JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Two Jackson City Councilmen held a news conference on Thursday to discuss garbage collection.

City Council President Ashby Foote, Ward 1, and Councilman Vernon Hartley, Ward 5, both voiced their frustration with Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba over his attempts to award Richard’s Disposal the contract despite the fact that the contract has been voted down.

“Then there’s the argument of, well, these folks are the cheapest. And I think I’ve seen something in a local newspaper whereby a quarter of $1,000,000 during the past year or so, we have almost double your solid waste rates. You would think that we could afford to have an equivalent professional service within the City of Jackson. But the bottom line is, is this the way we’re going to select vendors in the future? Is this the way the City Jackson government gives out contracts? We have to vote someone down five, six, seven times,” said Hartley.

Foote accused the mayor of manufacturing the crisis by waiting so late to bring forth a new contract last week.

Earlier on Thursday, Lumumba held a news conference at City Hall.

During the news conference, 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.

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

Special Judge H. David Clark has scheduled a hearing in the matter for 8:00 a.m. on April 17 in Hinds Chancery Court.