There are 131 article(s) tagged Edmund Ford Jr.:
The commission scorecard focuses on a rare veto by the county mayor and the County Commission’s vote earlier this month to override that veto. It’s another chapter in a contentious political saga as the commission enters the last year of its current four-year term of office.
The Shelby County Commission voted Monday, Aug. 9, to override the veto of a new ethics advisory panel the commission would appoint.
The veto override by the commission is the latest chapter in an ongoing dispute between County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris.
The attorney advising the Shelby County Commission would be separate from the county attorney’s office under a proposal on which the commission is expected to take its first vote Monday.
The County Commission will soon have a panel of five to advise on ethics. One commissioner warns it could be seen as conflicting with the ongoing special prosecutor’s investigation into a 2019 grant proposed by Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr.
Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. wants the county to get the bonuses to county workers in the next pay period. County Mayor Lee Harris says the county needs to be sure the use of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds is allowed before it cuts checks.
The proposed review of appointees to the ethics body comes as County Mayor Lee Harris is about to propose new ethics regulations.
The absence of four county commissioners, including three of the “yes” votes for the $3.45 property tax rate set two weeks ago, was crucial to undoing the tax hike. However, the issue is likely not over.
Some of the changes proposed and outlined on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast address issues that came up in the allegations made against county commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. in an independent investigation made public last month in The Daily Memphian.
The legal opinion will be about the chain of events at the June 7 session that led to the first approval of the $3.46 county tax rate.
The commission approved Monday a basic property tax rate of $3.45 that generates the same amount of revenue as the current tax rate, taking into account increases in property values. But the rate must be rounded down by 0.001 cent, which comes to almost a quarter of a million dollars in revenue left on the table.
Monday’s commission agenda includes prep for the budget season that begins later this month in county government.
A February exchange of letters between County Mayor Lee Harris and County Commission Chairman Eddie Jones shows there are difficult questions about whether the legislative duties of Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. should be limited when he hasn’t been charged with a crime.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and a representative of County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. sparred Wednesday, March 24, over accusations that Ford violated the county charter with a 2019 grant and Harris’ involvement in the allegation.
An independent report concluded Ford failed to disclose a county grant he proposed in 2019 would be used to buy computer equipment from Ford totaling $45,000.
An independent investigation by attorney Brian Faughnan flatly accuses Ford of deliberately deceiving his fellow commissioners by failing to disclose to them his obvious conflict of interest. To call Faughnan’s report damning is an understatement.
The 15-page report obtained by The Daily Memphian details a nearly year-long investigation that initially faded for lack of corroboration but came back to life as paperwork confirming the grant emerged. Ford has contended he recused himself since he left the room during the vote on the grant. The report says that doesn’t resolve the conflict of interest and could lead to his removal from office.
Transfer of vaccine distribution will likely leave some Shelby County Health Department vacancies unfilled, county leaders say, as email trails from last month show those now in charge of vaccine distribution had questions that weren’t being answered as vaccine miscues piled up.
In this fight, Black people and white people are on the same side. So are local politicians who don’t always agree on matters of public policy.
The delay by the Shelby County Commission also shows there may be a rift between commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. and his father, City Council member Edmund Ford Sr., on the issue.
Shelby County commissioners will meet in special session next week to vote on a transfer of $300,000 from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office budget to the county attorney’s office.
A variety of community voices spoke out on police reform during two discussions last week.
Budget committee chairman Edmund Ford Jr. amended his resolution to stick with the county’s policy of keeping its financial reserves at 20% of general fund revenues. He has suggested a 15% to 20% guideline.
The commission will vote Oct. 26 on setting new parameters for the spring budget season. And the county’s CFO says it could be dangerous to lower the percentage of reserves on hand.
The contract stirred the political embers of a recent budget season in county government as well as some spirited debate among commissioners about mask requirements.