Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes spent a year demanding that Jackson take its water system back. On Aug. 25 he settled for something smaller: a promise that the city would be in the room when the system's future is decided.

The council passed Stokes' resolution 6-1, with only Ward 4 Councilman Brian Grizzell voting no, according to the Clarion Ledger. The measure does not ask for the city to retake control of the water and sewer system. It asks that Jackson participate in developing, reviewing and determining the final transition plan.

“We don't want something to happen, then we say, 'We didn't know anything about it,'” Stokes said at the meeting. “Whatever plan comes forward, the City of Jackson has been at the table and not people telling us what went on at the table when we were not there.”

The vote is a notable retreat in tone, if not in goal. In October 2025 Stokes pushed a resolution, also 6-1, urging the federal government to reverse the 2022 court-ordered takeover. He called the federal intervention a “beautiful dream” that had become a “nightmare” over high bills and slow service restoration. Both resolutions passed by the same margin. The distance between them measures how much the debate has narrowed.

The narrowing has a name: House Bill 1677. The Legislature created the Metro Jackson Water Authority this year, a nine-member regional board meant to take over the system once federal management ends. Gov. Tate Reeves signed it April 8. Jackson sued, arguing the state-created authority interfered with the federal court's control.

U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate issued a split ruling in June. He let the authority's board members be seated but blocked it from naming a president, negotiating a lease or taking substantive action while the system remains under federal oversight. The law survived. The authority remains one possible future, just not an active one.

Mayor John Horhn has already ruled out the option Stokes once favored. At a work session the day before the vote, Horhn said the water system will not return to the Department of Public Works. He backs a municipal utility authority controlled by the city but operating independently, which could contract with a private company.

Horhn said the city and JXN Water have selected the same engineering firm to help build the transition plan. Whatever structure emerges goes to Wingate for approval. Only the judge can decide who runs Jackson's water and sewer system when federal management ends.

City Attorney Drew Martin told the council the city is already at the table and intends to stay there. He said Jackson has invited JXN Water to work alongside it and hopes the city, the utility, the state and the federal government can agree on one plan. He acknowledged the timeline is optimistic but hopes to present something to Wingate by the end of the year.

The stakes are financial as much as structural. JXN Water recently submitted a financial management plan proposing a 10 percent rate increase in spring 2027 and an “acquisition financing” model in which a newly governed JXN Water entity would buy the system's assets from the city. The utility says $767 million must be reinvested over 25 years to meet its targets and pay off debt.

Stokes' resolution leaves open who should ultimately control the system. It does not endorse Horhn's utility authority or the state's regional board. It commits Jackson to a process, not an outcome.

The question now is whether a seat at the table translates into leverage. Stokes spent a year arguing the city should hold the keys. The resolution he passed this week concedes that, for now, the table is the best seat available.