Blossom Apartment residents listen as Jackson Mayor John Horhn speaks during the relocation meeting at Stewpot in Jackson, Miss., on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.
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…