Jackson Jambalaya

The City Council is a check and balance to the executive, not a rubber stamp. The 96-gallon cart requirement speaks for itself.

Do we have the name of the Detroit Company that will provide the carts? We sent the Siemens settlement money out of state to the tune of $30mil. Now the garbage cart contract goes to Detroit? Surely someone locally can do these things and keep the money in state.

Impressed with Vernon Hartley.

So if it gets voted down aGAIN, this time for real and for true he can't bring this contract forward again? Is that right?

So how many times can a vendor or contract be voted down? How many is it up to already 4? Is this legal?

Love it when a plan comes together. Just remember, y'all put these guys in place.

@11:34 I'm not impressed with any of them. Water, sewer, streets, crime, garbage......

This entire city is a lesson in incompetence. The bar is so low, that a semi-competent employee or official seems like a genius. Those same people would get fired anywhere else.

These idiots couldn't close an umbrella. The whole city needs to start over. Clean house of everyone. They couldn't do basic financial crap to provide to the auditor.

I ask "Is there anything that Jackson government does well? Can you name one thing?"

First time I’ve listened to Councilman Hartley up close. He could have my vote for mayor in the next election. I like his demeanor. He can laugh at himself. He understands that being on the losing side of a vote doesn’t mean you go all toddler, throw a hissy fit tantrum, take your toys and go home, then set about plotting and executing vengeance.

That’s pretty much my bar for mayoral qualifications in Jackson. Just those few intangibles would put us light years from where we’d ever be with lumumba.

richards gets approved

then jacks the rates

thoughts?

12:11 Hartley also is missing one key qualification to become mayor of the Bold New City. Hint: He will never have it either.

Hey Kingsfish, is there a way to get ahold of the entire contract? Personally, I'd like to see WHO all the "players" are listed in this so-called contract. I'm confident this will tell me WHY the Mayor is ONLY pushing RD and is literally crying tears over this! All these murders in Jackson and he hasn't dropped ONE tear, yet? I hate to break the news but, something ain't right, ya'll.

The hold outs on the city council are between a rock and a hard place as Lumumba knows. Stokes will likely vote for the contract, having shrewdly abstained "waiting to determine the will" of his constituency. Hartley, Banks and Foote voting on principle and facts, face the ire of constituents who do not understand or care about the mayor's missteps and shenanigans that led to this debacle. They simply want their trash picked up. End of discussion. Some RD advocates ask why opposing council persons are against RD. The question SHOULD be, why does the mayor insist on continuing to push a company that has been voted down many times. A company that has a dismal record and poor performance reviews in Louisiana. For RD, its a do or die situation --- Jackson is their key to remaining viable as a company. And thanks to the mayor, they (RD) appear to now be the only immediate option. If I had a reputable garbage disposal company, there is no way I'd submit a bid and enter into this dysfunction with the city of Jackson. When RD increases their costs and their performance remains spotty ... Oh, well.

If Stokes rolls and sticks us with this, he has no right, reason or excuse to ever open his mouth again in public.

“Whatever comes out, we’ve got a better chance of survival if we work together.”
Maximus Decimus Meridius

12:33, my thoughts are that you're right.

In this case, the punishment is the process. The last minute drop to insure that we had yet another crisis was to force a holdout to cave. I hope that doesn't happen but people are going to get tired of their trash not getting picked up.

The overwhelming majority of Jacksonians will go back to not paying attention as long as their trash gets picked up. Hell, most of them aren't paying for it and don't care.

That cave essentially neuters the council. Again, hope it doesn't happen but guess we'll see at 3.

Detroit is where Lumumba Sr was from, and where the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and Republic of New Afrika was founded.

The carts appear to be a means of funding the parent organization, or perhaps return some favors/campaign cash.

None of it passes the smell test.

Ditto, 12:11. I have never met Councilman Hartley but am impressed. He would get my vote too.

I sure hope and pray that he and Councilman Foote, as well as Councilmen Stokes and Banks stay the course and continue to vote no (or that Stokes at least abstains again and the other 3 still vote no). Something smells about this deal between the Mayor and Richards, and I don't mean the trash.

