Jackson's water/sewer system will remain on the Lumumba plantation for yet another year after the House killed SB #2628 yesterday. The bill would create a new public utility district that would in turn purchase Jackson's water/sewer system from the city.
Section 2(a) states the Act will
a) Provide the Mississippi Capitol Region Utility Authority the option to purchase the existing water and wastewater assets from the City of Jackson at fair market value as determined by the court, provided all existing system debts have been retired or paid. Upon completion of the purchase of assets, the water and wastewater assets shall be transferred to the utility authority's ownership, management and control to ensure all citizens have access to safe, clean and reliable water and wastewater systems at affordable, just and reasonable regulated rates, and to provide an adequate amount of capital to keep such systems in good repair;Jackson's credit rating will improve as hundreds of millions of water/sewer debt are cleansed from the books and the city will undoubtedly get a rather handsome infusion of much, very much-needed cash.
The highlights of the bill are:
*Dubbed the Mississippi Capitol Region Utility Act, the bill minces no words nor spares the feelings of Jackson's Mayor as it calls JXN Water Manager Ted Henifin "the Receiver" and says the federal court placed Jackson's water/sewer system under "receivership."
* The bill creates a Mississippi Capitol Region Utility Authority that will operate Jackson's water/sewer system when the Court terminates the receivership.
* All federal funds will be spent ONLY in the service areas. Some demagogues (You know who they are) will spin this is an excuse for the legislature to steal the federal relief and spend it elsewhere in the state as they did last year. Absolutely not true and those who say it are lying. Period.
* The Chief Justice shall select the appropriate chancery or circuit court if the authority's creation is challenged.
* The Authority can issue revenue bonds.
* Transparency. The Authority and its Board of Directors are subject to the Public Records and Open Meetings Acts. Annual audited financial statements must be published.
* Competitive bidding must be used to award contracts.
* The Authority only has oversight for sewer service in Ridgeland and water service in Byram.
48 comments:
When will some adults be in charge?
Did Chowke promise to grease some House member palms?
But remember, they are " the adults in the room". Need to call calf rope and all go home. What an embarrasment to our state.
It is not the job of the state to run the city’s water system. It is the job of the state to discipline the city officials for the obvious graft and corruption going on in the state of Mississippi.
It’s JACKSON’S water system. Let them run it or destroy it, it’s THEIR water system!
This was a damn good bill. It's a shame it didn't pass. I think I will e-mail those committee chairs and ask.
We will look up in 2040 and the Jackson water and sewer system will be in shambles once again because of the pettiness of these clowns. Rest assured, Lumumba will get rid of Jacobs as soon as Henifin rolls out of town.
Dear legislators,
You make me sick. You couldn't wipe up water off the floor with a truck load of paper towels. You could not be more worthless. And Mr. Speaker, you know where you can go. You are all now as talented as the esteemed Mayor of Jackson. Congrats.
And if you're interested in who chairs those 2 committees:
Public Utilities
Brent Powell, Chairman; Jonathan Ray Lancaster, Vice-Chairman
Accountability, Efficiency, & Transparency.
Kevin Ford, Chairman; Daryl Porter, Vice-Chairman
A HUGE thank you to Senator Parker for trying to actually conduct business.
"It is not the job of the state to run the city’s water system. It is the job of the state to discipline the city officials for the obvious graft and corruption going on in the state of Mississippi."
The State won't be running the city's water system. Like most other water and sewer systems in the State, a the bill would set up a Regional water authority that will be managing it. Can't you read simple English?
“We always felt we had a better chance of killing it in the House. Fortunately, they came through in killing it,” Horhn said, thanking House Speaker Jason White for his leadership
Does Legislature rules forbid bringing either bills back to life under different names? Must they be resubmitted in a different legislative year?
The members of the Legislature throw temper tantrums, yet they think that the citizens of Mississippi are too stupid to know what is best for us, and therefore we cannot have the initiative process back! Amazing! Absolutely amazing! Send them all home! Every. Single. One.
They quit filming Hee Haw decades ago, but you can still get your entertainment watching the legislators.
Cry more, losers.
Why is Senator Horhn so against the water system being managed by a competent regional authority? He has always struck me as being reasonable, yet isn't when concerned with this measure?
Politicians are cancer. "Public servants" are a thing of the past.
Can someone name one damn thing John Horhn has accomplished while serving as a State Senator? Just one.
"The word on the street is the House is killing Senate bills after the Senate killed HB #1590, the PERS bill, yesterday."
Gonna need some proof on this.
It looks like the propaganda film worked. Imagine how few of the hayseed politicians would even know the film existed had KF not posted it in one of the half dozen news sources they read?
Attn 1:30 PM John Horhn showed his worth when he got that DUI in Jackson and asked the cop if he knew who he was several years ago. That didn’t work out as planned.
this legislative session is without a doubt, the worst in years. They have done nothing of merit, passed crap, and dodged important issues.
But they have gone on Gallo and patted themselves on the back on how good they are.
“ Why is Senator Horhn so against the water system being managed by a competent regional authority? He has always struck me as being reasonable, yet isn't when concerned with this measure?”
Name one competent agency ran by the state.
Going to take my ball and go home--
The entire legislature and hundreds of staff members pissing away taxpayer dollars one day at a time-
But they will ALWAYS have SLURP.
