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- Jackson Mayor John Horhn appeared before the Senate Select Committee on Capital City Revitalization this week looking to partner with the state.
During the Senate Select Committee on Capital City Revitalization this week, Jackson Mayor John Horhn and legislators agreed that local and state governments should work together to revive the capital city.
State Senator Walter Michel (R) said legislators have the same desire as the residents of Jackson.
“We want tourists to come to Jackson. We want people to live in downtown Jackson,” he said.
Jackson, which has a population of about 144,000, has been plagued by crime, infrastructure issues, and blight.
Horhn testified that Jackson is somewhat hindered by being the home of state government buildings, churches, and institutions of higher learning, as those buildings are tax-exempt.
Michel and other senators on the committee agreed to consider further assistance in the upcoming session. However, the committee suggested that Jackson focus on a few issues before coming to lawmakers. Michel said it is important for Horhn to “whittle [the request] down to a few issues that he thinks we can help him with in the upcoming session.”
Nearly 15 years ago, State Senator David Blount (D) recommended that state offices near Jackson move into the city, as rents are cheaper, but the suggestion fell on deaf ears. Blount, who is also on the select committee, said it might be time to revisit the issue.
“The idea is very simple. It’s a win-win proposition to move state agencies that are paying high rents into Jackson to pay less rent,” he said.
Blount added that it saves taxpayers money and brings people to downtown Jackson, helping in its revitalization efforts. The help achieve this, the Senate passed SB 2291, authored by Blount, to designate the Department of Finance and Administration as the central leasing agent for all state agencies. The measure died in the House. Blount hopes to revisit the legislation next session.
Mayor Horhn said there is some hope in revitalizing downtown, which is often empty on weekends. A New Jersey real estate developer has purchased several buildings in the downtown area, the Art Deco portion of the old Deposit Guarantee Bank building, Regent’s Plaza, the 9-story Pinnacle building and the garage.
The mayor also gave an update on Jackson’s water situation. He told the committee that JXN Water is operating in the red. The utility has used all $150 million it received from the federal government for operating and maintenance. It is currently asking Mississippi’s congressional delegation to support a bill transferring $54 million from the system’s capital fund to its operational funds to cover day-to-day expenses.
A large group of customers are still not paying their water bills, Horhn said.
Currently, about 70 percent of customers are paying their water bill, up from less than half when the water crisis hit. In recent weeks, JXN Water has been disconnecting delinquent customers, the mayor testified.
“We have a 30 percent non-payment rate, and I’ve been told that it’s going to be several years before the system can sustain itself,” Horhn said.
To offset the debt, JXN Water has suggested a rate increase, the second in three years.
“As mayor of this city, I cannot in good conscience speak to a rate increase, because the ratepayers and citizens are saying, ‘I pay my water bill on time and you want me to subsidize deadbeats,’” Horhn testified.
