Mississippi lawmakers OK $3 million for Jackson water repairs

Jackson is getting millions of dollars from the state to repair his water system. After much debate, Mississippi legislation approved $ 3 million, much less than the $ 47 million the mayor wanted. The February water crisis crippled one of Jackson’s water treatment plants and left much of the city without running water for a month. Following this unprecedented infrastructure failure, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba sent a letter to federal leaders asking for $ 47 million for overdue repairs. Republican-controlled lawmakers approved only $ 3 million for repairs to the Fewell Water Plant on the Waterworks Curve on I-55. “The $ 3 million we received (Thursday) is nowhere near what we want, but it’s a start. $ 3 million is better than $ 0, “said Rep. Chris Bell, a Jackson Democrat. None of that money can be spent on the OB Curtis facility which was a source for the initial shutdown of the water system came with lots of rounded numbers like, ‘We need $ 1 million. We need $ 2 million. ‘So we gave them $ 3 million to fix, or at least start, the water system,’ said Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann. Legislators also passed a bill to help Jackson resolve water billing problems. Sometimes customers go months without a water bill, and when they do, they may be billed thousands of dollars. “In order for the city to resolve all of these controversial and criminal claims, the books are being cleaned up,” said Sen. David Blount, a Jackson Democrat. Blount said he was confident that Governor Tate Reeves would sign the bill. The governor vetoed similar laws last year. “At the start of these negotiations, I sat down with the governor’s agent and we kept going line by line on this bill because we wanted to help Jackson and give him a bill to approve,” said Blount. ” I’m confident that this bill will give us some binding capacity so we can make sure our water treatment plants and other things get done, “said Bell. Both legislature-approved bills must be signed by the governor. Jackson is expected to be $ 44 million received under the new federal US rescue plan, and they could get more federal dollars from the state to improve infrastructure, according to heads of state.

Jackson is getting millions of dollars from the state to repair his water system.

After much debate, Mississippi legislation approved $ 3 million, much less than the $ 47 million the mayor wanted.

The February water crisis crippled one of Jackson’s water treatment plants and left much of the city without running water for a month. Following this unprecedented infrastructure failure, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba sent a letter to federal leaders asking for $ 47 million for overdue repairs. Republican-controlled lawmakers approved only $ 3 million for repairs to the Fewell Water Plant on the Waterworks Curve on I-55.

“The $ 3 million we received (Thursday) is nowhere near what we want, but it’s a start. $ 3 million is better than $ 0, “said Rep. Chris Bell, a Jackson Democrat.

None of these monies can be spent on the OB Curtis facility, which was a source for the initial shutdown of the water system.

“They came up with lots of rounded numbers, like, ‘We need $ 1 million. We need $ 2 million. ‘So we gave them $ 3 million to fix, or at least start, the water system,’ said Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann.

Legislature also passed a bill to help Jackson resolve water billing issues. Sometimes customers go months without a water bill, and when they do, they may be billed thousands of dollars.

“In order for the city to resolve all of these controversial and criminal allegations, the books are being cleaned up,” said Senator David Blount, a Jackson Democrat.

Blount said he was hopeful that Governor Tate Reeves would sign the bill. The governor vetoed similar laws last year.

“Right at the start of these negotiations, I sat down with the governor’s agent and we kept going line by line to this bill because we wanted to help Jackson and get him a bill that he could approve.” Said Blount.

“I’m confident that this bill will give us some retention capacity so we can make sure our water treatment plants and other things get done,” said Bell.

Both legislative-approved bills must be signed by the governor.

Jackson is expected to receive $ 44 million under the new federal US bailout plan, and heads of state say they could get more US dollars through the state to help improve infrastructure.

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