NATCHEZ — Residents could learn what companies are the final bidders on Natchez’s upcoming waste hauling contract at today’s board of aldermen meeting.

City aldermen are set to receive proposals for the contract at the 11 a.m. meeting in the City Council Chambers, but whether officials will actually open the proposals remains to be seen.

The latest twist in the drawn-out process had aldermen debating whether the city must require a performance bond, which would protect the city in terms of liability, but would also potentially mean a higher cost to residents.

A performance bond is something a company — in this case, a hauler — takes out to guarantee a municipality will not experience financial loss if the hauler does not provide services as promised.

This bond was not required in the previous contract with Waste Pro, but multiple waste company representatives said last week during a meeting with city officials that a performance bond is standard with contracts of this size.

If the city does open the proposals from companies today, they must proceed without a performance bond. Rather, if the aldermen decide they do want to require the bond, they could leave the proposals unopened, amend their request to include a performance bond and then ask companies to resubmit the proposals.

This move would require an extension of at least five working days, City Attorney Bob Latham said last week.

The city has until the end of May to award a new contract, which will affect more than 5,500 residential units within Natchez city limits.

Other items that will take place at the meeting include:

• A potential agreement with Schneider Electric to counsel the city in energy performance. In October 2018, a Schneider representative gave a presentation before aldermen about how the company could potentially save the city more than $2 million over the next two decades.
• Receiving bids for the sale of surplus firearms by the Natchez Police Department.
• Approval of contracts for termite control at both the old Broadway Street depot and City Hall.