Jackson Jambalaya

Chokwe still will continue to speak on news to look like he is involved. I’ve heard they want him no where near the water.

Do NOT drink that water! If you do, you have a death wish.

Is this where I can contest my bill and metering? Can I pay my bill there? Is the site useful for anything more than glorifying the diversity of the new leaders?

That is hopeful, which is weird. Haven’t had much to be hopeful about in regards to city ops

Looks like our new 'third party administrator' has figured out how to implement his radical social equity billing system - hire a cell phone center manager to run the billing office so that it will implode further.

Instead of hiring someone that can understand and manage the new software, keep up the concept that the billing office requires nothing more than bank tellers from the 80's to operate. Result will be that the billing office doesn't improve and he can claim that the only solution is to get away from billing based on useage (what everybody else in the country does) and charge based on one's financial status - using property taxes as the basis for what is charged for water.

Great way to backdoor into implementing another phase of this administration's social equity infrastructure program. NE Jackson, get ready to be f****ked again.

Hey Ted... How about proving your phone number and email??
Forget the drones you are al hyped up about- just answer the damn phone and the citizens will tell you where the water leaks are!

Time and results will tell if these three are competent. In the meantime, Ted's ridiculous solution to the meter read/billing debacles and the other two's "resumes" don't provide any expectations for successful outcomes.

“Clean water is a basic human right”
Is that in the Constitution, Bill of Rights or the Bible?

“Same as the old boss”…R Daltry.

A 40 year sewer expert. A planner. A cellphone salesman. I feel so much better now!!!

@7:47
Clean water is a basic human right is that belief of a life long government employee that always has there checks and never understands how they get their money. Sad this country expects free stuff

Soon everything a so-called middle class family can afford will be declared a "basic human right". This means the government will have to provide everything because that is the only way to guarantee these things to everybody. In the meantime we just print money until we run out.

“A cellphone salesman.”

Well, at one point he was a corporate trainer in his job title with Verizon but was really a HR recruiter judging by the description of duties on his resume. From his resume on the JXN water website:

”Prior to joining Verizon's Operations team, Abdul-Tawwab served as a corporate trainer with Verizon, where he Led and directed the full-cycle hiring process from cradle to grave, preparing job postings, screening incoming resumes, conducting phone screens and formal interviews, and preparing to offer letters.“

So, maybe he is going to pull some magic and help recruit water plant employees the City could never manage to hire?

Hold up, is this website under construction? Try giving them some of that feedback they ask for. That’s right, you can’t. There are no send options. Looks like we’re off to a dandy start.

"Chief Experience Officer". Now there's a job title straight out of the blue. At least he adds diversity.

"...hire a cell phone center manager to run the billing office so that it will implode further".

He wasn't a center manager. He posted notices, received and read resumes, forwarded them to hiring authorities and, when a hiring decision was made, he typed up the offer letter.

He's hired here for one reason and one reason only - To serve as a firewall.

New smoke and mirrors...same as old smoke and mirrors.

Laughable assemblage from the erstwhile heavy hitter Ted who, at this point, appears to be getting paid $400k simply to expose how completely naked the Emperor was and is. Those are Ted's boots for the plan and spend of $600 million? ROFLMAO

A cell phone is a basic human right, too.

Oh yes, the sight of these three "leaders" fills me with awe and unbridled excitement for Jackson's future. /s

All sarcasm aside, the one hope this actually gives me is that perhaps this is the start of the water (and eventually sewer) system being permanently peeled away from direct control by City Hall and placed in the hands of competent professionals as a separate and independent utility.

Tariq is the “Chief Experience Officer”. (What is that, even?) And Jordan is the Chief Operating Officer. So what is Ted? Chief Chiefing Officer?

Maybe they can beg BarrelHouse to reopen..."We promise we're really going to fix the water issues this time"

Would all the critics please share specifically their plan ( within available funds) improve locating leaks, find experienced
hires, and re-named positions ( which to me seems not worthy of the time alloted as it's easily changed with a better one later).
At least be honest with yourselves. There is nothing anyone that is not a GOP loyalist can do to please you other than fold.
You all are doing your best to "run off" the best option we have.
Just shut up with your "pie in the sky" expectations of quick,cheap fixes!
You expect a rotten house to be renovated in a week or a month? Or are you so blind you want failure in hopes of furthering you political agendas? Which is it? What it isn't is reasonable or realistic!

