Vicksburg will use two companies to remove debris left by receding floodwaters.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen at a special meeting Tuesday afternoon authorized City Clerk Walter Osborne to seek two requests for proposals — one for a company to collect, remove and dispose of debris, and another for a company to oversee debris collection and disposal and ensure that it meets Federal Emergency Management Agency regulations.

Winfield said bids will be opened at the board’s Monday meeting and contracts are expected to be awarded at its June 24 meeting.

Mayor Paul Winfield and North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield voted to seek the bids. South Ward Aldermen Sid Beauman did not attend the meeting. Beauman said after the meeting that he went home ill before the meeting. He said he told Osborne that he had no problem with the city seeking bids for debris collection.

Winfield said he thought it was best that the city hire contractors for debris collection.

“Most of our people working for the city do maintenance,” he said. “What we had several weeks ago was a flood of historic proportions.”

Besides leaving debris, the mayor said, the floodwaters also carried hazardous and toxic materials that need to be removed. He said city officials need to be sure they follow FEMA regulations and “dot our I’s and cross our T’s to make sure that we get proper reimbursement from FEMA. We need to make sure that we get every nickel back that’s coming to us.”

Hiring a separate company to oversee debris collection, Winfield said, will ensure the company collecting the waste is following FEMA guidelines.

“We’re being proactive,” Winfield said. “It’s time to move forward with this.”

By going ahead and seeking the bids, Mayfield said, “We’ll be a step ahead in the game.”

He said city and county officials will meet Thursday with FEMA representatives “and we’ll find out what we’re going to need to know (about the cleanup). We’ve got a lot of people hurting out there, and we don’t want to make any missteps that will hurt us.”