It's not about lowest price as the Mayor claims. If so, he would propose the 2 day pickup without carts bid as that is the cheapest. It's also not about saving the jobs of the Richards' employees as, under the terms of the prior RFP, the new vendor would have to hire the old vendor's employees, and they would keep their jobs. And no one can dispute that Richards has a horrible reputation in New Orleans and woefully underperformed there, to the extent that they've lost most of their routes there.

And the winner is..........................................................Richards.

If the four stalwarts on the Council have their ball sacks in order at 3pm, they will send Richatd's back to New Orleans. The April 17th hearing with Judge Clark will likely give the Council an opportunity to do the Mayor's job for him and solicit two additional RFPs.

Meanwhile, taking garbage to Christ United Methodist required all of 15 minutes there and back this morning, no wait at all at 8:05 am.

Here ya go. scroll to bottom

I said it when the Mayor threw his 1st tantrum on behalf of RDI, Richards WILL be the trash company going forward.
Nobody will stand up to him. And the majority of the voters are content with the bow tie in charge.

THe only people who see the problems for what they are, saw them coming and left Jackson years ago.

The constituents simply see this sort of contract-giving/bribes/theft as finally their turn. And they are not wrong...Its just that "their turn" is by leaders SO inept, the fundamental services are lost in the process of the theft.

Conservatives at least manage basic utilities, before they steal.

I have no place to put a 96 gallon cart. What is with the cart obsession of the mayor? NOBODY wants the carts but him.

Will Richard's apostles fill the gallery as before? I hope so since such crude intimidation will only cause Foote, Stokes, Hartley and Banks to resist harder.

April 10, 2023 at 1:01 PM

That didn't happen.
And if it did, it wasn't that bad.
And if it was, that's not a big deal.
And if it is, that's not my fault. <--- Lumumba (and Co.) is here
And if it was, I didn't mean it.
And if I did, you deserved it.

Of course the company is from Detroit, would be curious to see what their connection to the Lumumba's is (if there is one at all)

Why do the majority of Jackson residents object to buying the trash cans? They know they won’t pay for them and still get them provided to them. They are getting water (occasionally) without paying for it, why not garbage pickup. The purpose of the trash cans is to help the collectors to distinguish between what is and what is not trash.

Queen Bee, you can find all 48 pages on the council’s webpage. Go to the April 1st meeting and on the far right you’ll see links for agenda and documents. Click on the latter. Oh, and I might as well you that none of what you are looking for is in it. Apparently, they get around subs by calling them EOB or EBO. Nobody ever say’s what that stands for but it has something to do with minorities (which imo is a fascinating paradox for the 18% of caucasians who live In Jackson).

things by blinking his eyes in Morse Code, I think Kenny made his point the other day with his "Follow the Law" rant that got JPD Deputy Chief Grizzel in front of Councilman Grizzel and ultimately obeying Chowkes orders to NOT close da does.

"Do we have the name of the Detroit Company that will provide the carts?"

You mean the knee capping's don't you?

2:57 - EBO is the Jackson "Equal Business Opportunity" requirements - that certain percentage of each contract go to various minority contractors; black, of course; but there are other 'minority groups' that also have to get a part, to the extent that every engineering contract they issue requires a 2% or such to go to an Asian Business, with the only qualifying company that meets this being a woman in Georgia.

Besides the Black (which they refer to as African American, whether the individuals have any African roots or not) there are the Hispanic, Asian, Native American and Female business entities.

Richards avoids the hassle by claiming they are black owned, therefore don't need any EBO partners - except maybe the Hispanic, Asian and Native folks.

I imagine this gives them a big leg up on the competition since they don't have to farm out part of the contract to subs who may or may not perform any services.

The Mayor's comment in his statement today:
"We know that our residents are suffering and we are working diligently to resolve this ongoing dispute."

No, mayor, you are not working diligently. You are only submitting the same Richards proposal over and over and over again.

I thought that a RFP could only be presented twice before it was tabled for a year. Has the RD RFP been presented twice? What is the sensible thing that needs to happen from here? Is there a quick way to get garbage picked up regularly that does not involve RD?