UPDATE:

JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Special Judge H. David Clark has scheduled a hearing in the matter of The City Council of Jackson v. Chokwe A. Lumumba over the garbage contract.

The hearing will be held at 8:00 a.m. on April 17 in Hinds Chancery Court.

On April 3, Deshun Martin, an attorney for the Jackson City Council, said the council would file a petition with the Mississippi Supreme Court for an emergency hearing on the garbage contract.

JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba held a news conference to discuss the garbage collection situation in the city.

On Thursday, the mayor called for a special meeting with the Jackson City Council to be held on Monday, April 10 in order to discuss a possible garbage contract.

The capital city’s contract with Richard’s Disposal expired this past weekend.

According to Lumumba, both Waste Management and FCC have decided that they will not provide services to the City of Jackson, which leaves Richard’s Disposal as the only competitor.

“We’re not trying to play a game that could last, you know. For quite some time, there’s just the continued effort to reject. And the reason that it’s a problem is because you only have one vendor available. What happens if they don’t? If they… if they don’t approve the contract on Monday? I don’t have any tricks up my sleeve. It means more pain, struggle and stress on the residents is what it means. And it means that we are creating an emergency that does not have to be,” said Lumumba.

If Richard’s Disposal chooses to leave, another RFP process would be required.

Richard’s Disposal had operated in the capital city on an emergency contract for the past year. The quarrel between Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba and the Jackson City Council over garbage collection has been an ongoing issue.

In early March, the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld a ruling of a lower court that sided with the Jackson City Council in the garbage contract case.

According to the ruling by the Supreme Court, Lumumba was not legally entitled to veto a non-action or negative vote of the City Council. They affirmed the judgment of the trial court.

On Saturday, April 1, during a special meeting, the Richard’s Disposal six-year contract failed in a 3-3 vote with one person abstaining. The emergency contract with Richard’s Disposal ended on March 31.

Lumumba said the city can’t handle the financial obligations that the other companies are requiring.

It is the mayor’s job to present any contracts to the City Council, and it’s the Council’s job to vote yay or nay on each contract presented. A total of four votes is needed to move forward with a decision.

Councilman Aaron Banks, Ward 6, previously proposed a 90-day temporary contract with Richard’s until the city finds a permanent vendor.

If a contract vendor is voted down twice within one year, the mayor must present another contract or vendor.

Watch the full news conference below: