JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — One of Jacksonville’s primary trash haulers is now threatening to sue the city over how much it gets paid.
Trash hauler Meridian Waste said Jacksonville has 27 days to decide to give them the pay increase they were promised by the city council or go to court.
RELATED: Meridian Waste threatens to pursue ‘legal avenues’ in trash dispute with City of Jacksonville
Action News Jax obtained the letter hand-delivered to Mayor Donna Deegan’s office. It accuses the mayor of putting politics over timely trash service.
This is the latest development in a story Action News Jax has covered for months now. The city council voted to give Meridian Waste a 29% contract boost, which would be $4 million a year over three years.
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The mayor wanted a smaller increase and vetoed it. After the council overturned that veto, she said they didn’t have that power and refused to give Meridian Waste the money.
RELATED: Mayor Donna Deegan vetoes Meridian Waste contract
Meridian’s letter said her decision was not about garbage collection but about political bickering that “touched a political nerve.”
It said Deegan’s decision violates their contract and puts trash service at risk for 80,000 families in Arlington and the Northside.
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On This Week in the 904, Jacksonville City Councilman Kevin Carrico told Action News Jax he believed a lawsuit would hurt the city.
“I don’t think this is going to end well,” said Carrico. “I think Meridian Waste is going to win, and I think it’s going to cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars”.
The mayor’s office said it is currently reviewing the letter that was just received, so it declined to comment at this time.
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