UPDATE: According to a motion filed on Aug. 23, Mayor Karen Weaver's administration is appealing Judge Farah's Aug. 11 decision to continue using Republic Services for collection on a temporary basis, as reported by MLive. The motion asked the state Court of Appeals to lift Farah's preliminary injunction because it prevents the city from using an emergency purchase provision to select its favored hauler.
Dive Brief:
- Republic Services will continue collecting waste in Flint, MI for 90 days per a decision made today by Judge Joseph Farah of the Genesee County Circuit Court, according to WSMH Fox 66.
- This decision comes ahead of a previous contract extension that was set to expire today. Failure to resolve a new contract resulted in Mayor Karen Weaver suspending collection for one day earlier this month before reinstating it due to public pushback.
- At a meeting on Aug. 10 the state-appointed Receivership Transition Advisory Board (RTAB) declined to review a resolution from the City Council that proposed renewing Republic's contract for five years.
Dive Insight:
Flint's summer trash fight all comes down to the definition of "lowest responsible" bid. Mayor Weaver supports a $17.4 million bid from Rizzo Environmental Services. The City Council has questioned Rizzo's integrity and supports renewing Republic's contract for $19.5 million. This disagreement has devolved to the point that Councilman Scott Kincaid — backed by the majority of his colleagues — sued Weaver over the issue.
Kincaid has since become the target of attack ads and refused to stand down. Yet RTAB voted against funding this lawsuit in strong terms, saying that the council and the mayor must work out their issues. According to MLive, both sides met for about two hours on Aug. 8 and had a "very productive" meeting.
Though with so many competing viewpoints, and the looming cloud of citywide fiscal instability, any kind of final agreement does not seem imminent. Weaver says paying any more than necessary would be financially irresponsible, the council members say reliability is worth the extra money, both haulers are championing themselves and legal authorities are urging quick action. For the sake of Flint's residents, hopefully they can all figure out in the next 90 days.
