JACKSON, Miss.—For nearly six years, James Hannah lived at the Chapel Ridge Apartments on Raymond Road. He is one of the thousands of renters who call Jackson home.
He enjoyed the experience overall and said things were going well until this summer, when a lapse in management and ownership at the complex left residents without garbage collection for weeks and under the threat of JXN Water shutting off their water access.
“We take care of where we live,” Hannah told the Mississippi Free Press in June. “We were wondering why they weren’t picking up the trash. … We didn’t know they weren’t paying the bill.”
When officials with the City of Jackson announced on June 8 that they were pursuing legal action against the out-of-state owner and working to find a new management company to oversee day-to-day operations at the complex, Hannah was hopeful that tenants there would see a resolution.
However, the City of Jackson declared the site a public nuisance. It became apparent to Hannah that it was now unsafe to remain at the complex, he told the Mississippi Free Press in a follow-up interview on July 29. Just days before, he vacated his apartment, leaving behind the community he’d built for the past few years.
He estimated that about 30 residents remained at the complex that a developer originally erected in 2005 to house 144 tenants.
Days after Hannah left, JXN Water announced plans to cut off water access at the complex.
Tenants Find New Housing Amid Water Shutoffs
The ownership issues at Chapel Ridge Apartments is one example of apartment management and ownership problems that have upended housing for Jackson renters in recent months.
Days ago, JXN Water shut off water access at the Blossom Apartments—another South Jackson complex, Mississippi Today reported on July 23. The agency says that the property owner, Tony Little, is more than $400,000 behind in water utility payments, adding that he had not made a water utility payment in over a year.
Little is disputing JXN Water’s claims, saying, in part, that the company miscalculated how much he owes.
The shutoff has left residents scrambling to relocate, left to deal with the fallout in the sweltering July heat.
A few of the tenants affected by the issues were voucher recipients receiving federally funded Section 8 Housing Choice assistance through Housing and Urban Development and the Jackson Housing Authority, Mayor John Horhn said during the Jackson City Council’s July 29 meeting at City Hall.
Jackson Housing Authority director Allison Cox told the Mississippi Free Press on July 29 that one resident at the Chapel Ridge Apartments and one resident at the Blossom Apartments were each receiving rental assistance through JHA’s program. “Anytime someone is living at a location with a voucher, the location has to meet housing standards. In this situation, they don’t have water. It’s pretty cut and dry,” Cox explained.
Both tenants reached out to JHA about the issues and were able to relocate, she said. But many residents still remain at both the Blossom Apartment complex and Chapel Ridge Apartments amid the water shutoffs.
‘Mathematically Impossible Bills’
Blossom Apartment owner Tony Little appeared in front of the Jackson City Council on July 29, where he disputed JXN Water’s calculation of the water bill. He blames the issues partly on a water leak underground and says the company’s measures for calculating water usage are faulty.
Little, who acquired the property in 2018, did not get to share his side of the issue with the council due to the time limit on comments from the public. He did, however, speak with a group of reporters gathered in the lobby of Jackson City Hall following the council meeting.
“It’s mathematically impossible,” Little, a resident of Monroe, Louisiana, said. “I’ve been receiving mathematically impossible bills ever since JXN Water took over. I did not have problems before JXN Water took over.”
Federal officials appointed Ted Henifin, a longtime water utility administrator, to lead the effort to rebuild Jackson’s water infrastructure in 2022. Since its inception, the agency has faced criticism from both business owners and homeowners alike challenging what they believed to be excessively high water bills. The company has asked customers for patience as they refine their processes and correct the errors.
But in the case of Blossom Apartments, JXN Water says the bill is due not to a calculation error but to Little’s failure to pay the bills.
Although Little says he made efforts to get the situation resolved, communications between himself and the water utility company about the past due bills fell through in the past couple of months, emails between the property owner and JXN Water show.
“Do I bear some responsibility, yes, but I proactively reached out to them,” Little told reporters on July 29. “I don’t have $408,000 to give him.”
In May, JXN Water Communications Specialist Aisha Carson said in a statement to the Mississippi Free Press that at least 10 multi-family units across the city were in jeopardy of losing access to water because of exorbitant bills.
“When landlords stop paying for water service at multi-family properties, it places both our system and the tenants in a deeply unfair situation. Residents—many of whom pay rent on time—are being exploited by absentee property owners who are profiting from the community while refusing to uphold their basic responsibilities,” Carson said.
“Our goal is always to avoid interrupting service to tenants who have no control over their landlord’s choices. However, when legal remedies stall and there is no good faith effort to resolve the debt, we’re left with no option but to prepare for service disconnection,” she continued. “We’re committed to doing everything we can to protect residents and preserve access to water, but we need accountability from property owners to make that possible.”
Tracking down and collecting on delinquent water bills is part of a concerted effort by JXN Water to raise funds to continue operating the city’s long-neglected water and sewer systems. U.S. District Court for the Southern District Judge Henry T. Wingate subpoenaed several parties, including the City of Jackson, allowing the City 30 days to produce records showing how it spent its near $90-million settlement with Siemens over faulty water billing.
The proposal by Ted Henifin, JXN Water’s federally appointed third-party administrator, to raise the utility rates to cover the costs of operations sparked outcry from both residents and elected officials who said that it was more than residents can bear.
For now, the increase is on hold, Wingate decided. But Henefin, who said the increase is necessary to “keep sewage off the streets and keep water available for everyone,” said on Tuesday that he is considering resigning from his position because he cannot afford to pay contractors without a rate increase.
But Carson told Mississippi Today on July 30 that although Henifin was frustrated with the judge’s ruling, he was not seriously considering stepping down.
JXN Water did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
Horhn Announces Apartment Task Force
In an effort to prevent similar issues at other apartment complexes in the future, the City of Jackson is creating a task force for better oversight of the City’s rental properties, Mayor John Horhn said at the July 29 Jackson City Council meeting.
That task force will consist of interested parties who were “looking out for the best interest of tenants,” the mayor told reporters following the meeting. The group will work in close coordination with legal, code enforcement and housing experts to review apartment management practices, evaluate compliance with state and federal laws and ensure effective responses to resident complaints, a July 29 City of Jackson press release stated.
The task force members will collaborate with partners like the One Cent Sales Tax Commission and JXN Water, the statement continued, adding that some priorities will include improving living conditions, working to prevent issues like water shutoffs, and establishing clear accountability for property owners and managers.
Ward 1 Jackson City Councilman Ashby Foote told the Council that he is particularly concerned about out-of-state property owners.
“They seem to lose interest in the quality of life that they have a big part in for our citizens. They’re just letting things go to pieces and not really providing the maintenance and oversight that they should,” he said.
Following the council meeting, Horhn told reporters that making sure that tenants are safe is the priority for the City of Jackson and that the City is not yet pursuing litigation against Blossom Apartments owner Tony Little.
“Now, the battle is really between the owner of this particular development and JXN Water,” the mayor said.
Blossom Apartments owner Tony Little did not respond to additional requests for comment on this story.