Statement from Mayor Lumumba on passage of garbage contract

(Jackson, Miss.) – “We are extremely pleased to announce the City Council voted earlier today to approve a six-year contract with Richard’s Disposal, Inc. to ensure we have a professional and reliable garbage collection company in the City of Jackson. It has been the culmination of over three years of multiple RFP processes, town halls and special council meetings. This was never about scoring political points; it is about giving our taxpayers the value and service they deserve.

Throughout this process, Richard’s has proven it has the capability to do the job and secure a Jacksonian workforce a good paying job with benefits they would not receive with previous vendors. It is a testament to their integrity that they stuck around in the first place after being so unfairly treated. We offer a great deal of gratitude to them and their workers for believing in Jackson, and working on behalf of our residents, when the easier option would have been to leave.

We still believe that a garbage cart, common in most cities including the metro Jackson area, is a wise investment that will prevent clutter and alleviate the workload of Richard’s workers. But we also know that the certainty of a final garbage contract is the larger gain of residents.

This garbage contract and process has always been about the quality of life of our residents. It is for this reason we found this not only a worthwhile investment, but an essential one. We can’t go back to the original contract, which would have saved the city and residents millions of dollars, but we can move forward with the knowledge this current contract is a huge leap forward. It was a hard-fought process. Our residents deserve it.

I want to thank the council members, and the many community and neighborhood organizations who stood up for our residents in a trying time. You continue to remind me that the best of Jackson is both attainable and achievable.”