Bob Miller, Public Works Director for the City of Jackson spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s July 24, 2018 meeting. Mr. Miller joined the City in the fall of 2017 after completing 9 years in a similar capacity in New Orleans. He said that he joined with four specific goals: solve the problems with the City’s water billing system; improve the city’s streets, address the consent decree problems on the sewer system, and address the drainage problems where citizens are being flooded by creeks that overflow during periods of heavy rains.
Mr. Miller is a native of Louisville, KY. He is a graduate of the University of Louisville and of the University of Indiana. Prior to going to New Orleans, he was CFO of the Louisville water system.
Regarding his four priorities, Mr. Miller said that when he arrived, approx. 23,000 of Jackson’s water, sewage, garbage customers were not receiving bills. He negotiated a new contract with Siemens to rectify the billing issues. Now, 55% of the allotted time into the contract, 56% of the previously “stranded” customers are being billed. He also announced that today the city is announcing that the previously suspected lead problem has been corrected.
The Downtown streets were paved prior to the April 2018 grand opening of the two new museums. Currently, two potholes repair trucks are in operation repairing potholes and he is bidding-out for a third crew to accelerate the work.
Mr. Miller met with EPA Region 4 this spring, opened up to them about the city’s problem meeting the Consent Decree provisions and hopes to renegotiate the decree later in 2018. Per Mr. Miller, many of the sewer problems occur because restaurants dispose of grease into sewers rather than have it properly disposed of. The grease in the sewer clots and plugs up the sewers causing sewage overflow.
We thank Mr. Miller for his talk and for his service to our City. He is shown during his talk and following it with Club President Anna Powers and club member Charles Lindsay who introduced him in the accompanying photos.
Mr. Miller was accompanied in the meeting by Ward 7 Council Representative Virgi Lindsay and her assistant Alice Patterson. We thank them for attending.