Henifin warned of garbage fees intercept in July
There is more than one way to skin a cat and in JXN Water's case, more than one way to collect on a bill.
JXN Water claims the city of Jackson owes $6.8 million in unpaid water bills. During the City Council's budget discussion Wednesday, Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote moved to set aside $3.7 million to pay towards the water bill. However, Jackson Chief Administrative Officer Pieter Teeuwissen cautioned against doing so (Start video at 55:00):
But I can tell you I got an email from Ted Henifin yesterday and apparently he got elected just like the seven of y'all and the mayor., so eight of y'all. He says he's not going to remit the garbage fees back to the city. He's just going to hold it to cover all of our water bills. So I would suggest you not pursue that amendment. Councilman Foot because he thinks he can offset water bills on his own.I don't know what that's going to do with the budget folks and paying the garbage contract. I will tell you we already had a preliminary discussion. I've not been able to have this with the mayor about decoupling our billing for sanitation from Mr. Hennean. I'm not comfortable with him unilaterally deciding over people who have run for office and been elected. Whether it's Mr. Pike or Mr. Henne, I understand I'm appointed and rest of these folks need to understand they were appointed whether it was by Judge Wingate or JRA board or whomever and that y'all and the mayor ran for office. So, I would suggest not approaching it that way. Looks like we're going to end up over there before Judge Wingate arguing about the proposed offset.
Mr. Teeuwissen said the primary source of the huge water bill is a major leak in the moat of the chimpanzee exhibit. He said the moat has a natural bottom that has eroded. As the moat has widened, the water evaporates faster as well. A fire hydrant is kept open just so the moat remains filled. The Chief Administrative Officer recommended moving:
the chimpanzees into the enclosure that is at the zoo and take them offline and turn off the fire hydrant. That's my intention, but I want to discuss it with the mayor and the council because the chimpanzees will be offline. They will be humanely cared for. They just won't be able to be seen with where their other facility is versus where you walk. We've got to do that so we can at least stop the water bills going forward.
There are two other leaks at the zoo. One is a pipe leak that we're looking at that ought to be a fairly minimal repair and then there is a leak in where the ducks are in a pond there as well. um talking with our zookeeper, walking around with the folks that are there, I think you could get a handle on the zoo for uh in terms of the leaks and the repairs and some structural improvements for somewhere between 400,000 and a million. A million being if you wanted to uh redo some of the uh exhibits, have a petting zoo, do some things to get attendance up.
JXN Water Receiver Ted Henifin warned the Horhn Administration the diversion would take place if the water bill was not paid in the July email posted below.
Mr. Henifin notified the Horhn administration he was diverting garbage collection fees to pay off the bill.
Ironically, then-Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba sued the Jackson Zoological Society in 2020 for a $6 million water bill related to the same leak.
76 comments:
Water isn't free! Gotta pay your bills, Jacktown!
The city was very lucky Pieter Teeuwissen was available to work for the administration.
A "large portion" of a $6.8mil water bill is from a zoo that hardly anyone goes to any longer, that loses money each year, yet they fight to keep open? Make it make sense.
It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad.
I loved what he said about the city not
getting an adjustment on the bill.
Looks like city ignored his email.
I bet judge makes him give it back.
If there was ever a reason to close the Zoo, THIS IS IT!
How much money does the city of Jackson spend annually sending the mayor and council men and women to “conventions” each year. Here is a novel idea, fix the water before paying for those senseless conventions.
I don't blame JXN Water one bit. And it's high time to move the zoo. It can still be west of I-55, move it downtown near the Planetarium and Convention Center. It would be small but much nicer than it is now and have Capitol Police. I'm sure the state will help. Move the zoo or at least shut it down. It's a massive liability.
This is how you know the Chocway’s had no idea how to run anything, instead of fixing the leak with plumbers, equipment and piping materials, they decided to try and fix it inside a courthouse. “Water Justice “.
Big budget imbroglio because nobody has the stones to close the f'ing red ink gulping zoo.
