Agreement reached. Garbage collection to resume in days

Update 3:15 pm Garbage agreement reached

Richard’s Disposal will get a 12-month temporary contract in a compromise reached Monday afternoon between the City Council and Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, according to a city official.

The City Council will meet at 2:30 pm Tuesday to approve the deal. It is unclear whether everyone who has been opposed to Richard’s would vote yes tomorrow since the agreement was reached within the judge’s chambers, but the official did say that Richard’s is prepared to resume trash pickup as soon as the contract is approved, so it could start as soon as tomorrow.

Recess until 9 am Tuesday

Update 10:40 am: Judge recesses hearing on garbage dispute until 9 am Tuesday.

earlier

Special Judge H. David Clark, who was presiding over a hearing in the Jackson City Council’s lawsuit against Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, scolded both sides in Hinds County Chancery Court on Monday morning comparing the legal dispute to a family court issue.

Clark repeatedly called the city dysfunctional, saying the issue is a failure of leadership on all sides.

“We’re not going to fix this in a court of law,” Clark said. “We’re going to fix this at the ballot box… Ultimately, this is not a legal issue, in this context.”

‘It feels like a foolish game’:Jackson business owner on trash crisis

Clark also sided with a city attorney memo agreeing that neither side should have their own attorneys and that the Council started it by suing Lumumba.

“So, in effect, we have City of Jackson vs City of Jackson,” Clark said. “That raises a few problems in itself. George cannot sue George. … That ought to be an interesting audit (on all the money that’s been spent ).”

A city attorney recently disclosed that the city has paid $200,000 in legal fees over the dispute and that the city legal fees budget has only $400 remaining for the year.