The U.S. District Court judge allowed appointments to be made to the new legislatively created utility authority but ordered that a president of the board could not be named and the authority could not enact any operational influence until the court allows.
U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate has partially blocked the formation of the Metro Jackson Water Authority created by lawmakers this past session to oversee the water and sewer operations of the City of Jackson and the surrounding areas once the court-appointed interim third party administrator’s time is up.
Wingate said in his injunction entered on Monday that the cities of Jackson, Byram and Ridgeland along with the Governor and Lt. Governor could name their appointments to the newly formed nine-member utility authority but cannot name a president of the board until the court allows.
In addition, the judge ordered that the authority “shall enact no regulatory measures, finalize no lease agreements, issue no bonds, and assume no managerial influence or deputy control over Jackson’s water and sewer systems unless and until this court explicitly alters this decree or determines to relinquish its ongoing authority over the systems.”
Wingate wrote in his order that he viewed the utility authority as “an unexecuted contingency,” noting that as of now, the authority does not interfere with the court ordered receivership dating back to 2022.
“The state law, in this court’s eye, simply stands as an unexecuted contingency—a structure waiting in the wings,” Wingate said.
The judge added that if the court decides to reject the authority as a viable successor to his appointed interim third party administrator and the established JXN Water, then the authority cannot assume control at the time of transition.
Wingate has given interim third party administrator Ted Henifin until October to present the court with a transition plan.
The City of Jackson is challenging the new utility authority, contending that as created it does not give the city a majority of representation on the board. Jackson’s injunction request in late April stated that the city needs more representation on the authority because it is the city that is responsible for the maintenance and operation of the system. The City noted that it is also liable for the estimated $130 million to $150 million in outstanding debts the system has incurred after years of poor maintenance and operations.
The board makeup of the new authority consists of three members appointed by the Mayor of Jackson, one appointed by the Mayor of Byram, one appointed by the Mayor of Ridgeland, one appointed by the Governor in consultation with the Mayor of Jackson, one appointed by the Lt. Governor, and two appointed by the Governor. All board members were to be appointed by May 1.
The cities of Jackson, Byram and Ridgeland announced their appointments to the authority, as did Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann (R). However, Governor Tate Reeves (R) declined to make his appointments noting the legal challenge before the court.
“The State will continue to work with the Court to ensure that when the receivership is terminated, control of the water system will be transferred to an entity that can best serve the residents, state offices and businesses of Jackson,” Reeves said.
The governor previously said he is confident that once the court has sufficient time to carefully consider the legislation and the state’s briefing, it will find the city’s procedurally improper legal challenges under both the Takings Clause and the Supremacy Clause to be meritless.
“In fact, I would expect the Court to find the public benefit corporation to be a mutually beneficial off-ramp to enable a smooth transition to happen at the appropriate time, as chosen by the Court,” Reeves said, adding, “I feel it is important to say that this new frivolous court filing by the City leadership to ignore the facts of the last four years just further solidifies my belief that the governance of the system can NEVER be returned to the pre- August 29, 2022 structure that led to the initial Emergency Declaration.”
-- Article credit to Frank Corder for the Magnolia Tribune --
