Monday, the city of Vicksburg could have a new contract for garbage and trash collection in the city.

Or it may not.

Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said during Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen the city’s solid waste committee, which reviewed the six submitted bids for solid waste collection, will present its report at Monday’s board meeting.

“On Monday, May 1, we will let the committee publically explain its recommendation and we will probably take some action,” he said.

After the board meeting, board attorney Nancy Thomas, a committee member, declined to discuss the committee’s recommendation.

“It would be premature to talk about it right now until the board takes action,” she said. “I don’t know what they’re (the board) going to do. We’ll talk about it Monday.”

But North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield, who provided one of the two votes to reject the Waste Management bid, indicated the board might reconsider its action.

“We’re going to go back and discuss the whole nine yards, and open this whole thing back up,” he said. “That’s the reason for the discussion, to go back and look at everything. You’ll get something Monday. I don’t know what, but you’ll get something.”

The board April 17 accepted bids for solid waste collection from six companies: Arrow Disposal Service, Express Waste, Metro Service Group, Riverbend Environmental Services, Team Waste Jackson and Waste Pro of Mississippi, and referred them to the solid waste committee. 

A bid by Houston, Texas-based Waste Management was rejected because the bid was submitted to the clerk’s office after the 9 a.m. April 17 deadline to submit bids. Waste Management has the present six-year contract with the city, which expires June 30.

The board in June 2011 signed the present contract with Waste Management. Under the current contract, city residents pay $16.50 for twice a week garbage collection. The small business rate is $40.15.

When the board advertised in February for the new solid waste contract, Flaggs said he expected the new agreement would alleviate confusion over garbage and trash collection that has occurred in the past four years.

Garbage collection is considered a professional service and not subject to the state bid law. That means city officials are not required to select the lowest bid and can negotiate with a company to get a contract.