City of Memphis
$30M is ‘Band-Aid on a system that needs emergency surgery,’ MATA chair said
Memphis City Council member Chase Carlisle called the the Memphis Area Transit Authority’s budget “underwhelming.”
Bill Dries
Reporter
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
There are 3895 articles by Bill Dries :
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June 2025
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City of Memphis -
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Shelby CountyCounty Commission passes budget — with no property tax hike
A majority of Shelby County commissioners favored some kind of small property tax hike in the new budget, but ultimately couldn’t get seven votes on how to split up the additional revenue.
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City of MemphisExcess xAI tax revenue could be earmarked for Memphis pre-K
The council also talks Tuesday, June 24, about an MPD plan to install license plate readers along the city’s rights of way of state highways as a crime-fighting measure.
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Arts & CultureWhere things stand with Memphis museum projects
Construction on the Memphis Art Museum, what the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art will become when it moves Downtown, has continued. So has construction on the Metal Museum’s location in the Memphis College of Art building.
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Shelby CountyProperty tax face-off will close out county budget season
A potential property tax hike looms as the Shelby County Commission tackles its budget and the Sheriff’s Office fights for funding.
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Behind The HeadlinesICE has made presence felt in Memphis — out of national spotlight
“Here in Memphis, anywhere from seven to 10 people every day at least are arrested by ICE in these quiet operations,” an attorney said.
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Shelby CountyMayor Harris wants to add crime lab funding to budget
County commissioners wrestled with budget amendments Wednesday totaling well past the $100 million mark, including the county mayor’s proposal.
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Public SafetyMayor to limit solitary confinement in Shelby County prisons
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris plans to sign an executive order that will adopt United Nations Minimum Standards for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Mandela Rules, for county prisons.
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Shelby CountyMayor Harris walks back tax hike
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris is changing the county property tax rate his administration is proposing to match the state’s certified rate.
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Shelby CountyAfter Mayor Harris vetoes grant, Ford moves to override
County mayor accused Ford of “not taking seriously” the federal indictment against him. At stake, right now, is a nearly $180,000 grant for an entertainment industry nonprofit.
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Shelby CountyPolitical Roundup: XAI divide grows, Young in D.C. and the race for governor
Also in the Political Roundup: City vs. county at Southwind High, a short history of going from the Senate to the governor’s mansion in Tennessee and Lee Harris on his successor and his next campaign.
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Shelby CountyIn critical week ahead, County Commission will wrangle budget and tax rate
Budget Committee Chair Miska Clay Bibbs said commissioners have little time to iron out details of 23 amendments to Mayor Lee Harris’ budget proposal.
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EducationMeharry Medical College announces Memphis expansion
The expansion and ribbon-cutting at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church follow Meharry’s acquisition of four Sanitas USA Inc. medical clinics in Memphis last month.
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Behind The HeadlinesHarris and Sugarmon find common ground in county budget season
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and Shelby County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon talked about the ongoing county budget season, a proposed wheel tax hike and a new jail on “Behind The Headlines.”
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Shelby CountyCounty mayor’s property tax proposal becomes tax hike
The county property tax rate proposed by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris is four cents higher than the state’s certified rate, but he said it’s not a tax hike.
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Shelby CountyNew jail study looked at Shelby Farms, Firestone plant as potential sites
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office commissioned the study by Jim Hart, a jail management consultant with the University of Tennessee’s County Technical Advisory Service.
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ElectionsHeidi Kuhn formally announces bid for county mayor
In a social media post, Kuhn described the county as being “in crisis” and touted her expertise in county government.
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City of MemphisCity Council adds 3% city pay raises in new operating budget
The pay raises and an agreement on MATA funding were the two biggest additions to Mayor Paul Young’s second city budget.
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City of MemphisCouncil strikes compromise over city worker pay raises
Council member Pearl Walker proposed the amendment that would give all city employees a flat 3% raise across all divisions, superseding the 5% raises the City Council passed in May.
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Public SafetyTBI crime lab to add two scientists specifically for Memphis cases
The arrangement between the state and the City of Memphis is separate from an independent crime lab for Shelby County being pursued by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and District Attorney General Steve Mulroy.
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Public SafetyAnatomy of a gang murdering one of its own
Ronald Terry and Tim Johnson were in the same street gang and died five days apart in 2019. The investigation led to a guilty verdict in Memphis federal court last week and told the story of violence within the gang known as the Ghost Mob.
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NeighborhoodsHistorically Black medical college coming to Memphis
Meharry’s expansion to Memphis is the first step in Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church’s $310 million, mixed-use development.
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MidtownMississippi Boulevard church announces $310 million redevelopment plan
The century-old congregation would move from its current sanctuary to a new church at the corner of Poplar Avenue.
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Public SafetyThe changing political backdrop for the Ghost Mob case
The trial that ended last week in Memphis with the conviction of Ghost Mob gang member Vincent Grant for the 2019 murder of another gang member unfolded against a backdrop of political change in the nation’s capitol.
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Public SafetyShifting gang alliances make policing more difficult
Police brass have frequently said that it has become more difficult to stem gang violence because underlings in the gangs will often team up, sometimes with members of rival gangs, to commit crimes.
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