@9:54 AM - Rukia, thanks for checking in.

9:54, I suggest you collect money from all water users.

I then suggest you use those funds to maintain the system and hire based on MERIT not skin tone so that it will continue to supply water to aforementioned PAYING customers.

I wont even charge you for this analysis since this plan is what works for every other municipality in the state and it should have also been your first plan to fix your mess.

"He's hired here for one reason and one reason only - To serve as a firewall."

Oh, is he a friend of the Mayor?

"You expect a rotten house to be renovated in a week or a month?"

No, but I expect improvements to be made in the 5+ years Chokwe has been Mayor and for him not to make the situation worse by choking off the revenue when he decide to stop collecting the water bills.

Tariq is the “Chief Experience Officer”

So, basically, they gave him that title so he could tell everyone he's the CEO. You can bet your ass that's what he's doing!

The "CEO's" 'resume' is not a resume; it's more like a cover letter. What a joke.

Were these jobs posted for applicants to submit applications?
Ted hasn’t been here long enough to do many interviews I wouldn’t think

The phrasing, chief whatever officer, will help explain the high salary these people will be paid.

@9:54 It appears that the poster @11:00 gave you a very simplified, but effective, solution. It is actually as simple as he shows. Bill the customer, collect the revenue, use that money to maintain the system. Hire people based upon qualifications, work ethic, skill, etc. Fire the ones that are incompetent, lazy, or won't show up.

The one thing @9:54 has to understand is that this isn't about charity, equal rights, race, or gender. Water systems aren't some type of social experiment. It should be operated like a business. It's not that hard.

On the other hand, kudos to Jackson for letting everything fall apart, calling everyone a racist, then getting a big handout from Uncle Sugar. They got their reparations 1000 times over.

"On the other hand, kudos to Jackson for letting everything fall apart, calling everyone a racist, then getting a big handout from Uncle Sugar. They got their reparations 1000 times over."

When he stopped collecting the water bills or hiring for the water plant, I had wondered if the destruction was intentional?

People like 9:54 hope people like 2:17 wont speak up with those pesky facts.

Liberals appeal to emotions and bury the lack of maintenance or fee collections.

And the MSM loves it.

There will be a day when the Grasshoppers out number the Ants and it will be ugly.

Uglier than current Jackson, and that is saying something.

New "no show jobs," same as old "no show jobs."

Y’all sound like backwater hicks. Call centers are vital to any large companies profitability. Who TF do think “customer service” is when pay on your Bass Pro account. SMH.

Laughable
Embarrassing
Ridiculous

You can't make this crap up! Same sh!t,different day. What do you expect? It's Jackson!!

At least one of the new managers is qualified to landscape the new multi-million dollar water plant/s.

Poster 11:00 give the perfect recipe how a civilized and organized city should act.

I want to comment on the Democrat bashing here. Totally justified on the city level. But please add the Republicans on the federal level. The Republicans’ attempt to slash the IRS funding to help rich people cheat on their taxes is exactly the same as the Democrats giving out free water… cheats left and right!

8:06 "A cell phone is a basic human right, too."

You bet! You can never again say you know anybody who doesn't have a cell phone. You don't even have to know them.

Every person, on every corner and in every line, anywhere/everywhere has a dang smartie phone. The average 'working' family has to pay $$$ every month but the unemployed, the destitute, the low-income/no-income, the illegal who 3 minutes ago crossed our border all get them... for $0.00. How has this happened?

6:11 I gotta respectfully disagree. The GOP wants to defund the hiring of all those new IRS agents, because recent history shows they should. The dems have determined that they have a better chance of making political foes more compliant if they hit them in the wallet. They simply want the agents (armed, I might add) there to provide another source of harassment for the non-believers. The proof is out there.

Chief Experience Officer is a new fancy way to say Customer Service Manager. They need a staffed call center so people can call in and report leaks and help answering billing questions.