A last-minute settlement reached last week between the Jackson City Council and Richard's Disposal temporarily averted a crisis that many had feared was coming: a halt in the collection of garbage.
The agreement to pay Richard's $4.8 million, which was negotiated by attorneys for Richard's and the council, came just one day before a deadline the New Orleans-based company had set as its final day of pickups, after six months of operating without payment.
Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and the council have been fighting for about two years over who should pick up residents' trash. The most recent bidding process ended with the mayor claiming that Richard's had won while a majority of the council supported a bid from Waste Management, Inc. The council has refused to approve any of the contracts with Richard's that Lumumba has put forward and therefore refused to pay Richard's saying the company did not have a valid contract.
Even as Richard's picked up residents' trash Monday, they still had not received payment. What steps will be needed to finalize the settlement are the subject of questions that even members of the council say they do not yet have the full picture of.
Richard's has been picking up Jacksonians trash since April under an emergency contract that was issued by Lumumba, but repeatedly voted down by the council. The mayor, who has long maintained that Richard's won the bid to collect trash in the city, attempted to veto their no-vote, kicking off an ongoing legal battle.
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In July, Richard's sued the city seeking compensation for the work it had performed. During an executive session Thursday, a majority of councilmembers gave approval to a plan that would let their attorneys negotiate a settlement for up to $4.8 million in that lawsuit, Ward Seven Councilmember Virgi Lindsay said.
The Clarion Ledger requested a copy of the vote tally from Thursday's executive session, but the Jackson Municipal Clerk's office said an open records request was required for that information. A request has been filed, but it typically takes five-to-seven business days, according to the clerk's office. The most recent council meeting minutes available online are from June. In March, Lumumba sued the council over its inconsistent release of meeting minutes.
Friday, after the agreement was reached, attorney for the council John Scanlon said the settlement needed just one further stamp of approval from the magistrate judge overseeing the lawsuit.
However, while addressing members of the media Sunday Ward Three Councilmember Kenneth Stokes said the council may need to vote again on the settlement during its meeting Tuesday before it can be agreed to. He also indicated that he would vote no if that were to happen. Stokes has been a prominent supporter of the bid from Waste Management.
"All businesspeople understand, you've got to have a contract. That's basic business 101. We ain't creating nothing new. That's not new," Stokes said. "A majority of the council might vote to pay them through claims, but Kenneth Stokes going to stay with no."
Lindsay said the council has not gotten a clear answer on whether Thursday's vote was an approval of the settlement, the full details of which had not yet been decided at the time, or merely a "straw poll." Since a majority of the council voted Thursday to approve the $4.8 million, it is likely they would do so again if another vote is necessary Tuesday, Lindsay said.
"We all have to get briefed tomorrow by our attorneys. I still have not gotten a full briefing. I talked to one of the attorneys Friday night, but the council has not been fully briefed, and so we will be fully briefed tomorrow," Lindsay said.
Multiple members of the council have said that payment cannot legally be given to Richard's, other than through a court order, due to the council never approving a contract for Richard's to operate in the city. One councilmember said Monday that the magistrate judge's approval of the settlement would seemingly trump any vote of the council, putting into question why such a vote would be necessary in the first place. Scanlon said Friday that the judge could give that order sometime this week.
Meanwhile, questions remain over how long Richard's will keep picking up the trash and to whom a long-term contract will eventually be awarded.
The case surrounding Lumumba's veto of the council's no-vote on the Richard's emergency contract is currently before the Mississippi Supreme Court. A ruling on that case could lead to the emergency contract being deemed invalid and void, something the council and its attorneys have maintained to be the case. John Walker, attorney for Richard's, said at a news conference Sunday that the settlement reached last week is not the end of the dispute.
"This is just a lull in the storm," Walker said.
Under the settlement, Richard's agreed to continue picking up the trash at least until the state supreme court rules on the veto case.
"We're very happy to be here in the city of Jackson," Richard's CEO Alvin Richard said at the news conference Sunday.
Richard's employees were gathered behind Richard holding signs that read "I am Jackson," emphasizing that workers live in their community and firing back against accusations that jobs had been outsourced.
"The rumors fly that the employees that we have are not from Jackson. If you look behind us, we have 70 employees here and all of them live here in Jackson," Richard said.
