[StBernard] If City Doesn't Pay Up, SDT Might Scale Back

[Westley Annis]

Well, maybe little Sidney won't have to hold so much of that funky stuff on
Virtue St for his New Orleans operations.


Jim





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	NEW ORLEANS - SDT Waste and Debris might have to revise its services
in the
	French Quarter if the city doesn't pay what it agreed, company
president
	Sidney Torres IV said. According to Torres, the city of New Orleans
shorted
	him on his contract for French Quarter cleanup. 
	
	"I bid $8.8 million, and when the job was tasked to me, they paid me
$5
	million and they were going to put monies in the budget to make up
the
	difference to bring me back up to what I bid on, and it just wasn't
there,"
	Torres said. 
	
	The city added only $1 million to the 2008 contract, he said,
budgeting only
	$6 million for his $8.8 million contract. 
	
	"I'm going to have to re-evaluate some of the items I have in the
list and
	the level of services," Torres said. 
	
	He said he's willing to donate the $3.8 million he's out for 2007,
but he
	wants some guarantee he'll be paid what he bid for 2008. 
	
	City Council President Arnie Fielkow said that if the city owes SDT
money,
	it should pay. 
	
	"We're asking that our city attorney take a look at that issue, but
one
	thing I do know is this: We have to, as a city, honor our contracts,
and No.
	2, Mr. Torres has really done an excellent job," Fielkow said. 
	
	Meanwhile, Torres said cutting back on services doesn't mean the
trash won't
	be picked up, but something will have to go if the city doesn't
agree to pay
	the $8.8 million for 2008.