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When the press asked the Mayor about that, he said that he doesn't think that his administration has enough time to properly review and consider all the implications of such a contract. So, the Mayor is leaving that one to his successor. Here's how he explained it:

Alindy Marisol Amaya - KREM News
"I think it's the Waste Control contract that was expired will be renegotiated until..."

Darrell Bradley - Mayor, Belize City Council
"It actually is being renegotiated because their lawyer has written me."

Alindy Marisol Amaya
"You had said you'd wait until the next council, leave it for the next council."

Darrell Bradley
"Well, I mean, if they write me a letter, I still have to respond. So that, it's not something that we have concluded. I think that - I mean again - I only have weeks left. So that, that's not something that we have concluded, and even at this present moment, the council is meeting. But, a lot of my councillors are doing political work. They're on the street. They're campaigning, so it's kind of difficult to bring together the council. So, that won't be extended, renewed, finalized or whatever, and I suspect that the new mayor will have to deal with that in coming - because I think that it would be unfair. We can't really have proper negotiations at this time They've been exchanges of communications. We've had some degree of consensus on some of the issues, and areas of concern. But, that's going to be something that the new mayor will deal with."

Alindy Marisol Amaya
"So, the company has pushed negotiations? Or they have no problem in waiting?"

Darrell Bradley
"No, they've pushed negotiations because of course, they want the certainty of having that in place. But, again, I think when we deal with these sanitation contract, we successfully went through a transition from BML to the point where we are appropriating the service. The staff is very satisfied. They're very welcomed in our council fold, in terms of our employment, and we've not had any increased financial problems as a result of us doubling our staff. But, in relation to the impact of a new contract, or a termination of the existing contract, I think that that is something that will take focused attention, and a council properly constituted and looking at that as a main issue, will have to deal with that. I only have 3 more weeks."

But the reality is that Mayor Bradley and Belize Waste Control have had a very adversarial relationship over his 6 years in office. You'll remember that several times, Waste Control sued him and the council over hundreds of thousands of dollars in arrears and back pay that they were owed. They even pushed for a committal warrant to get him jailed over this issue. Bradley is on public record criticizing the nature of that Waste Control contract, suggesting that it was very unfavorable to the Belize City Council. So, there's no love lost between the two sides.

While we were questioning the mayor on what he would do if he had time to properly consider the issue, he said flat out, that he'll leave that headache for the Mayor who will take over after him. Here's how that back and forth went:

Darrell Bradley - Mayor, Belize City Council
"Well, it's - one of the things I've said is that it has to be something that's analyzed. I believe in a private supplier of garbage, whether or not - and I think the mistake is that when you talk about privatization, it has to work with competition. And, I think that those persons who drafted that contract originally gave these people a 10-year contract. They gave them exclusivity. So that, they didn't allow the City Council to properly control how we regulated, how we negotiated the price and so forth, and it's kind fo hamstrung. It is actually - and I think that this would lead to some degree of conflict and litigation, but there is a provision in that contract, the waste control contract, which talks about there being an option to renew, that the contractor can exercise an option a 10-year interval. All of those things give me headaches. So, I don't wanna look at that anymore, and I will leave that for the new mayor deal with because I have had to - I mean. I was in court for committal proceedings. We've battled with them over the full 6 years since I have been mayor. And that one of the things that I'm happy to set down, and I'm happy to say, let somebody else deal with that headache."

We're are told the contract with Waste Control ended last month.