There are 980 article(s) tagged Memphis City Council:

• October 2020

  • Free MATA rides on Election Day

    Rides will be free all day on Nov. 3 for all MATA modes of transportation.

    By The Daily Memphian Staff October 26, 2020

  • Strickland trying to get process back on track for possible MLGW exit from TVA

    The mayor says taking bids from possible rivals to TVA should include transmission costs to get the cost estimates needed to make a decision about MLGW leaving the federal agency. 

    By Bill Dries October 24, 2020

  • City Council talks riverfront tower project and record homicide count

    The Tuesday city council session will also include a call for more information about the percentage of city contracts that minority-owned businesses get.

    By Bill Dries October 20, 2020

  • MLGW board won’t meet with City Council over stalled look at TVA exit

    Attorneys for the utility board warned against a joint meeting with City Council members the day after the council rejected a contract to move ahead with a look at replacing TVA as MLGW’s electric power supplier.

    By Bill Dries October 07, 2020

  • City Council rejects MLGW consultant contract

    Memphis City Council members have rejected a Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division contract with a power industry consultant to explore what it would take for the utility to leave the Tennessee Valley Authority. The vote stops the two-year old process, at least for now. The MLGW board could have a response Wednesday morning at its regular meeting.

    By Bill Dries October 07, 2020

  • Summer Avenue rezoning process for church preservation gets started

    The resolution approved Tuesday by the Memphis City Council for two areas along Summer is designed to make it more difficult to demolish a set of four churches for other kinds of development. It’s similar to a recent rezoning of part of Lamar Avenue but with a slightly different motivation.

    By Bill Dries October 06, 2020

  • Homicide record and MLGW-TVA top City Council agenda

    The council discussion of the record number of homicides so far this year could venture into past discussions of police reform. The City Council also discusses a rezoning of Summer Avenue to preserve four churches along the busy thoroughfare after one was about to be demolished.

    By Bill Dries October 06, 2020

• September 2020

  • City Council grants process evolves and adjusts for pandemic

    Martavius Jones, the Memphis City Council budget committee chairman who oversaw pitches by more than 150 nonprofits seeking a share of $1.95 million, has problems with the way grants are awarded. 

    By Bill Dries September 26, 2020

  • City Council, MLGW board could meet on utility cutoffs

    MLGW declared a moratorium on utility cutoffs in mid-March as the worldwide pandemic was declared. This month, when the moratorium was lifted, the utility received an overwhelming number of calls to work out payment plans and avoid cutoffs.

    By Bill Dries September 16, 2020

  • Payday lending resolution, lobbying disclosures top City Council agenda

    The payday loan resolution is not binding on the Tennessee Legislature and is the latest discussion by a local elected body about the impact such businesses have on citizens’ financial health.

    By Bill Dries September 15, 2020

  • City Council Scorecard: Finding the BLM divide and changing Lamar

    The latest edition of our City Council scorecard finds a healthy council majority in favor of changing street names as part of a slate of Black Lives Matter proposals. Plus, the Council held a unanimous vote to begin changing the business streetscape along a stretch of Lamar Avenue.

    By Bill Dries September 09, 2020

  • Davy Crockett golf course could give way to community orchard

    The tentative plan by the city parks and neighborhoods division includes mountain-bike trails around the borders of the 18-hole golf course and walking trails with workout equipment.

    By Bill Dries September 01, 2020

  • Changes in The Walk on Union financing approved

    Memphis City Council members have approved a change in the financing of the multi-use Walk on Union project, changing a tax increment financing district, or TIF district, to a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, arrangement.

    By Bill Dries September 01, 2020

  • City Council approves changes to renaming process

    The approval of the ordinance Tuesday is part of the council's larger debate about the Black Lives Matter Movement. Several other resolutions from that larger discussion were also approved by the council.

    By Bill Dries September 01, 2020

  • MLGW halts utility cutoffs for another two weeks

    The announcement came Tuesday as Memphis City Council members called for a better accounting of the various funds that help those behind on utility bills.

    By Bill Dries September 01, 2020

  • Police reform discussion continues at City Council

    The council has two final votes scheduled as part of its ongoing discussion of police reform and a discussion of a third measure to create an online portal for the public to see some details of complaints of police misconduct.

    By Bill Dries September 01, 2020

• August 2020

  • Council approves church demolition moratorium

    Any demolition permit for a church on Summer Avenue that is 50 years old or older would have to get Memphis City Council approval for the next six months.

    By Bill Dries August 21, 2020

  • City Council Scorecard: The veto and the override

    The City Council Scorecard also looks at a police reform measure that fell short of seven votes and failure of Graceland's plan to open a manufacturing plant with a vocational school in Whitehaven.

    By Bill Dries August 19, 2020

  • Mayor vetoes, council overrides on residency question

    The veto and override came on a full day of council discussion and debate about police reform in general, including a vote on a resolution opposing the presence of the federal Operation LeGend in the city and U.S. Attorney Michael Dunavant's meeting with the council.

    By Bill Dries August 18, 2020

  • New and returning police reform discussions dominate council discussions, agenda

    Meanwhile, Mayor Jim Strickland says public sentiment will probably have to resolve the differing views on what police reform in Memphis means two week after the council took a residency referendum off the November ballot. The proposed amendment was part of a push to increase the size of the police force. 

    By Bill Dries August 18, 2020

  • City council reviews new financing plan for The Walk on Union

    Finances for The Walk, a vote on a controversial plan to convert a vacant Whitehaven school into a manufacturing plant and vocational school are candidates for Tuesday's council agenda.

    By Bill Dries August 18, 2020

  • Council residency aftermath signals shift on how to address crime

    Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings says the City Council decision to take residency off the Nov. 3 ballot leaves voters out of a critical decision. The vote is a challenge to Mayor Jim Strickland’s core philosophy on fighting crime after he dramatically upped the number of new officers he believes is necessary.

    By Bill Dries August 05, 2020

  • Residency issue removed from November ballot, goal of 2,800 police force delayed

    Two proposals with common political ground were before the council Tuesday. 

    By Bill Dries August 05, 2020

  • Police residency, larger police force intersect at City Council Tuesday

    The competing items are both up for discussion at an afternoon council committee session with a final vote by the council later Tuesday on doing away with the November ballot question that would allow police officers to live outside Shelby County.

    By Bill Dries August 04, 2020

• July 2020

  • Council to discuss resolution backing larger Memphis police force of 2,800

    If approved, it would call on Mayor Jim Strickland to submit a plan by Oct. 6 for getting to 2,800 police officers by the end of 2023. 

    By Bill Dries July 31, 2020