Recently, defense attorneys filed a motion for a change of venue in the city of Jackson’s case against Siemens Industry and Siemens Corporation.
In the motion, attorneys argue that the hundreds of stories published in the Sun and other media outlets have likely tainted the jury pool, making it impossible for their clients to get a fair trial in Hinds County.
This is a specious argument. Newspapers didn’t initiate the Siemens contract, a previous city administration did.
Newspapers also didn’t cause the complications associated with the work. The press simply reported it.
The thousands of residents who received incorrect bills or no bills at all likely have been influenced by those factors, not press reports.
Jackson brought on Siemens in 2012 to completely overhaul its water billing system. Work included replacing some 60,000 analog water meters with electronic ones, installing new billing software and putting in place a network that would allow meters to communicate with the billing office directly.
The contract was sold to residents as being revenue-neutral, meaning the savings generated by the work would be enough to pay off the $90 million in bonds used to fund it.
The agreement was approved under Mayor Harvey Johnson, and was signed off on by the state, as all energy performance contracts must be.
Problems began shortly after meter installation commenced, with many residents receiving bills for thousands of dollars more than expected. The city discovered that incorrect meters were the culprits behind those wrong bills, a temporary stop work order was issued and those meters were replaced.
Not the media’s fault.
After that issue was seemingly corrected, more problems came to light. As a result of meter network and billing software problems, many customers stopped receiving bills altogether.
Because of those complications, the city’s water enterprise fund nearly went bankrupt.
Multiple times in the last year, the city has had to dip into its general fund and one-percent infrastructure budgets to cover water department costs. Those costs would normally be covered by revenues from water collections.
Again, this is not the fault of the local press. Reporters just reported on it. The national news also did, with outlets like Vice TV covering the crisis on its cable network. One wonders whether Siemens would seek to move the venue outside of Vice TV’s coverage area.
Jackson filed suit against Siemens and its subcontractors this summer. The city is seeking $225 million in damages.
The Siemens contract and this case will impact Jackson’s water customers for years to come. It’s the press’ duty to report on these matters. No responsible media outlet would ignore them.
Thanks to President Donald Trump, blaming the media for government failings has become a popular sport. Rather than pointing the finger at newspapers and television outlets, perhaps Siemens should look at its own record and point the finger back at itself.
