By Alex Rozier
Jackson lawmakers are discussing the future of the city’s water system among other focuses for the next legislative session, but it’s unclear what they might propose, if anything, to counter recent attempts at a state takeover.
State legislators told Mississippi Today late last month that there wasn’t a plan to tackle the water system’s future, but were planning to meet with Jackson officials this month.
In late 2022, as part of a consent decree, federal judge Henry Wingate put the power over Jackson’s water system – and later its wastewater system, too – in the hands of third-party manager Ted Henifin, whose company JXN Water serves as the city’s utility.
How long JXN Water sticks around is largely up to Wingate’s discretion. As Henifin has described, Wingate wants him to stay until the city can sustain itself without the federal support it’s receiving. The order over the wastewater system puts JXN Water in charge until 2027.
“The water order is over when Judge Wingate issues a final order,” Henifin told Mississippi Today over email. “I committed to stay until the end of the sewer order with the goal of getting the water system in a place where the judge can issue a final order for both in 2027.”
In each of the last two sessions, Sen. David Parker, R-Olive Branch, introduced bills to give state leaders a majority of control over the water system once the federal oversight ends. The proposal would also have forced Jackson to sell the assets. Both bills died in the House, and Parker told Mississippi Today he wasn’t sure if he’ll tackle the issue again in 2025.
Henifin supported the 2024 proposal, saying previously he didn’t think the city should manage the system. He has, though, said Jackson should keep ownership of the assets. One of Wingate’s duties for Henifin is to recommend a future governance plan for the city, and the manager appears to favor a new utility authority that would include surrounding areas like Ridgeland and Byram. He also recommended keeping the system under judicial oversight until federal funds run out, estimated to be in 2028.
Jackson lawmakers who talked to Mississippi Today were noncommittal about introducing a bill on the issue this next session, with some saying it was too early to make such a decision.
“I certainly don’t have any plans to change the course of things at this time,” said Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, who recently announced his entry into the city’s mayoral election next year. “I think we’ve got to wait for (Henifin) to do his work.”
He said JXN Water has already addressed the system’s management for the foreseeable future; the utility recently extended its agreement with contractor Jacobs to manage the day-to-day operations of the city’s water plants for the next 10 years.
When asked about trying to counter another proposal from Parker or others looking to give the state control, Horhn emphasized that there’s only so much Jackson lawmakers can do.
“Whether the Jackson delegation weighs in or not, we don’t have the votes to stop anything that folks are determined to try to pass,” he said.
Sen. Walter Michel, R-Ridgeland, whose district includes Jackson, agreed that it was too early to take up the issue.
“I get the feeling they’ve got a long way to go,” Michel said, explaining that the system still needs significant repairs. “I don’t think it’s anywhere near ready to be turned over to anybody from what I read.”
Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, didn’t comment on what he thinks should happen with the system after Henifin leaves. He said the discussion needs to include Jackson officials, reiterating an argument from the previous session that Parker didn’t discuss his bill with city representatives before introducing it. During last session’s Senate hearings, Parker argued that Jackson lawmakers never came to him to discuss the proposal.
Rep. Zakiya Summers, D-Jackson, said she supports whatever direction city leadership sees for the water system. She called it “disheartening” that the state, after years of limited support for Jackson’s water system, now wants to get involved after the federal government has committed hundreds of millions of dollars in support.
“We don’t get the help in the time we need it, but now we have this big brother situation where (the state says), ‘Now that y’all have got it fixed, this is what we think you should do,’” Summers said.
In October, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba proposed putting the water system under a two-board structure: a five-member management board, in charge of hiring a CEO to run the system, and a 15-member advisory committee, which would vote on members of the management board.
Horhn, who is slated to run against Lumumba in next year’s mayoral election, said he hadn’t yet seen the mayor’s proposal and couldn’t comment.
Although it’s unclear how the board members would be appointed, Parker said he didn’t think the city should have total control over that process. The north Mississippi lawmaker added that while others called it too early to address the system’s future governance, he believes it’s better to do it now before the issue loses attention.
“The water is doing better, and I hear less people talking about it,” Parker said. “Sometimes when a problem gets addressed, people forget what caused the problem and then you end up having history repeat itself, and I hope we don’t see that with Jackson water.”
This article originally appeared in Mississippi Today on December 11th, 2024
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