Jackson Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley issued the following statement.
Jackson City Council Vice-President and Public Works Committee Chair Vernon W. Hartley, Sr. announced today that he is seeking additional information and technical review regarding Jackson’s water and wastewater system before discussions move forward on any long-term governance transition.
The requests follow the enactment of the Metro Jackson Water Authority Act and focus on ratepayer impact, billing performance, customer service, revenue collection, infrastructure repair, and overall system readiness.
“This is not about opposing reform,” Hartley said. “Reform is necessary. But any discussion of transition must be grounded in facts, system readiness, and protection of the people who depend on this system every day.”
Hartley is requesting information and review from JXN Water, the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff, and the Mississippi Public Service Commission.
The Mississippi Public Utilities Staff represents broad public and ratepayer interests and provides investigative and advisory support in utility matters. In this context, the Staff may help evaluate billing integrity, customer service performance, ratepayer impact, financial sustainability, and whether the system appears ready for further transition discussions.
The Mississippi Public Service Commission’s public role includes ensuring that utility rates are just and reasonable, service is reasonably adequate, and utility facilities serve the public convenience and necessity. While the Commission’s jurisdiction may be limited under the Metro Jackson Water Authority Act, Hartley is seeking clarification on what review mechanisms, if any, may be available regarding ratepayer impact, customer class treatment, and system transparency.
Evaluation of this information will help the City Council and the administration make informed decisions as Jackson considers the future governance and long-term stability of its water and wastewater system.
Hartley said independent technical input from the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff and clarification from the Mississippi Public Service Commission would help ensure that future discussions are based on objective information, not assumptions.
“These are the right questions to ask before discussions move forward on any long-term transition,” Hartley said. “We need current data from JXN Water, technical review from Public Utilities Staff, and specific clarification from the Public Service Commission on what review mechanisms, if any, may be available.”
“Stabilization has to come first,” Hartley said. “Billing must work, customer service must work, revenue collection must be reliable, and infrastructure repair must continue. A new governance structure does not automatically fix those issues.”
Hartley noted that both the federal oversight process and the new state framework recognize the importance of system stability and financial sustainability before any long-term transition occurs.
“If billing is not fully resolved, then the system is not fully stabilized,” Hartley said. “Residents should not be asked to accept a long-term structure while the basic systems that affect them every month are still being corrected.”
Hartley emphasized that the requests are intended to promote transparency, ratepayer protection, and responsible decision-making as the City moves from general concern to specific questions about system readiness.
“The people of Jackson deserve a process that is careful, transparent, and based on measurable readiness,” Hartley said.
34 comments:
Why do Jackson politicians love that nonsense in 3s cadence? It’s always:
“The system must be rooted in equity, transitioned in fairness, and studied in the community’s interests”
Or
“The water must be transported with dignity, approached with diversity, and respected with integrity”
None of it ever makes sense or is relevant. It’s like when you’re trying to hit the word count on a high school essay.
So, JXN Water and Federal $$ have to get the system back running in good shape. Then Hartley wants the city to take it back? SMH!
First, whoever commissions the study will guide the results of the study. That's rule #1 of studies.
Second, whoever does the study will come out looking like a bandit, for publishing a study that was already pre-written. You have to pay extra for a study that includes no work by the firm hired to do the study. That's rule 1.1 of studies.
He wants to stick his nose in Jxn Water's job. Ted does the transition.
He acts like the city will make the decision about this system. He doesn't
mention the state and federal govt. They will be involved.
The city doesn't make the decision about the transtion. Ted does.
I'm sure they will whine to the court.
Water circling in the drain.
Next please.
Let’s keep it simple, if you use water, pay your bill! !
Budget for basic services before hair weaves and heavy eyelashes.
Ms. Public utilities staff has no authority to do anything. They
hollered about state interfering
with the court. What is this?
Here's an idea: The Jackson City Clowncil should hire Maxwell Smart (DBA Get Smart Expert Municipal Consultants) to get to the bottom of their problems managing and operating the water and sewer systems
It will only take some money and time.
It's all about the rates.
Sistah Rukia has been reincarnated in the form of this guy. Look for him to be an agitating, loud motormouth for as long as this little committee lasts.
Sistah Rukia has been telepathically transitioned and reincarnated into the body, soul and likeness of Brothah hartley.
These BOZOS refuse to acknowledge the fact that taxpayers across our country are forking over $650,000,000....read that again....to prop up a water system they ran into the ground, beginning in 1997. They are the most selfish, immature, dense group of elected officials possible. It really is simply unbelievable.
8:46 water system is not being propped
up. It's being fixed.
Besides the many obvious reasons Councilman Hartley's proposal is, for lack of a better word, stupid - it ignores the fact that he wants the MS Public Service Commission's input, all while ignoring the fact that the Commissioner for this area, who would control the input into their recommendation, was a member and was president of the Jackson City Council when they voted to implement a moritorium on water cutoffs for failure to pay - the basic fact that led to the collapse of the entire utility.
