Holloway laments “”bad day”” for Biloxi

Mayor A.J. Holloway said that he will work to ensure that Biloxi residents continue to receive quality water and sewer service at affordable rates, despite a decision by a majority of the City Council today to reject a proposal to have ECO Resources continue to manage the city’s water and sewer department.

“This is a bad day for Biloxi,” Holloway said after the City Council meeting, where the Council voted 4-3 against the proposed three-year contract that would have kept ECO working for the city. “Essentially, four members of the City Council, without giving a reason, fired a company whose management of the system gave city residents and business owners one of the highest-rated water and sewer systems in the state – and provided that service to our customers at some of the lowest prices around.

“I’m afraid that these four councilmembers voted against this contract because of personal incidents where they felt ECO did not meet their expectations. That’s unfortunate. You have to look at the big picture.”

An extension of the city’s current contract with ECO is scheduled to end on Tuesday, April 1. Holloway had sent a memorandum to the City Council Wednesday pointing out the benefits of the proposed new contract.

“I’m going to quickly evaluate the options available to us now,” Holloway said. “My goal is to avoid any water and sewer rate increase – or any drop in the quality of service – as a result of the decision that members of the council made today.”