What the hell good is a GOP supermajority in both houses if important legislation can’t be enacted because of petty tantrums and turf battles? Y’all keep trying to convince the people that a solid GOP is going to get us out of the muck resulting from decades of bad Democratic one party leadership but from my view there’s no evidence that there are any grownups on either side.
Apparently the Rukia crime family greased the right legislative palms.
John Horhn knows what's going on with the Lumumbas - he sees it for what it is. He hates them and they hate him, but he always sides with "his people" and the worst elements in city government in order to protect his political viability. He's the worst kind of hypocrite. And a bloated, arrogant, self-regarding lay-about who's never done a worthwhile thing his entire legislative career.
"Name one competent agency ran by the state."
Can you read simple English? The State would not be running the water and sewer system. The bill would mandate that a regional water authority be set up to manage the system.
Kingfish is beginning to remind me of Chokwe (the younger's) little pissant gripes and comments.
"Name one competent agency ran by the state."
Is it too difficult to understand the state would NOT be running this authority?
If you're looking for proof this water authority thing works, you must not be looking too hard?
"What the hell good is a GOP supermajority in both houses if important legislation can’t be enacted because of petty tantrums and turf battles? Y’all keep trying to convince the people that a solid GOP is going to get us out of the muck resulting from decades of bad Democratic one party leadership but from my view there’s no evidence that there are any grownups on either side."
That's because these people aren't really conservatives. They're just Democrats who changed their affiliation when the tide shifted.
And my latest water bill for my office in JXN has a new line item
billing " water availability charges" @ $40 from 02/13 thru 03/15
My typical bill was $24, for 2 half bathroom
Mississippi does in fact have a 3-party political structure.
1. RINOs
2. Dems
3. Repubs (titular affiliation)
Like you are remotely any judge of competency Melvin.
I’m glad Jackson didn’t get money for the water system from the State.
They would have just stole the money.
Have they shown any interest in helping themselves?
We need an update on cash collections and delinquencies on the bills.
1:25 - I'll take a stab at this one:
Horhn has stated interest in running for mayor of the City of Jackson. There's the highest probability that if he does, he'll whip Lumumba's ass in the polls and win. If/when he does, he'll be wanting the water system back under his purview of control when the Feds are done.
Joke could be on everyone though, as the feds could establish an authority to handle the water system after the fact because they didn't drop nearly a billion dollars just to put it back into the hands of the idiots that brought about it's failure in the first place.
Republican legislators campaign as Republicans but govern as Democrats.
@1:30 pm, I read once somewhere that Willie Morris told John Hohrne, “You must run for governor. John, you MUST run.”
Is that accomplishment enough?
"Name one competent agency 'ran' by the state".
'Run' that past me again, my ears feel raped.
Irregular verb: run, ran, run.
It is safe to say there will never be a Mississippi edition of "Profiles in Courage."
What business does the Legislature have getting involved in the running of Jackson's water system? All you people in Jackson should be asking why it's so difficult for your city leaders to do what so many other towns and cities do in running their own water systems.
The Utility Authority Act will pass next year well before the system comes out of the receivership a couple of years down the road.
All idiots for not passing this bill as a group would regulate! COJ still expects taxpayers to cough up $$ when mayor can’t run the city!
Whew! Grifters still have their honey pot. That was a close one.
"What business does the Legislature have getting involved in the running of Jackson's water system? All you people in Jackson should be asking why it's so difficult for your city leaders to do what so many other towns and cities do in running their own water systems."
1. Jackson is the state Capital.
2. It isn't the norm for cities to manage the water and sewer system.
People, calm down, breathe, and stop over-reacting to clickbait ledes and political maneuvering. No one with a working brain thinks that the negligent, incompetent, dumbass mayor could ever run the water system. Nor is anyone with a scintilla of integrity and common sense in favor of turning the system back over to a cabal of ignorant grifters. All Antar and Rukia have going for them is their Grifter Dog & Pony Show. They will take it any where, any time. Oh, I almost forgot, Antar has one more thing going for him — a motherlode of resilience when it comes to public humiliation. Most folks on the receiving end of being publicly called out as an on-the-take, incompetent fool would tuck tail, crawl under a rock, or at the very least show their shame and embarrassment. and shamed into going straight. The only times you will see him look like an uncomfortable misfit is
when he is on camera in the presence of some of the very public figures, many much more powerful than he, who don’t even pretend to hide their disgust. It is unmistakably palpable.
Here is a good idea. Give back the water dept. back to the mayor. The Pearl River will thank you. It will soon be a clear running river. The people in Jackson soon will have no running water but that will mean they cannot flush their toilets in the Pearl River. The people living between Jackson and the coast will send you their thanks.
Our legislators are so humiliating.
I don't particularly care what happens to Jackson water, but this has entire session has been more useless than normal.
I guess the lords are no longer even attempting to placate us peasants with the facade of real work. Can't say I blame them because they know they will be reelected over and over no matter what.
No offense, but have you seen the roster in the House of Representatives. Looks like the biggest bunch of bootlickers in the world. I mean this bunch of knuckle-draggers are not competent enough to run a whore house. I mean look at some of the characters in the group. What the hell do you expect?
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