NATCHEZ, Miss. – Adams County supervisors continued their arguments Monday over the garbage collector they voted 3-2 for hiring earlier this month in a clash over the service’s high costs and the waste company operators’ troubled history.
Supervisors haven’t finalized the trash-collecting contract with United Infrastructure Services, but the New Orleans-based company’s proposed price is $26.66 per household a month for twice-a-week residential pickups. That’s up from the $19 now charged to the county for the same service – and higher than the $9.72 paid per household in 2018.
While the final contract with United is being worked out, it remains uncertain how much higher the current $15 monthly rate will be for the 5,500 or so Adams County households directly billed for having their garbage collected.
United is run by the same operators of Metro Services Group, which went bankrupt last October, according to Adams County supervisors. Metro was first contracted by the county board in 2018 to haul out Adams County’s residential trash.
Metro’s troubles late last year had it going days without collecting some Adams County residents’ garbage.
However, the three county supervisors in favor of Metro’s renamed company United say it’s better qualified than the other waste collector bidding for the job: Arrow Disposal Service. That Alabama-based company is Natchez’ contracted garbage collector.
The county board’s two dissenters are pushing to curtail the trash-pickup service to once a week, which Supervisor Kevin Wilson estimates could save the county about $600,000 a year.
The board’s majority have ruled out once-a-week service, which Supervisor Angela Hutchins said would result in trash piling up.
Arrow proposed a price of $17.45 per household each month with a cart provided for once-a-week residential pickups. United’s bid for once-a-week collection was $25.33.
Arrow’s twice-a-week bidded price is just a few cents more than United’s $26.66 rate, but the board’s 3-2 March 6 vote just allowed negotiations with United for a final deal. The board could’ve brought both companies to the bargaining table.
Supervisors voting to negotiate only with United: Hutchins, Warren Gaines and Ricky Gray. Voting against: Wilson and Wes Middleton.
In excluding Arrow from hammering out a final contract, the board majority indicated it’s rewarding United for continuing to serve Adams County after its predecessor company went bankrupt and had to restructure. Hutchins said United “did come to our rescue” in January when the county board was in an emergency seeking a temporary contractor to collect garbage when Metro failed.
United came forward as other companies opted out of bidding to haul away Adams County’s trash. When you “got folks that stick with you when you are in a bind, it makes a difference,” Gaines said.
However, Wilson questioned why supervisors would bargain with trash-collecting operators that ran a company into bankruptcy and have a record of shoddy service.
“Why do you think they’ll be better at it than the last time?” Wilson said.
In defending United Infrastructure Services’ corporate leaders, Hutchins noted their former company’s business woes stemmed from a contract dispute with New Orleans and not being paid for collecting that city’s garbage.
As the Adams County board seeks a long-term contractor, the board could’ve voted to negotiate with both United and Arrow, which Wilson said “could have gotten the price down significantly” as the two companies competed to win the contract.
Instead, Adams County supervisors have chosen to bargain with one company for a deal that will be “so bad that people are laughing at us,” he said.
Middleton said his constituents are willing to reduce their garbage collection to once a week if that will be less expensive. “We’ve got to cut costs somewhere,” he said.
However, Gray and Hutchins said their constituents favor paying more to keep the twice-a-week pickup service they’ve had for years. Gray also noted it’s been several years since the Adams County board raised the residential garbage fee to the current $15. A higher fee is “way overdue,” he said.
Natchez residents pay $22.17 a month per household for their three-times-a-week trash collection (one day for recyclables) by Arrow.
The jacked-up costs for collecting county residents’ garbage has prompted Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson to ponder various options to reduce costs. He said that could include the county joining the city in together hiring a trash hauler, or local government could create its own garbage collection department like what Vidalia, La., has.
Metro – which has served other communities in Louisiana and Mississippi – has been plagued the past couple of years by staff shortages, broken equipment, pickup delays and other troubles, according to various reports. It lost its contract with New Orleans after trash piled up on the streets in the wake of Hurricane Ida in 2021.
Metro has been among the South’s most prominent Black-owned businesses. Its co-founder and chief executive is Jimmie Woods, who also sits on the LSU Board of Supervisors.
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