Committee extends Meridian solid-waste contract and corrects funding language

A TEU committee approved an emergency ordinance as amended to extend and correct the Meridian solid-waste services agreement.

Committee staff explained the amendment deappropriates previously approved funding (reference to 2024-800), attaches a revised budget transfer and corrects accounts and descriptions to fund the agreement. The amendment also attaches a revised first amendment to the Meridian contract: it extends the contract term by six years, clarifies rate-review provisions and updates contract sections to correct dates and references. Committee staff said section changes clarify how monthly base-rate components and certain lump-sum payments will be handled and that language regarding a previous maximum indebtedness will be removed and treated under the amended Section 7.1.

Council President White urged the committee to move the updated agreement forward, saying Meridian and the mayor's office "got back together" and "landed at a good spot." The committee adopted the amendment by voice vote and then approved the emergency ordinance as amended; the final tally recorded was 6 yays, 0 nays.

The committee record shows the amendments rescind the 2024-800 appropriations tied to the prior contract, attach the corrected first amendment, and update contract text to reflect the extension and other technical corrections. Committee staff said the amendments correct scrivener errors and align contract sections with the intended payment and term provisions. The committee did not adopt new separate appropriations beyond the amended exhibit attached to the ordinance on the record.