Senate passes bill that could limit how Jackson meters and charges residents for water use

A bill that would mandate how cities calculate water bills, which critics say is targeted at the water system in the City of Jackson and would likely tie the hands of its federally appointed administrator, passed the Mississippi Senate on Thursday.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Joel Carter, R-Gulfport, denied that the bill is specifically targeted at the capital city, saying it is only one of the municipalities that would be impacted.

"We keep on hearing Jackson, Jackson, Jackson," Carter said. "I have a $100 million problem in my district because the rates were not set correctly, so we can sit here and say Jackson all we want. What I'm trying to do is make billing rates fair, make sure that they maintain their systems, and they are charging enough to make sure that they're incurring future costs. It's very simple. All municipalities."

If Senate Bill 2338 were to become law, municipal utilities would be required to bill residents for their water based exclusively on volume used, as monitored by an accurate metering system. Jackson has struggled to accurately bill rate payers and was in the process of overhauling its metering system when third-party administrator Ted Henifin took the reins of the system.