Jackson Free Press

JACKSON — The City of Jackson is offering a payment plan to those that wish to chip away at water bills that Mayor Tony Yarber referred to as “monstrous.”

“Many of our residents have accumulated monstrous bills that, in most case,s they are not able to pay off immediately,” Yarber said, adding that the system faced difficulties with changes built into the Siemens contract. “Although the City has addressed those issues, what we want to do is recognize that some of our customers are having difficulty paying those bills, even though they have received them, and we want to help them, again, get over that hump.”

The mayor described the “modified payment plan,” which is only applicable to residential customers of the Jackson water system. There are two basic payment plans: The first is for residential customers who wish to deal with a high compounded bill, while the second plan is designed to address the needs of the elderly or fixed-income based households.

The enrollment period for the plans begins Sept. 15 and ends Dec 15. Customers will pay their current billed amounts for the month, plus a 15-percent down payment on the accrued past-due amount. Each month afterward, they pay the current amount plus whatever they owe, split over an 18-month period.

The other plan, designed for those on fixed incomes such as the elderly, is less specific. Interim Director of Public Works Jerriot Smash explained that they would pay a $50 fee to register in the program and that the City would work with them to whittle away at past-due bills.

“We have a little flexibility,” Smash said. “We are going to see what comes in, what customers are bringing to us, but we are trying to work with them so that at the end of the process they will have paid off what’s outstanding and then maintain their current standing.”

The City's Director of Communications Shelia Byrd released the following information after this morning's press conference:

"Here are details of the program:

• Beginning Sept. 15, 2016, the City of Jackson will introduce a modified payment arrangement program to eligible residential customers. This program is only for a limited time to account for the challenges of rolling out the new billing system. Enrollment ends Dec. 15, 2016.

In order to enroll:

• A customer must pay the current month’s charge, plus a down payment.

To maintain enrollment:

• Each month, the customer must pay the current month’s charge, plus the monthly amount that was determined when the customer enrolled in the program. This will help to pay down the charges that have accumulated.

Nonpayment will result in disconnection with customer being subject to a reconnection fee. Customer may re-enroll but will be subject to approval up to the limit on re-enrollment. If a customer is expelled from a payment arrangement due to failure to pay, they are to be disconnected immediately and if they enroll in a subsequent payment arrangement, the down payment to participate will escalate.

Option #1) Elderly w/ low income/fixed income

Eligibility: verified fixed income (ex: Proof of SSI)

Down payment: $50.00

Payment term: determined upon review

Disconnect: failure to pay results in disconnection

Option #2) Customer w/ past due account

Eligibility: account balance exceeds 2.5 times average monthly bill

Down payment: 15% of the total past due balance

Payment term: up to 18 months

Disconnect: failure to pay results in disconnection.

For more information about the program, please contact the Water Sewer Business Administration at 601-960-2000."