There are 95 article(s) tagged Worth Morgan:
Before the council gets to final votes on operating and capital budgets, it will take up a call to raise property taxes by 29 cents to an even $3. The current city tax rate of $3.19 was lowered to $2.71 by the state to take into account the increase in property values with this year’s countywide property reappraisal.
The start of construction follows last-minute changes in the project that upped the price by $6 million and added more courts. The center will keep the name of the Marine lieutenant colonel for whom it is named.
City Chief Financial Officer Shirley Ford told council members the budget for the new fiscal year that begins July 1 is in the red by approximately $23 million. The culprit is new ground rules for the use of federal funds to make up for revenues lost in the pandemic and how the lost revenues are counted.
City Council budget committee Chairman Worth Morgan and city Chief Financial Officer Shirley Ford talked about revenue estimates and the impact of federal American Rescue Plan funds as well as restrictions during “Behind The Headlines.”
The temporary fix of cart paths on the golf course could wait to get a feel for what a larger makeover similar to that underway on the Overton Park golf course might involve.
A budget committee meeting Monday, May 3, drew 12 of the 13 council members together at City Hall for the first time since mid-March of 2020. The in-person meetings continue Tuesday with a full slate of committee meetings before the 3:30 p.m. session of the council.
The retreat Saturday, May 1, marks the first in-person council meeting in more than a year. It included new details of $16 million in bonuses to city employees in Mayor Jim Strickland’s $716 million budget proposal and a flap over whether team-building exercises and a tour of the Renasant Convention Center were open to reporters.
City Council budget committee Chairman Worth Morgan said that the drop of the city property tax rate below $3 as appraised values have increased could set the stage for a tax rate hike.
Chase Carlisle said he plans to bring a resolution to the City Council May 4 opposing the city and TDOT’s recommendation to shut Scott Street off from Poplar.
Meanwhile, the council delayed for two weeks a first reading vote on historic overlay district status for the Crosstown area.
Proposals by Memphis City Council members and Shelby County commissioners emerged during a second joint meeting Thursday of the two bodies. But other elected officials expressed concern that just talking about changes in economic development incentives could put the city and county at a disadvantage.
The final vote Tuesday shifted dramatically after the owner of a Petland store in Wolfchase that prompted the ban ordinance complained he had been harassed by city inspectors who cited him for three violations last Friday.
On “Behind The Headlines,” City Council member Worth Morgan and EDGE President Reid Dulberger urge caution in the latest cycle of civic discussions about how and what kinds of economic development get tax incentives.
During this week’s council discussion, sponsor Worth Morgan asked for a list of pet breeders used by the Wolfchase store franchisee. When he didn’t get it but an offer of a guided tour, Morgan compared it to inspecting a nuclear facility in Iran.
One City Council member wanted to lock in $2.6 million for the community grants after the amount took a cut in the current city budget because of the pandemic’s impact. But another proposed doing away with the grants and sending the money to the city’s bus system.
The Memphis City Council votes next week on the first of three readings of an ordinance that would bar retail pet stores from selling dogs and cats.
The council action wasn’t unanimous and it follows a split vote the day before by the Shelby County Commission expressing support for the countywide directive that takes effect the day after Christmas.
A voting miscue Tuesday was reversed Wednesday with the passage of the resolution that directs the mayor to draw up a plan to end the use of any city money to buy bottled water.
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.
MLGW president and CEO J.T. Young said the utility should put more emphasis on electric rate savings for customers as it pursues the question of leaving or staying with the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Memphis City Council member Jeff Warren on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast says there could still be an agreement on the next step in the MLGW-TVA issue. He also warns that the Tennessee Legislature could close the door on a possible MLGW exit from TVA if there isn’t a shorter timeline.
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.
On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, City Council member Worth Morgan talks about his possible move to take police out of the city's civil service system and calls a move to cancel the November referendum allowing the city to hire police from outside Shelby County "the ultimate hypocrisy."
Memphis City Council members also got their first look Tuesday at how much police have spent in the past four years on overtime and riot gear as well as other preparations to handle protests.
As Mayor Jim Strickland vows to 'fix' police brutality against African American citizens, his staff puts up roadblocks to accessing records.