JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Trash collection was just one of the several topics Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba discussed during a news conference on Tuesday.

The mayor said during the request for proposals (RFP) period, only two companies submitted a bid. One of those companies was Richard’s Disposal.

Lumumba said the review committee has informed him of a recommendation. He said they have to go into contract negotiations before the company is presented to the City Council.

“I did receive the recommendation from the committee in terms of who the vendor they believe should be selected and their scoring matrix. This will be presented to the Council, but I will not name that company until one, I present it to the Council. But two, we have to go into contract negotiations with that vendor. If negotiations fail, then they will not be the vendor that is selected and put forward before the Council. So, it’d be premature of me to announce to them having not had the opportunity to go through negotiations with them. They have been selected. This week, we will have our legal team contact their legal team and see if they can meet the final, final, finer points of the contract negotiations before we put it up for the Council,” the mayor said.

The city is currently under an emergency contract with Richard’s, which will end on March 31, 2024.