The Marion Board of Aldermen on Tuesday voted to authorize an emergency contract extension with Waste Management to continue garbage service while the town works through the bid process.

Mayor Larry Gill said the emergency contract would run through February, which would give the town time to bid out a new garbage contract.

“Because the bid process didn’t start early enough, we need more time,” he said. “Basically, we’re adding five months to our existing contract to get out the request for bids.”

Garbage service is a significant expense for Marion, with costs exceeding $100,000 per year, Gill said. The current contract with Waste Management expired under the previous administration, he said, and had been extended several times.

Gill said the board wanted to make sure it was following procedures for contract bidding and that residents were getting the best service for the lowest cost. Putting out for bids, he said, was the right way to do that.

“We’re just trying to clean it up. We want to make sure we’re bidding it out the right way,” he said. “We’re actually doing the taxpayers a good service by making sure we’re getting the lowest bid and the greatest service. We’re not necessarily going to do with the lowest bid, but we make sure the citizens are getting the service and they’re getting the bang for their buck.”

In Tuesday’s meeting Gill told the board of aldermen there was still some work to do finalizing the language for the bid proposal before it could be advertised. He said the request to advertise could be ready for the board to consider in it’s October 19 meeting.

In other solid waste business, the board appointed Tyler Walton to the Lauderdale County Solid Waste Citizen Advisory Committee.

The Citizen Advisory Committee is made up of two members from Lauderdale County, two from Meridian and one from Marion. The group will work with the Solid Waste Steering Committee and the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors to help shape the county’s approach as it works to implement a solid waste plan.

Gill said Walton would be representing the Marion on the committee and making sure Marion has a voice in the county’s plans.

In other business, the Marion Board of Aldermen:

•Appointed Tammy Young as Vice Mayor;

•Approved advertising for qualifications for an engineer to work on projects using American Rescue Plan money and other COVID-19 funds; and,

•Approved allowing the town clerk to set up online payment methods.