Lee County officials approve contract with Waste Management in split vote
Jul. 3—TUPELO — Lee County will dissolve its solid waste department and contract with Waste Management to handle its sanitation services, despite tense opposition from a minority of supervisors.
The Lee County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to accept a contract with Waste Management that will see the Texas-based company take over garbage collection countywide.
District 1 Supervisor Phil Morgan, District 3 Supervisor Wesley Webb and District 5 Supervisor Billy Joe Holland voted in favor of the measure. District 2 Supervisor and Board President Mike Smith and District 4 Supervisor Tommie Lee Ivy vote against it.
Lee County has not raised garbage collection fees since 2013, when it went from $9 to $12.50. No matter who collects garbage, County Administrator Bill Benson said the rate will increase. Benson expects the board to vote on a rate increases closer to the beginning of the next fiscal year, which begins in October.
Benson said the contract with Waste Management is mostly complete, noting the company will begin buying county trash cans and preparing routes soon. He said they will start collection in November of this year.
Though the vote was not on the agenda, Webb moved to amend the agenda to include the approval of the contract and then made a motion to approve the contract. Support for both votes was split along the same lines.
Smith and Ivy argued heavily against the contract, citing their belief that public favor of outsourcing the county's garbage collection to Waste Management is low.
Smith previously argued against the contract, noting he believed the county already had the infrastructure and could do a better job than Waste Management. He also argued using data provided by Three Rivers Planning & Development District Governmental Functions Director Ronnie Bell. Bell claimed the county will spend an additional $990,000 annually under the Waste Management contract.
The figure comes from Bell estimating the county raising rates to $18 and estimating Waste Management will cause the rates to rise to $23. Representatives of Waste Management said the company planned to charge the county $16.50 per household and it was up to the county to set rates from there.
Morgan previously said he believed it was cheaper for the county, in the long run, to get out of garbage collection, citing unforeseen expenses such as maintenance and replacing equipment.
The topic was originally broached when Ivy voted against accepting the board's minutes for June 19 and June 29 over issues with the contract, noting that he believed the board should not have allowed representatives from Waste Management to speak without being on the agenda. Benson said after the meeting that he believed it was within the board president's power to allow anyone to speak. He also noted that minutes only include motions with no transcriptions. Ivy did not object to representatives speaking at the time of the meeting.
