent.
Email story tips to city/county reporter Kayode Crown at kayode@jacksonfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @kayodecrown.