Commissioner Stamps voted multiple times to enact and renew the moritorium - all the while being given the financial impact of those votes. And now Hartley thinks we should take his advice on how to run this system?
8:46 here. Propped up if these mental midgets take it back over. Thank you.
>(...) Hartley is seeking clarification on what review mechanisms, if any, may be available regarding ratepayer impact, customer class treatment, and system transparency
...anything to dodge a payment
Coincilman Hartley probably knows an infinite bullshit loop when he sees one!
Cut a check back to the Feds for $600 million and you can study and have it right back.
If Harley really wants to improve the water system, he should be out connecting the straight pipers to the City's water meters.
It wont be too long before global warming shows up as evidence to the downfall of the water system. Jackson’s leadership is occupied by incompetent people put in place by ignorant voters who continue to support them. Until that changes the downward spiral will continue.
Mr Hartley, I truly have the utmost respect for you and appreciate the work you do for the City and for your being one of the few voices of reason on the Council. But I respectfully disagree with you here. You said:
“Stabilization has to come first,” Hartley said. “Billing must work, customer service must work, revenue collection must be reliable, and infrastructure repair must continue. A new governance structure does not automatically fix those issues.”
But respectfully, Mr Hartley, it was the City who failed to stabilize the system, the City who failed to have a working billing system, the City who had horrible customer service, the City who failed to collect enough revenue (due to continuously putting a mortatorium on cuts off and not requiring people to pay their bills), and the City who failed to repair the water infrastructure, all of which resulted in the system finally failing completely and depriving the citizens of Jackson of the basic service of running water.
I don't know if a new governing structure will fix all of those issues or not, maybe it will maybe it won't. But there is absolutely no question whatsoever that the past governing structure totally failed at every one of those jobs and failed at performing them repeatedly.
Let's remove "the City" from this analysis for a moment and consider a comparable question. Let's say a single person, we'll call him "Bob", was in charge of the entire water system, but Bob failed to have a working billing system, Bob refused to cut off those who failed to pay her bills resulting in Bob failing to generate enough revenue to maintain the system, so Bob failed to do any maintenance and the water system failed, depriving the citizens of water. Then the State and feds come in, fix all of Bob's failures, and get the system working again. Once everything gets running right again, do you then re-hire Bob and put him back in charge, the guy who not only allowed but caused the system to fail due to his incompetence ? Not a snowball's chance in Hell would anyone in their right mind do that. No, you go find someone else who hopefully can do it right.
Now substitute "the City" in place of "Bob".
I'm sorry, Mr Hartley. I don't blame you, the current Council, or Mayor Hornh for the water system failing. But the fact remains that "the City" has failed to maintain the system for decades and decades now. I don't know if the new governing structure will be any better or not, but the former governing structure clearly failed at the job, so I cannot agree with putting "Bob" back in charge again.
8:46 pm April 29 You must be very young or you'd know the water problems were obvious in 1979 when the floods came.
Also, you must not have learned yet of something called Yazoo Clay. It wreaks havoc on foundations and pipes of all kinds if you don't dig down deep enough. Keeping creeks clean and clear and protecting aquifers was not something Mississippi was doing even in the mid 1970's. Jackson did, but the flood damaged much of the system and repairs were hurried. The building codes here still are not stringent. When you looked at homes for sale, you often saw the gaps and cracks from movement. Ignorance is truly a dangerous thing and being deliberately ignorant in support of a political party is for FOOLS!
I do suppose you'd have to have been too young to drive long before 1979 or you'd know the streets were like a roller coaster ride because the either the cost to dig deeper was too great or it wasn't in the contract.
Culverts were so expensive that home builders in Madison County required the homeowner building a house to purchase culverts for their lots directly. And, surprise, surprise, one of the supervisors sold culverts. There were no water/sewer hook ups. The first subdivisions had septic tanks.
8:57 Some of the same people who sit on the city council today sat there when the system went down.
It also seems that the infrastructure issue got worse when the culture changes in west and south Jackson brought in destruction of the vegetation i.e. shrubbery and grass, that helped to stabilize the yazoo clay. Diesel fuel to kill snakes and grass around the house and certainly oil leaks in yards that became parking lots were contributing factors to much of the environmental issues.
9:53am: 8:57am here. Your statement is somewhat true, but not completely. Only Stokes has been on the Council for the past decades when the system wasn't being maintained and finally crashed. Foote was on the Council when the system crashed, but the damage was done long before he came onto the Council. The other members of the Council are all relatively new.
@9:53. Blaming it on Stokes will do!
1979? I was here. What are you smoking?
Who the hell would read that bullshit after seeing the opening statement, "I have the utmost respect for you (Mr. Hartley)". God Almighty!
... revenue collection must be reliable ...
For collection to be reliable, payment by all must be made reliably.
What Vernon is really saying is that he and cronies need kickback money from the study. I'm sure if Shad were to investigate the many studies "arranged" by COJ administrations, somewhere someone benefitted financially other than the residents of the city.
Lizards butterfly and birds and maybe rats .. foolish
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