Jackson officials won’t say who may lose water next, but 9,000 renters have landlords in arrears

An alarming yet hazy remark during the latest Jackson Housing Task Force meeting caused some reporters to pull out their phones and start recording.

Brian Burns, a retired pharmacist who chairs the committee, said that about 9,000 Jacksonians live in rental properties with landlords who have past-due water bills. The disclosure signals to the large number of people who could be impacted by water shutoffs as private utility JXN Water continues its crackdown on delinquent accounts.

But it lacked much context. What kind of complexes? How many? Which ones and where are they located? How much does each complex owe?

Committee members raised concerns about the figure.

“Do you think 9,000 is the number? Like we’re having a crisis with 9,000 tenants?” asked Jennifer Welch, a local property mana