PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Providence city leaders avoided almost not having a waste management provider next month, after a lengthy debate ended in city councilors approving a new five-year contract on Thursday.

The Providence City Council approved a five-year, $57.6 million contract with Waste Management of Rhode Island in a 10-4-1 vote at their Thursday night meeting. (The current contract is set to expire in a few weeks, on June 30.)

Last week, the proposed contract was also discussed at length by the council's Finance Committee.

Councilors agreed they did not want to recommend approval of the contract outright last week, but said they didn't want to continue the discussion to the next finance meeting since the matter was time sensitive. City leaders ultimately referred the contract

See Full Page