The New Orleans City Council on Thursday voted to nullify Mayor LaToya Cantrell's emergency declaration in the French Quarter trash collection dispute.
The council voted 5-1 with Oliver Thomas casting the only vote against. Councilmember Joe Giarrusso abstained due to a conflict of interest.
The emergency declaration from the mayor would have allowed Cantrell to unilaterally select Henry Consulting as the waste collector for the French Quarter, Central Business District, and Warehouse District. Those duties are currently being handled by IV Waste and Debris through the end of the month.
The contract with IV Waste was supposed to last through the end of the year. Council members said the emergency Cantrell declared was one she herself created when she announced the early termination of IV Waste's contract.
Meanwhile, state lawmakers recently passed a law allowing the French Quarter Management District pick its own emergency trash collector. But that leaves the matter of who will handle garbage pick-up in the Warehouse District and CBD unclear.
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