Ted Henifin is in a battle he can't win. I don't see him here much longer without steady funding and no interference from the city. With payables stacking up and no money, we're headed towards another cliff. Maybe Wingate can allow Henifin to go nucleur on collections. Or, if you really want it fixed, get Trump involved and get out of the way.
For the less educated/less intelligent among the elected officials: water is essential for human life. Everything else comes below that.
Nothing like allowing a wound to fester and fester until it explodes... Buncha incompetent do nothings.
10:17 what's so great about him?
11:00 city doesn't care
Read new article today Wlbt
Close zoo. Sell/ give animals. Bull doze zoo. We can’t afford it
@11:00 AM
Let them drink Daiquiris!
Isn’t that called “Theft”. Somebody needs to answer for this as soon as they return from the current out of town convention.
The years of cowardice regarding closing the zoo have already resulted in higher rates for every water customer. The zoo itself and all the problems surrounding the zoo is an indirect tax increase on all tax and rate paying Jacksonians.
Reply: Yes & i agree 100% Anon
"Close zoo. Sell/ give animals. Bull doze zoo. We can’t afford it"
September 16, 2025 at 11:19 AM
If I were JXN Water, if judge makes me give up the garbage fees and bill remain unpaid, I would left the bond payment default. If they want to play poker, be sure to know what cards you hold.
Maybe they should ask the Chimpazees what to do? Can’t be any worse than the decision makers we have now!!!!
"Dignity economy"
So Henefin gets a mad-on and leaves. There are replacements available like, say, Chokwe, who's out of work and has a major expense upcoming. Free the H2O.
Too expensive to bulldoze zoo. Shut the whole thing down, relocate animals humanely to other zoos, cut off the utilities and build an eight foot high hurricane fence with razor wire top around the whole thing, let it revert to nature.
@11:48, better yet, build the fence you suggested and put all the criminals inside to fend for themselves (the movie Escape from New York). Solve many problems, close down the Hinds County jail, no more zoo, and maybe the criminal element will be less likely to commit crimes.
City kicked the can down th
JXN Water could not have drawn a worse federal judge than Wingate. He’ll sit on his hands and do nothing until the entire water system crashes. Wingate denies every rational request that Henifin makes.
These mental giants don't know what they don't know.
Prediction: January 1, 2026 Henifin is out of here.
The state can't help?
@10:42, Why do some of y'all keep thinking there is an option to move the Zoo? Get it out of your "living outside of reality" brains that it is even an option. There are only 2 possibilities: 1. Continue with the status quo and keep those poor animals suffering 2. Shut it the hell down.
The "state" is the rest of us. No, I don't want a penny of my money to help Jackistan.
11:39, Threatening suicide to get your way isn't much of a play.
Tried that. Wingate thinks Bennie Tee has clout to get Feds to pay Jackson's clowns to keep making stupid decisions. Horhn wants "resources", not help.
10:32 JXN Water's outstanding financial debt that Henifin is referring to are vendors and private contractors who are maintaining the system. Once those entities are paid what's rightfully owed them it's hard to see how a court can claw that back.
The Governor and Legislature need to show some spine and pass the legislation that creates a entity that manages the water and sewer for Jackson managed by experienced professionals. I do not consider Ted an experienced professional in the water and sewer area.
The state CAN help. But there are 1200 water systems in Mississippi. Is the state going to help all of them? At some point you have to run the thing yourself, and run it properly. The state has neither the money nor the manpower to fix everybody's problem. You have to operate a water/sewer system as if there will be no bailout.
Why are any of us okay with this? Ted isn't God, wasn't elected, and is insulated from public scrutiny. Pitting two essential services against one another isn't helpful to anyone.
September 16, 2025 at 1:32 PM
In short Horn may be same show nicer suit.
Lessons are on Friday.
1:50 Ted has 40 yrs. of experience.
The new mayor of Jackson don’t want Trump’s help. They just want more money with no accountability. The new boss, same as the old boss.
