Shelby County government’s consolidated budget on its way to the Shelby County Commission at the end of April will have some amount of red ink that Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris will have to deal with in order to meet the requirement that he submit a balanced budget.

County Deputy Finance Director Michael Thompson said his projection of the deficit is even accounting for $44.5 million in extra revenue Shelby County Assessor Melvin Burgess Jr. has said the county will pick up in the new fiscal year.

Of that, $31 million is the estimated restoration of money the county lost in the two previous fiscal years from the sales ratio, which the state enforces on depreciation of personal property. The remainder is $13.5 million Burgess estimates the county will pick up in property-tax revenue from the xAI artificial intelligence operation in Southwest Memphis.

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The estimates are tentative and could change by the time the budget proposal is finalized for presentation to the commission.

Thompson wasn’t willing during a Wednesday, Feb. 12, budget committee session to say how much red ink there is.

“That ($44.5 million) will still potentially not be enough to cover the deficit that I am predicting,” Thompson said. “But I want to give more information a little further down the line before I present an actual deficit number.”

The more specific presentation is likely to include how the administration proposes to balance expenditures with revenue in its budget proposal for the new fiscal year that starts July 1.

The budget committee is hearing from elected countywide officials whose offices are outside the administration of County Mayor Harris.

Commission starting budget season early

The budgets of those elected officials are a part of the consolidated budget Harris presents to the County Commission.

Current discussions the commission is having with those officials reveal some tensions.