A garbage collection contract in New Orleans may be just that -- garbage -- as a dispute between a primary and sub-contractor has spilled over into the city council.
Council Vice-President J.P. Morrell says Henry Consulting, owned by Troy Henry, got the $73.2 million contract that included picking up trash in the French Quarter. Since Henry Consulting needed a more experienced partner, the company initially subcontracted with Richard's Disposal, which picks up residential waste in other parts of the city, for around $2.5 million. But then things went sour.
"After the contract was awarded, Mr. Henry decided that he wanted to pay Mr. Richard less money," Morrell told WWL's Newell Normand. "He wanted to pay him around $2 million."
Henry, at a public works committed meeting, said they dropped Richard's because they couldn't work out the details.
"We were not able to reach an agreement with Richard's," Henry told the committee "Richard's insisted on us paying for work that would not be performed, and as a result of that, we essentially could not reach an agreement with them."
So the two companies are at odds in court, and the city may need to issue an emergency contract to make sure the trash continues to get picked up in the Vieux Carre.