Watching this was truly an education. There was no one, and I mean no one, featured that has any business trying to run anything. This joke of a city council is a direct result of uneducated people (the very few who vote) being allowed to vote. I feel sorry for the poor animals confined to the zoo - they have no choice, but any humans who continue to reside within the "city" of Jackson deserve everything that is happening to them.
Have to have a reliable billing and metering system in place for people to pay their bills. Isn't this part of JXN Water's responsibility?
Why are we just now hearing how much the Zoo and others owe the city?
To be fair we have a new mayor who like the public, may just now be getting all this information. Certainly, Henifin deserves credit for getting clean water to the citizens and businesses in Jackson; however he shouldn't he also be held accountable for the various related expenditures. Isn't he also tasked with getting the billing and metering systems working?
Experience doing what exactly?
There are multiple reputable, financially responsible, professionals that can come in and assure clean water and be ACCOUNTABLE.
Vendors that Henifin gave no-bid contracts to...
Be fair, Baby Chock kicked the can...
Someone, perhaps the State Auditor needs to look under this hood.
Would this be a bad thing...
"The Governor and Legislature need to show some spine and pass the legislation that creates a entity that manages the water and sewer for Jackson managed by experienced professionals." They won't. A bunch of weak cowards scared of getting labeled a racist.
3:47 there are already audits done.
What Ted is planning to do is known as the right of offset. It’s well established under common law. Go for it Ted!
September 16, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Disastrous if you're not being facetious.
The City Council voted down a water price increase. Can't they read? No. Can't they understand? No. Can't they run a city. Heck No!
Without the council’s support Ted can still increase prices with the court’s approval. Wingate is now the problem and appears to be unable to grasp that there is no other choice even if he recovers some Siemens settlement money.
Hopefully the tiered rate structure will be thoroughly examined also. It appears one apartment owner is trying to make that happen.
By an independent entity or the state or Feds? Or by some firm hired by Henifin?
The tiered rate structure is a major issue in a lawsuit between an apartment owner and JXN Water, so a review of it appears to be up to Wingate. The apartment owner should have an expert opinion as part of their argument I would think.
Close the zoo! This is beyond ridiculous.
Let's see, water for the monkeys or water for human beings...
Virtually everyone who could afford to leave Jackson, already have left. Virtually all businesses who could afford to leave have gone. A new hospital is being built in the city of Madison.
I thoroughly enjoyed Attorney Pieter Teuwwissen’s talk on the Jackson Zoo—he did an excellent job. I fully agree with his points, particularly his emphasis on the existing plan and his reminder that the zoo has already been carefully reviewed.
I’m grateful he is serving in this role with the city. The zoo is an essential community treasure that must remain open, and addressing the chimpanzee area leak is critical—this issue should have been resolved earlier to prevent such a costly water bill.
Attorney Teuwwissen’s clear perspective and steady leadership are exactly what we need at this moment. His work is outstanding, and we should all do our part to encourage, support, and provide him with the resources necessary for success.
I knew I couldn’t be the only one wondering where we found this “savior” and his overpaid staff.
That can’t come fast enough. He’s not a team player.
This mayor has known about this leak
and not fixed it. Ask him when he's gonna pay the water bill.
Water bill is nearly paid up after Henifin intercepted the garbage collection fees. Now the city has to come up with a few million dollars to pay Richard's Disposal. The fire hydrant is supposedly being turned off tomorrow.
KF city was gonna go to the judge. Do
you think he'll make Ted give it back?
They want to take back collecting the
garbage fees.
Ted said in his email that he wasn't
going to give city a rate adjustment
cause they'd known about the leak.
I agree with him.
@8:10 am. Thank you Pieter for checking in, or at least his fluffer. The zoo is grossly mismanaged and a massive financial burden on the city. It is in an unsafe area and generates little revenue relative to its cost to operate. Anyone that thinks the zoo should remain open is delusional and not capable of rational thought.
I am asking a question. Are the animals in the zoo well cared for? I ask, simply because very few other areas of the city are well cared for. If not, please consider transferring them to a zoo that can handle them humanely.
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