JACKSON, Miss.—Jackson residents could find out Thursday whether they’ll be paying more for water bills. A federal judge is set to make a decision about whether to allow JXN Water to raise utility rates again in Mississippi’s capital city.
U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate called a Nov. 5 emergency court hearing after the City of Jackson’s water utility company released its Sept. 30 quarterly report outlining Interim Third-Party Manager Ted Henifin’s intent to implement a 12% rate increase.
That report projects the agency would notify customers of the change by Nov. 15, with the rate increase going into effect no later than Dec. 15. But that depends on what the judge decides, JXN Water Communications Specialist Aisha Carson told the Mississippi Free Press.
The increase will amount to about $9 to $11 more per month for the average customer. That amount would, of course, be higher for commercial customers like those managing multi-family units, she explained.
‘There’s Costs To Everything We Do’
The Nov. 5 hearing at the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse was the latest in a series of court proceedings related to ongoing federal oversight of efforts to rehabilitate the capital city’s water and sewer infrastructure. The discussion largely focused on three issues: how the agency justified the need for a 12% increase; how Jackson’s renters are affected when water is disconnected at apartment complexes with overdue water bills; and on Ted Henifin’s previous proposal to offer discounted rates to water customers who are also SNAP recipients.
Henifin said during the hearing that the rate increase is necessary to cover the cost of continued operations and for the agency to pay off the City’s previously accumulated water and sewer debt.
“I wish we could find ways to live without rate increases, but my duty is to make sure the system is financially viable,” Henifin told the court.
Since April, he has faced criticism from some local officials who say another rate increase is too much for the capital city’s residents to bear. Members of the Jackson City Council suggested that the manager could increase the agency’s collection rate for customers with overdue bills. The Jackson City Council passed a resolution last month calling on federal authorities to place the water system back under local control.
The agency’s average collection rate has increased to 80% since it began ramping up service disconnections at the start of this year, Aisha Carson told the Mississippi Free Press. That’s an increase from the 56% collection rate Henifin reported in 2023. But even if the agency was collecting payments on 100% of the bills, that revenue still would not cover operating expenses, she told reporters after the Nov. 5 hearing.
Lori Sherman, an attorney with the social justice advocacy group Forward Justice, asked the court whether the third-party manager considered decreasing the agency’s operating expenses budget to allow for a smaller rate increase.
“It is as thin of a budget as we think we can operate under,” Henifin replied. “We don’t have excess things we can identify. There’s costs to everything we do.”
Sherman also questioned whether the agency could determine rates based on income, which Henifin said would violate state law.
Earlier this year, Henifiin proposed offering automatic discounts to all individual water customers who also receive federal support through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP benefits.
Wingate issued an order calling for state and federal agencies to provide data showing who receives SNAP assistance. But state and federal officials appealed the proposal, and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately blocked the agency from accessing that data.
The judge commended Henifin on Nov. 5 for his effort to create systemic discounts for SNAP recipients, saying he thought the proposal was an equitable way to provide relief for some low-income residents.
“I don’t think the ink was dry before it was appealed,” the judge said. “What we were trying to do was help people … . Only good was to come out of it.”
To date, Henifin told the court, “a little over 600” customers had voluntarily self-identified as eligible SNAP recipients and now get a discount on their bill. He said the agency continues to accept customers into that program who can provide proof that they receive SNAP benefits.
Next Court Hearing Is Nov. 13
As the clock neared 3 p.m. on Nov. 5, Judge Henry T. Wingate decided he needed to review additional documents before passing judgment on the impending water rate increase.
Jackson Mayor John Horhn, who spoke with state lawmakers on Oct. 23 about the City’s need for help securing long-term financial viability for the water system, attended the Nov. 5 hearing. The mayor told reporters standing outside the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse that he believes that those who receive water and do not pay should have their service disconnected, but said the agency should have an adequate appeals process.
Horhn told lawmakers on Oct. 23 that he does not currently support a rate increase and instead proposed using diversions from the Capital City Improvement District’s infrastructure fund or raising the 1% sales tax for the next 10 years to make JXN Water whole.
Ted Henifin did not speak with reporters following the hearing, but JXN Water lead communications specialist Aisha Carson said Wednesday that rate increases are necessary because the City of Jackson failed to do so in past years.
“Our current rates are not enough to sustain the system long term. This rate increase is not about penalizing people who are already paying,” Carson said.
“It’s about making sure the system is financially sustainable,” she continued. “In the past, that has not been the case. The rates have not matched up with what it takes to run the water system.”
All parties will reconvene for the next hearing on Nov. 13 at 9:30a.m. at the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse.
