Jackson Jambalaya

Maybe Wingate can find a solution using AI.

Well, we got to enjoy dependable water for a short while.

Thank you, Judge. We need more answers on Siemens and more collection efforts from JXN Water before they raise our rates. Let him resign!

"Wingate said he was not surprised by Henifin’s announcement but said he couldn’t see making a decision “that’s going to cause citizens to experience some financial dismay because of where we are.”


That ship has done sailed unless Uncle Sugar steps in to fix this. Which does not seem very likely.

Either the system gets additional funding or it is a lost cause.

We need to email Ted to not resign. Ted@jxnwater.com

Please understand that the rate increase Ted is seeking is only worth about $7M per year. He has got to bill everyone and collect from everyone!!!

Not the Judge's fault!!!

We need to come out in support of him staying.

Walk away Ted. You don't need this shit. Let them fall flat on their faces.

Beyond making sure the attorneys were paid according to the terms of their contracts, what authority does Wingate have over how the attorneys spent the money they received?

I hate to know how it will be if he's not here. Even if Ted got the settlement money it would not be enough

I didn't vote for Wingate.

The water system failing again will cause more dismay than a higher bill. If Wingate doesn't understand that rates are going higher regardless of what he finds on the Siemens money then he doesn't need to be the one making these decisions.

At least those Detroit sharks got rich. Right? Eat cake.

Don't leave us, Ted!!!!!!!!!

If he quits Rukia can replace him. She checks off all of the boxes. Right?

They need to make an attempt to bill everyone and collect. They still have billing issues and their customer service is not great. They are already sticking it to commercial buildings by saying we charge you a flat fee of 325 bucks just because you have a 2 inch water line. We have a building we don't use very much at the church. We used 14 bucks of acutal water and we still owed 339 dollars.

Wingate just gave all those apartment owners with past due balances the green light to blow off Henifin.

Let him go! Amazing how great he was when he had money to operate and correct the system. Now that the money has dried up and the billing system still has not been fixed. Now he wants to raise rates. The issues at OB Curtis still exist with the same equipment and water operators losing the system. Unfortunately it is not posted to ensure Ted is in control. Nope, not buying it! A water/sewer board does need establishing to ensure proper maintenance and operations. We also need better financial management. Carla Dazet and Jordan Hillman are not financial managers. Yes, I have insight to what is really going on, and people need to wake up. Retired Class A water Operator

If Ted bails Reeves needs to call an immediate special session and have the state take over the system once and for all. Anyone who thinks that Horhn can pull this mess out of the fire doesn't have a clue.

Better stock up on bottled water.

Wingate is gonna Wingate.

KF the state couldn't help him?

Wingate buckles under pressure. Game over.

Can imagine the chaos if Jackson also ran their own electric utility?

If everyone paid their water bills, maybe they would not have to raise rates. Let the judge figure it out, federal judges think they were elected to run everything anyway.

Why not hire accounting class 101 at hinds community college to investigate. I am pretty sure they would be more effective than the current “auditors?”.

The State Legislature needs to get its crap together and get a plan in place for running the Jackson water system instead of continuing to kick the can down the road each session...

Man Wingate was doing so well backing up Heflin, od we start saving water for when Ted leaves

You know what is funny? It was never cake. Marie Antoinette actually said but Americans were so ignorant for so long that it had to be translated to “cake” to make a point. Of course, in 2025 we can now get brioche at Starbucks and Whole Foods. But that was two centuries and a half centuries of pitiful, embarrassing ignorance.

Exactly! It was fun while it lasted. No one in their right mind will take the job if Henifin resigns, and anyone who does take the job, will likely not be qualified.

And you didn't vote for Henifin. So what's your point?

Jxn water - time of death - today

Now WLBT has a story that the zoo owes jxn water 6.4 million dollars in water bills. John Horne may quit because it's too much to handle

That water gonna have a wang to it going forward.

The judge decided in favor of the victims. You know, the ones who straight-piped years ago or who have refused to pay their water bills, including apartment complex owners. The victims are the primary reason the COJ water system is not self- sustaining, unlike nearly every other municipal water system in the state.

Bingo 2:29
We know what happened to the Siemens money! The question is what happened to JXN Waters money!! Why they are still below the collection rate and people are still using free water!!
Wingate knows what he’s doing, he doesn’t want to stick it to Ted straight.

I thought KF detailed how the Siemens settlement money was spent a few years ago. A big chunk went to repay loans from the City's general fund to keep the water flowing (sort of) and the bonds paid. Very little left over for operations.

Wingate is trying to connect Jackson to water under the bridge.
Hennifin doesn't want his reputation tarnished by a bankrupted water system. It's doubtful Jackson could get bonded for municipal spending of that magnitude without the water system being ruled by a regional board. Hennifin is the best way forward, if he can be kept.

Hold on everyone! Most of you were cheering the Judge when he requested all the financial information related to the settlement. It's not his fault that the Receiver can't simply raise the collection rate - again. And it's not his fault that the system would be underfunded with 100% of the ALREADY INCREASED RATES. This is a critical stage and I suspect that Ted is finding a less sympathetic EPA than a year ago... Make no mistake, the COJ needs BOTH Judge Wingate AND Ted Henifin - they are going to disagree at times. But you don't need to be a civil engineer or CPA to understand that the water system has excess capacity because the current population is 2/3's or less than what it was designed to serve. Raise the rates? Bullsh!t! I am already paying a water tax every month for two meters whether I use one drop or not. And if I consume more than some arbitrary amount per month I then pay DOUBLE the rate for the same water. The price of water is not infinite. Establish an Authority, restructure the debt, issue new bonds, go lick the boot of the new EPA Commissioner - I don't care. This is the hardest part of the job - not fixing pumps and chasing down leaks. Forget the long-gone $90M and figure out how to access the $450M still available. And turn off water meters for non-payment...

