JACKSON, Miss.—The City of Jackson is attempting to halt a new water authority from taking over its water and sewer system. A new law that Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed earlier this month, the Metro Jackson Water Act, leaves the City without majority control of the new water board’s appointees.
Jackson officials filed a motion in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, seeking an injunction against the law. After the 2022 Jackson water crisis, the federal court took jurisdiction over the water system, appointing a federal receiver to oversee it; in court on Monday, the City of Jackson argued that the new water authority directly interferes with the federal court’s jurisdiction over the issue and the instructions it already issued on the matter.
“Whatever its intent may have been, the law attempts to usurp the authority of this Court to manage the system today, to develop a transition plan for the future of the system, and to govern the system after that transition,” the City of Jackson said in its Monday court filing.
The court’s previous orders instructed the city and the state to either draft a consent decree or litigate the conflict to its conclusion, Jackson’s lawsuit filing says. The city also filed a motion requesting a status conference with the court.
The city also noted its opposition to not having majority control of its own water and sewage system, which it described as “the City’s single largest asset” in the filing.
“Jackson should not be asked to carry the greatest risk without having the authority to govern the assets it owns,” Mayor John Horhn said in a Monday press release. “We own the asset, and we remain responsible for the debt if the system cannot sustain itself. The City should be able to control and manage its own assets, and any future structure must reflect that responsibility.”
The city’s filing also questioned the Mississippi legislature’s motivations for passing the Metro Jackson Water Act, echoing concerns from council members about Jackson’s water system becoming the only state-regulated water system in Mississippi.
If Jackson’s request for an injunction isn’t granted, the City of Jackson will appoint just three members to the nine-person Jackson Metro Water Board, despite Jackson residents producing approximately 89% of the water system’s revenue.
The City of Jackson’s ability to draft the terms of the water facilities’ lease agreement is the board’s greatest strength in Jackson’s struggle to regain control of its water system, the councilmembers on the public-works board decided.
City Weighs Strengths Under New Regulations
While the City of Jackson’s budget is facing major cuts, some city officials emphasized focusing on ensuring the terms of the lease serve the community rather than evening out the City’s budgeting issues.
“You shouldn’t think that (the lease) has to just be an absolute number,” City of Jackson Attorney Drew Martin said in response to council members’ questions in the April 22 public works meeting. “There’s other ways to get to something.”
Council members discussed some of their priorities for the non-monetary lease terms in the meeting, noting that many residents are still struggling with the water system under federal control and that infrastructure repairs are still needed.
“We have to have something like that to ensure we’re not going to be getting rid of people in the City of Jackson, only for folks with the ability to pay higher rates to move back in,” City Council Vice President Vernon Hartley said in the meeting. “We have to maintain our history, our heritage. We have to protect our citizens—especially our underserved, most vulnerable communities.”
Reeves: ‘This City (Does) Not Need Majority Control’
Gov. Reeves spoke to reporters at a press conference on Tuesday, April 21, telling them that Jackson doesn’t need control of its water system. The state’s white leaders have often clashed with the majority-Black city’s leaders over state efforts to wrest control of the capital city’s infrastructure.
“This City has proven they do not need majority control,” Reeves said. “In 2022, when I had to sign an emergency declaration to take over the water system from the city, I think it was proof—not only to the people of the state, but proof to the people of the city of Jackson—that they were not capable of running the system at that time.”
Jackson council members pushed back against Reeves’ claim that the city does not need majority control of its water system at the public works meeting the following day, noting that much of the city’s administration is newly populated. Former Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba, who ran the city during the 2022 Jackson water crisis, lost his primary reelection bid to the current mayor, John Horhn, last year.
“It’s new people on the council … so (Reeves) has to give the new people chance enough to show that we are capable—because I know I am,” Ward 6 council member Lashia Brown-Thomas said in the Wednesday meeting.
Reeves noted that although much of the city’s administration is new, the Mississippi Legislature already passed the Metro Jackson Water Authority Act.
“To be fair, we have a new mayor, we have new members of the city council who I think are focused on doing the right things, but this water authority that (was) created by the Legislature … there is going to be input from all parties to run this particular system and ensure that clean, safe, affordable water is provided to the citizens of Jackson because they deserve that,” Reeves said.
The Republican governor and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann will appoint two members to the Jackson Metro Water Board each, and the cities of Byram and Ridgeland will appoint one member each.
Mayor John Horhn and Reeves will collaborate to appoint the ninth member of the board. Horhn intends to recommend business management firm MINACT Inc. CEO Augustus Leon Collins, a retired major general, the mayor’s team said in the press release Saturday.
Horhn will also serve as a 10th, non-voting member of the board if federal courts don’t issue an injunction against the law
Appointing the Board
Jackson Mayor John Horhn announced his proposed appointments to the Metro Jackson Water Authority on April 25, including Mississippi Small Business Development Center Business Counselor Shirley R. Tucker; Clearwater Group Managing Partner Austin Barbour; and President and Adonai Environmental Development and Power CEO Daniel L. Walker. Tucker and Barbour are both Jackson residents, the mayor’s office said in Saturday’s press release.
“Today’s appointments are an important step in ensuring Jackson is represented by committed leaders who understand the responsibility before us and are prepared to work for the long-term success of our water system,” Horhn said.
Byram appointed wastewater treatment engineer Tramone Smith, a Byram resident and Jackson State University alumnus.
Ridgeland, which receives only sewer services within the Jackson water system, appointed Jackson resident Paul Forster as its Metro Jackson Water Authority board member at their city council meeting on Tuesday, April 21. Forster is Ridgeland’s city engineer, and he previously served as director of engineering and utilities for the City of Flowood, a Ridgeland press release said.
Reeves said he will be making his appointments “sometime soon,” at the press conference on Tuesday, April 21.
Hosemann made his first appointment on Monday, naming Jackson resident and businessman Sandy Carter.
The Metro Jackson Water Board will form when a majority of members are appointed, at which time members will vote on a board president within 30 days, according to the law, but the Jackson water system remains under the jurisdiction of U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate.
Transition timelines between federal control and the proposed Metro Jackson Water Board would be at Wingate’s discretion, Martin said.
