4,100 JXN Water customers pay the same thing they did for water 40 years ago. Here’s what the Jackson City Council has to say

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) — Jackson leaders say it’s time for residents living more than a mile outside the city limits to pay their fair share for water.

On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved a resolution calling on JXN Water to file a rate case with the Mississippi Public Service Commission.

The resolution, which is non-binding, comes months after JXN Water’s request for a rate increase for customers in and within a mile of Jackson’s corporate limits was approved by a federal judge.

[READ: ‘Tragic Catch-22’: Federal judge grants JXN Water’s request to raise rates]

Those new rates, however, do not impact approximately 4,100 customers living more than a mile outside of the city, who are still paying the same rate that was set more than 40 years ago.

Under state law, JXN Water would have to obtain approval from the PSC before raising rates on those customers, and before that happens, the utility would have to file a rate case.

Ward One Councilman Ashby Foote authored the measure, saying the resolution was designed to “make sure the public knows there are a handful — 4,100 customers — who are paying a whole lot less than we are for basically the same water.”

“We’re challenged in our revenues, JXN Water is challenged in its revenues, and all this time, people have been enjoying the benefits of the water system outside of Jackson who have not been paying the onerous fees we’re paying,” he said. “Ted Henifin should have reached out for a rate case not long after he got started. I’m not sure if he realized that was the protocol.”

Henifin is the interim third-party manager appointed receiver over the city’s water system as part of a 2022 federal court order. As part of that order, Henifin was responsible for taking over billing and collections, including setting rates.

His company, JXN Water, assumed full control of the billing system in 2023, after it also took over Jackson’s sewer system.

Since taking over, Henifin has raised rates twice. The first was in early 2024, with the second coming in February of this year.

In March, Henifin told 3 On Your Side he would be filing a rate case with the PSC. However, as of May 21, no filings were available on the commission’s website.

[READ: JXN Water looking to PSC to raise rates on customers more than a mile outside city limits]

Henifin, meanwhile, could not be reached for comment.

The last time the city went to the PSC to seek a rate adjustment for customers more than a mile outside Jackson was in 1992 under former Mayor Kane Ditto.

The city later withdrew its request after the Public Utilities Staff issued its first request for data.

That request sought information on the water division’s finances, number of customers and future plans for expansion.

Officials with the city at the time say they could not recall why Jackson withdrew the request.

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