The combination of a one-cent cut in the Shelby County property tax rate and a doubling of the $50 annual county wheel tax could be in trouble.

The proposal by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris to finance $350 million in capital funding as part of a larger $700 million multi-year rebuilding of the Regional One Health campus encountered political headwinds Wednesday, May 10, at the Shelby County Commission.

Harris argues for doubled wheel tax

In committee sessions, commissioners gave the green light to keeping the property tax rate at $3.39 when the full commission takes the second of three votes Monday on setting the tax rate.

Budget committee chairman Michael Whaley successfully amended the wheel tax increase resolution to update the qualifications for some vehicle owners to get a refund on at least some of their wheel tax payments.

The reimbursement qualifications haven’t been updated since 2001.

But commissioner Mick Wright is waiting in the wings with a move to do away with the wheel tax entirely.

Wright has been seen by Harris as a key ally in getting the pair of funding measures passed for the expansion of county capital projects, including Regional One and new school construction.

County budget season hinges on property tax drop for wheel-tax deal

Wright authored an earlier motion calling on Harris to put together a budget that provided the framework for funding what would be the first money into the rebuilding of Regional One.

It included a condition that in raising the additional money, the administration would have to include some tax relief and spending cuts.

Harris proposed the $50 increase in the wheel tax along with a penny off the county property tax rate and some discounts in the county fire fee.

The fire fee is paid by homeowners and business owners in unincorporated Shelby County and Lakeland for county fire department services.

Raising the wheel tax would take nine votes on the commission.

Lee Harris’ budget includes one-cent drop in tax rate, $50 hike in wheel tax

Wright was blocked from introducing his amendment to abolish the wheel tax Wednesday by Whaley’s amendment.

Wright objected to approving Whaley’s amendment without a roll call vote — a common move where there are no objections.

Commissioners present for the committee sessions voted 7-1 to approve Whaley’s amendment, blocking the path of Wright’s resolution, at least for now.

Wright was the only no vote.

Those voting yes were: Charlie Caswell, Miska Clay-Bibbs, Edmund Ford Jr., chairman Mickell Lowery, Erika Sugarmon, Britney Thornton and Whaley.

Capital projects top Harris budget proposal to County Commission

The commission could vote on the resolution at its Monday meeting or delay it. The commission is already delaying some votes on the operating and capital budgets for county government and Memphis-Shelby County Schools until later in the budget season.

Ford, who is a vocal critic of Harris and his administration on any and all budget items, warned Wright that if he pushed the abolition of the wheel tax entirely, he might face an uphill battle.

“First thing I’m going to ask you is are you raising taxes — because this is a $30-million hole,” Ford told Wright before the committee vote.

The current $50 tax generates $33.8 million in revenue for the county a year — all of it used to fund local public education. Doubling it would produce the same amount of new revenue to go toward an expanded capital budget with new priorities.

Earlier in the same committee, five of seven commissioners present voted to send the property tax rate ordinance to the full body next week for the second of three readings filling in the rate amount at $3.39 — the current rate.

Shelby County Commission votes on tax rate changes, Wanda Halbert

Ford proposed keeping the rate the same, saying “a handful” on the commission favored the penny drop proposed by Harris.

“It’s not a tax cut, but it’s also not a tax increase,” Ford said.

Voting yes were: Shante Avant, Ford, Sugarmon, Britney Thornton and Whaley.

Wright and Amber Mills abstained.

Meanwhile, Ford and several other commissioners offered the first budget amendments of the season to come up with uses for the $2.3 million a penny on the tax rate generates.

The amendments are on the premise that if the full commission ultimately keeps the tax rate where it is, there will be an extra $2.3 million that is not in the administration’s budget plan.