Greater Memphis Chamber supports charter commission
The Greater Memphis Chamber backs forming a commission to explore city-county consolidation but doesn’t have a position yet on whether consolidation would be a good idea.
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The Greater Memphis Chamber backs forming a commission to explore city-county consolidation but doesn’t have a position yet on whether consolidation would be a good idea.
The council votes to appoint a study committee to weigh whether the city should pursue drafting a charter that would consolidate city and county governments if approved by voters.
The world has changed drastically in the past 11 years, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic surfaced nationally in March 2020. That does not mean minds have changed on consolidation or that people are necessarily more open to even exploring the idea.
The two leading proponents of forming a consolidation charter commission talked on “Behind The Headlines” about the opposition and hesitancy they are encountering.
Whatever good could come from consolidating Memphis and Shelby County governments doesn’t have a chance of passage as long as the dual vote is required.
The earliest the City Council could vote on setting up a charter commission is its Sept. 7 meeting.
While proponents of merging the City of Memphis and Shelby County governments cannot promise that consolidation would mean a spike in economic development, they believe it is the straightest line to major growth. Opponents aren’t so sure and worry about negative fallout.
The first step toward consolidation shows up on the City Council’s committee list for next week.
City Council member Chase Carlisle distinguishes between the case for consolidation and the case for drafting a consolidation charter. He also acknowledges getting the votes to form a charter commission will not be easy.
The resolution is not binding and the council cannot enact a mask mandate as it did previously because the state has blocked the ability for local governments to do so.
Council resolutions to call for no coal ash disposal within the city and over aquifers that supply the city’s drinking water will be voted on in two weeks.
The first step would be a commission to draft a charter for a combined city of Memphis and Shelby County government covering Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County but not the six suburban towns and cities.
The long awaited permit clears the way for the park’s redesign to begin moving dirt and creating new features in Tom Lee Park after a three-year planning process that has seen the plans change over time.
The precinct site sold for $3.5 million after being appraised at $6 million, setting up a council debate about whether to take the best offer now or wait for a better one. Council approves centerpiece of Downtown parking reconfigurationRelated stories:
Council members had questions about the land sale coming in below the $6 million appraised value of the property.
A move for a 31-cent tax hike never got to a vote, with a council majority voting down a rule suspension to consider going up on the tax rate. That and other votes Tuesday, June 15, closed out the city’s budget season.
It’s time for the city to cancel its five-year, $33.1 million contract with Waste Pro.
On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, City Council member Chase Carlisle talks about bargaining with TVA for a new contract with MLGW without a specific plan for an alternative, his call for the resignation of the Shelby County Health Department’s embattled leader and the 2022 race for Shelby County mayor.
Council member Chase Carlisle was sharply critical of health officials, the County Commission and county Mayor Lee Harris. The wording was later amended after a lengthy council debate.
The council can’t fire Shelby County Health Director Alisa Haushalter, but council member Chase Carlisle will propose the resolution at Tuesday’s council meeting. There could be more calls Friday, when Haushalter and County Mayor Lee Harris speak at a special meeting of the Shelby County Commission.
The council Tuesday voted unanimously to join a call by leaders in 22 of the nation’s largest cities to ask President Joe Biden to send vaccine directly to the cities and bypass state governments.
The measure by council member Chase Carlisle was one vote short of the seven needed. It failed after a council debate that included one council member remembering his own brush with corruption charges. Others argued the proposal was arbitrary and cumbersome.
Developers of a $180 million commercial mixed-use tower of hotel rooms and condos on the western edge of the Pinch District encountered some skepticism as they pitched the project to the Memphis City Council.
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.
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.