As many residents fume while their garbage sits uncollected for two weeks, one city employee lashed out at the Mayor and Board of Aldermen Monday.
Cortez Kyles took issue with the city’s failure to replacing aging equipment.
“I’m out here busting my ass every day with these garbage trucks and nobody wants to spend no money,” Kyles said.
Kyles singled out Ward 4 Aubry Brent Jr. during his commentary.
“Your garbage didn’t get dumped today Mr. Brent,” Kyles said. “You know why?”
“I don’t,” Brent responded.
“It wasn’t to the street. You get no special privileges. You’re not handicap, you’re not disabled, none of that. You might be mad. You feel how you want to feel, what are going to do, are you gonna fire me?”
Kyles said the Mayor and Board of Aldermen have known that the city’s existing equipment is inadequate, but nothing has been done to solve the problem.
“We have asked y’all for equipment, and y’all ain’t got it,” Kyles said. “You’ve got money in the budget to spend it and won’t spend it. Now you want to contract the job out so these guys won’t have no jobs. Man, you ain’t talking about nothing. I’m a team player, and I ride with my team. Do whatever you want to do. You can be mad Mr. Brent, I don’t care. (Expletive) your garbage.”
Brent later said that he had no idea why Kyles singled him out, and that Kyles’ claim that Brent expects his garbage to be collected without him bringing it to the curb is ridiculous.
“My garbage is always in the same place at the end of my driveway every Monday and every Thursday,” Brent said. “My wife makes sure I put it out there. It’s obvious that this young man had it in for an alderman and didn’t want to get my garbage.”
Breakdowns have recently led to the city only having one garbage truck in operation, which has greatly slowed collection times. Many residents say their garbage hasn’t been picked up in two weeks. The Yazoo Herald has heard from numerous frustrated residents this week.
The board held a special meeting prior to Monday’s regular meeting to discuss options to improve services.
No official action was taken during the special meeting, but the city will consider using emergency services from a contractor to collect the garbage until a decision is made about whether to replace existing equipment or hire a private contractor to collect the city’s garbage.
