AUGUSTA, Ga (WJBF) – In a Special Called Meeting on Tuesday afternoon, Augusta Commissioners passed an extension to the current garbage contract. The current contract was set to expire at the end of this month, but Commissioners have not been able to reach a deal.
The extension has given the Commission 90 days to agree on the deal, however, was met with some opposition from some commissioners. While the extension grants the commission more time, it comes with a cost of $243,000 a month. Along with fees, the extension will cost the City of Augusta upwards of 1 million dollars by the end of the 90 days.
WJBF spoke to District 1 Commissioner Jordan Johnson who told us, “So essentially what happened today is that the city created a million-dollar deficit that we’re going to have to address eventually. So, in other words, we just spent money that we don’t have, all because politics wouldn’t allow a contract to be passed although it’s the contract that we asked the department to bring back. So now we’re going to have to deal with a deficit within the next 90 days.”