Nothing good ever lasts long in Jackson.

Wingate is being very crabby after being caught using AI.

Not to worry because in another 10 or 20 years this will be water under the bridge.

Henefin has already raised rates through the 'water meter fee' that he has applied. I am paying almost $300 per month in his Marxist 'distribution' fees.

Don’t see how po’ folks can pay higher water bills. It will be commercial & middle/upper income folks that will have to carry the burden. And the 50% renters in Jackson can expect higher monthly rents.

They will just have to drink something else besides water. Thanks judge!

It takes more to operate the water system. It's the largest in the state. The billing was in such bad shape when he took over that it takes time to straight it out. He has to rebuild this system back

May be that a new administrator who doesn’t have a socialist itch would be good to have

So when Heffin quits, everyone on JxnWater will be without water?

“I can’t do it. I just could not face the public, increasing the water rate when we have all these questions about Siemens,” he said.

Face the public? The judge has a lifetime appointment. What are we going to do when we do not have running water? Raise the rates. I know some people in Jackson are poor, but I can afford another $20/month on my water bill.

I dont understand the billing problem. I wish he would just come out and say what the problem is. Not the not-paying problem, the billing problem.

And I'm so sorry for that flat fee on your building. Thats just nuts.

Henifin buying a one-way ticket to Boston in 3, 2, 1...

Note to self: Buy stock in bottled water companies.

These people are already living of of the (?) taxpayers while providing no viable services. If they are not paying electric bills, water bills, trash pick up bills,

Wingate is in over his head. There’s no time to wait on raising rates. If he actually finds money that gets returned then adjust rates lower except that any amount returned is small compared to what is needed. Concerning Ted, things should be in better shape at this point, especially the billing system and collections. He appears to be another typical overpaid appointee.

Tate needs to get aggressive here.

The $600 million is not been spent only $150 million

It's just math. Too bad they don't teach it to lawyers and judges. Perhaps they should have spent all that money on operators, repair/maintenance, utilities and other real costs of running the system instead of giving it to the lawyers, who never fixed anything in the system.

Calling Governor Reeves.

Jxn water has been cutting people off .

Idiot, he's a Federal Judge that was appointed by Reagan.

I've respected Judge Wingate's Rulings in the past & probably still do. He's using Henifin for leverage to pressure Jackson to provide his requested Information. The problem I see with that is Jackson (can't or won't ) provide legitimate Information based on incompetent Individuals Hired to do a Job? I think Jackson truly want control of the Water & SEWER RETURNED TO THE CITY BUT-BUT BUT the City can't Fund it either----

Why don't we email Ted and ask him not to resign. There is nobody else qualified to run the water system.

Well I have heard it ALL!
What a little punck-ass B!t(h

That is what happens in the real world when a person does not pay their bills.

It doesn't take that long to shut off the water to people who are not paying their water bills. He should have done that first thing.

Don’t ever forget that most of this is Lumumba’s fault. Trying to buy votes with free services, and tanking the system and plants in hopes of getting federal dollars to skim created this nightmare. Yes, the incompetent mayors before him deserve some of the blame too.

I think people are forgetting that the rates aren't being set with a blank slate. Not only water the water system broken, but it was carrying massive debt that has to be serviced.

@3:29pm…why do you think this issue should be resolved by th legislature?? The city of Jackson made their own damn bed over a many many year period on this issue!! The dumb a$$es didn’t even collect water bills for many yrs when folks wouldn’t pay!! All the city is wanting to happen is for the state or Uncle Trump to bail them out.

@2:56 PM, +100,000

Henifin isn't from Boston.

I think people forget about the debt that has to be paid. The city could have used settlement money to pay the debt.

This is crazy. We are talking about an average increase of a water bill by $9.

7:40. “nobody else qualified to run the water system”. Are you serious??? If you had been given $150M you would have the system in just as good a shape as Ted! And maybe you would have collected more revenue!!! Ted is not the guru many thought. He admitted 2 years ago that he was a sewer man not water! And obviously he’s not much of a boss or collections would be higher!!! That was second priority after getting plants running 24/7.

Few people want the State to bail them out. The legislature was poised to enact legislation to give control of the water and sewer systems to a managing entity once JXN Water relinquishes control, since it is clear that the city is not capable. The legislation did not get passed. I don’t think there was even a vote. Too many folks were screaming racism.

Seems like the answer to where the seimans money went would be in the 2020 audit.

Didn't Chokeway forgive all the people who were months in arrears?

"That is what happens in the real world when a person does not pay their bills."

And when Jackson can finally exit the third world and enter the "real world," things just might be different. Until then, it's all up in the air. From the cheap seats, it looks like Wingate and Henifin simply do not have as much room to run as might benefit the (shitty) situation and neither are at fault or to blame for that _shitty_ situation. The voters get - and got - precisely that for which they cast their vote. Or fail(ed) to.

Good. Then we were right. Jackson cannot survive unless it is put into some sort of government oversight just like Stokes suggested.

The billing system had to be rebuilt when Ted got here. It takes time to get it completely fixed.

All the money Jxn water got from Congress has not been spent. There is still $450 million left that can only be used for capital projects. It can't be used for day to day operations.

JXN - Just Xpect No water

Shout out to all the fine folks who helped make Jackson what it is today!

Things could have been different without all your hard work.

I'm quite surprised that Mr. Henifin has stayed in Jackson, the poop hole of the south, this long.

3:39 Isn't that kinda par for the course in Jackson?