# Jackson Council to Vote on Hiring a Private Debt Collector to Intercept Unpaid City Bills

> A resolution on Tuesday's agenda would let the city contract with Municipal Intercept Company to collect unpaid debts under a state setoff law, a step that puts a private firm between residents and money the city says they owe.

*Business · By Jackson Wire Staff · September 19, 2026*

Jackson's City Council is set to vote Tuesday on whether to hand its unpaid bills to a private collection company. Item 23 on the Sept. 22 regular meeting agenda is a resolution supporting an agreement between the city and Municipal Intercept Company, LLC, known as MIC, for the collection of unpaid debts under the Mississippi Local Government Debt Collection Setoff Act. The item is sponsored by Ward 4 Councilman Brian Grizzell, according to the agenda posted on jacksonms.gov.

The resolution is one of the few money items on a 31-item agenda that has not been discussed publicly. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Council Chambers, with members permitted to participate by teleconference, according to the meeting notice. The notice was posted at 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, three days before the vote.

The setoff law is the mechanism that matters here. It lets a local government intercept money it is owed from funds a state agency would otherwise pay out to a debtor, such as a tax refund. That means the collection does not depend on a resident writing a check. It depends on the city and its contractor identifying a debt and matching it to a state payment.

What the agenda does not say is how much MIC would be paid, what share of each recovered dollar it would keep, or which debts would be eligible. The resolution text is not attached to the posted agenda. Those terms would normally appear in the contract itself, which the council would authorize the mayor to execute.

The city has a large pool of potential debt to work with. Tuesday's agenda also carries the monthly financial reports required under Section 21-35-13 of the Mississippi Code, and a separate order authorizing payment of September 2026 costs for property at 2525 Robinson Street. Neither document is posted with the agenda, so the size of the city's receivable balance is not public in the packet as published.

This is not the first time Jackson has reached for outside help collecting what it is owed. The Sept. 8 regular meeting agenda included an order authorizing a contract extension with Hawkins Law, P.C., to represent the city in four federal civil actions, and an order approving a full and final settlement in Walton v. City of Jackson, Civil Action No. 3:25-cv-314, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Litigation and collection have become recurring line items.

The setoff approach shifts the cost of collection onto the debtor in a way a lawsuit does not. If MIC keeps a percentage of what it recovers, the city pays nothing up front and the resident who owes pays the fee through a larger reduction of the intercepted payment. If MIC instead bills the city a flat fee, the city pays whether or not it collects. The resolution as posted does not say which model applies.

There is a second, quieter money item on the same agenda. Item 20 would declare parcels 70-79, 110-24, and 110-25 surplus, accept the bids of Wil-Mat Investments, LLC, and authorize conveyance by quitclaim deed to that company. Quitclaim deeds transfer whatever interest the city holds and carry no warranty, which is standard for surplus municipal land but also means the buyer accepts the title risk.

The council also has a spending correction to make. Item 22 amends the order accepting the bid of Hemphill Construction Company, Inc. for the Shaw Road Bridge Rehabilitation Project to correct the award amount. A corrected award amount means the figure the council originally approved was wrong, and the amendment is the record of the fix.

Two other items put city money into utility and insurance contracts. Item 21 authorizes payment to Entergy Mississippi, LLC to raise an electric power line that conflicts with a mast arm being erected under the Traffic Signal Group B Improvements Project. Item 18 authorizes a policy renewal with MetLife for group life and accidental death and dismemberment coverage for active and retired city employees in the self-funded health plan for Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2027.

The debt collection resolution is the one to watch because of who it touches. Every resident who owes the city a fine, a fee, or a utility charge becomes a candidate for interception, and the company doing the matching gets paid from the recovery. The council members who will vote are listed on the notice: Ashby Foote, Montyne Clay, Kenneth Stokes, Brian Grizzell, Vernon Hartley, Lashia Brown-Thomas, and Kevin Parkinson.

What's next: The council takes up the MIC resolution at its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, in Council Chambers at 219 S. President St. The vote is the decision point, and the contract terms, including MIC's fee or percentage, should surface when the resolution and any attached agreement are read into the record. If the item is held, it would return at a later regular meeting.

Readers who want the numbers before the vote should ask City Attorney Drew Martin, who is listed on the meeting notice, for the draft agreement and the city's current outstanding receivable balance. The council's next regular meeting after Tuesday is not yet posted on the city's agendas page. The Sept. 21 zoning meeting at 2:30 p.m. and a Planning Board hearing Sept. 23 at 1:30 p.m. on a rezoning at 5356 N. State St. are the other scheduled land-use dates this week.

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