When Ted Henifin was put in charge of the city of Jackson’s water, there were expressions of joy all around. As a matter of fact, there was so much confidence in him and the resources that he brought with him from the federal government. That is until he was given authority over the sewage system as well by Federal Judge Henry Wingate.

There was praise for the move because it pumped in money to fix the system – money which the city did not have and which the state was not willing to provide. There was, however, one piece of advice offered, which was not heeded, but which would have provided the city with a bit more control of or access to revenue flowing into the city treasury. Councilman Kenneth Stokes had urged the city to separate the garbage collection fee from the water and sewage fees. Without that change, the plan for fixing the water and sewage systems proceeded under administrator Ted Henifin.

That was then; this is now, and what a difference a year makes. Criticisms and concerns have mushroomed over time. The latest concern came in the form of testimony at last week’s city council meeting. At that session, Mrs. Calandra Davis testified that a security guard working for JXN Water at the Summit Building off Fortification Street pulled a gun on her family for trying to get into the facility to get their water turned on. That was a serious incident and points to one of our concerns. 

It was a grave problem to have had the weapon pulled on them, but points to still another problem that was almost obscured. That problem is that Henifin apparently has not wanted Jackson residents to come to the location in question. Its very existence has been known by a small amount of people. Customers have had to conduct their business at non-JXN Water pay outlets, by telephone, the internet, or by mail.

Prior to the ugly and dangerous situation between the security guard and the Davis family, there were concerns that JXN Water had its headquarters in Pearl, MS, which is in another county. Early in his tenure as the so-called Third-Party Manager of JXN Water, the writer went to the Jackson Municipal offices downtown looking for Henifin, only to be told by a staff person that they had no idea where his office was located. From that encounter, he learned, as had others, that there was a communication problem on the part of the JXN Water administration. We were not able to gain access to him as a customer, citizen, or reporter. Such inaccessibility remains a concern.

Still another concern that has been recently registered has to do with inadequate infrastructural repairs. There has been a failure of persons contracted by Henifin to restore the streets to the proper conditions after repairs have been completed. This is the concern that prompted Jackson’s mayor to complain in a recent letter to Henifin.

As the mayor was expressing that concern, several other citizens raised a concern about a fee that is now being added to their water/sewage/garbage bills. What is called a water availability fee, amounting to $40 or more per month, has been added to the bills of most households. It appears that the fee, according to the JXN Water webpage, is referred to as a “monthly metered use rate.” The point is that this unexplained charge adds on to the other mounting concerns regarding the administration of JXN Water. The water availability fee is also one that is expensive, increasing the bill of each household by more than 30%. In this case, the citizen/customer does not know if he/she is paying forever for a meter, if he/she is paying to have guaranteed access to clean water – which should already be the case based on his/her regular bill and the Department of Health and Environmental Protection Agency standards. The concern is protruding and has not been adequately addressed.

None of these are minor concerns that can or should be left unanswered. Henifin is in the seat as the administrator, making them his business. He has been quoted as indicating that he would like to remain in the position until his appointment expires in 2027. Long before that time, the customers need the answers. 

Meanwhile, he has also been quoted as indicating it will be at least 20 years before all of the pipes in the city’s system are replaced. If that turns out to be the case, the question then becomes, “will the federal government make another appointment and send more dollars, or will the state then takeover the systems?” The questions will not be allowed to fall through the cracks nor to fall on deaf ears. As a matter of fact, the matter must go beyond this writer and his generation. Our descendants need to know that there will no longer need to be concerns about something as basic as true access to clean and safe water because our contemporaries will have