There are 163 article(s) tagged Edmund Ford Jr.:

• February 2021

  • Opinion: It’s big oil vs. defiant communities in major environmental dispute

    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.

    By Otis Sanford February 18, 2021

  • Sale of two lots on Weaver Road for Byhalia Connection pipeline delayed

    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.

    By Bill Dries February 08, 2021

• January 2021

  • Commission balks at $300,000 transfer for legal bills in wrongful death suit

    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.

    By Bill Dries January 11, 2021

• November 2020

  • Discussions spur dialogue for change

    A variety of community voices spoke out on police reform during two discussions last week. 

    By Bill Dries November 16, 2020

• October 2020

  • County budget season blueprint gets closer look

    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.

    By Bill Dries October 27, 2020

  • Reducing county reserve fund has risks, commission is warned

    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. 

    By Bill Dries October 26, 2020

  • County Commission questions $1M pandemic marketing campaign

    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.

    By Bill Dries October 14, 2020

• September 2020

  • County hiring freeze continues to thaw

    A total of 78 positions in various parts of county government are the latest exceptions to a hiring freeze. But as they approved the waivers Monday, county commissioners signaled they are about to make a decision on the hiring freeze’s viability possibly by the end of this month. 

    By Bill Dries September 15, 2020

• August 2020

  • Familiar county budget tensions surface as CARES-Act-COVID-funding deadline nears

    Shelby County Commissioners want to try a swap out of federal CARES Act funding similar to one city council members did a week ago. But tensions left over from a rough county budget season that ended in June are hanging around.

    By Bill Dries August 10, 2020

  • County budget still fuzzy seven weeks into new fiscal year

    County commissioners vote Monday on a waiver of the county's hiring and pay freeze, and nearly 100 more waivers requested by officials are waiting in the wings. Commissioners say they need a budget book with specific line items and dollar figures to know whether the waivers would put the county in the red.

    By Bill Dries August 10, 2020

• July 2020

  • County budget season still echoes short of a ‘budget book’

    It's been a month since a county government budget was approved for the fiscal year that began July 1. But until that detailed budget is printed in black and white, there is still some wrangling underway, some distrust and the hiring freeze the county imposed may be melting.

    By Bill Dries July 27, 2020

  • Billingsley says Ford-Ray dueling letters ‘pretty antagonistic’

    On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, the County Commission chairman says the differences between the two don't appear to extend to the rest of the commission. Mark Billingsley also said he hopes to move to lift the county hiring budget freeze once there is a reconciliation of the budget approved by the commission last month after rejecting Mayor Lee Harris's original proposal.

    By Bill Dries July 25, 2020

  • County ‘Ban the Box’ proposal for ex-offenders gets more complicated

    Some significant amendments to apply the program to private contractors pushed a final vote to July 21.

    By Bill Dries July 13, 2020

  • County Commission continues budget reckoning at first in-person meeting since March

    The Wednesday committee sessions drew most of the 13 commissioners, with the remainder attending online. Also debuting was a partitioned commission chambers with glass barriers between the elected officials and masks worn in the booths created for them.

    By Bill Dries July 09, 2020

• June 2020

  • Road to new county budget remains rocky and uncertain

    The commission takes up the budget again Monday, June 22, at its regular meeting, a week after voting to use $16.5 million in the county reserves to balance expenditures and revenues. But since then, questions have emerged about the changes the commission made.

    By Bill Dries June 22, 2020

  • County Commission appears to balance budget with $16.5 million use of reserves

    The six-hour special meeting Monday sets the stage for a final budget vote in a week. But there are questions about the dollar figures approved by the Commission and how much red ink there is to be dealt with after the moves. Two social media posts during the meeting by County Mayor Lee Harris also complained that there would be layoffs and cutbacks in critical county programs.

    By Bill Dries June 15, 2020

• May 2020

  • Still no budget yet for Shelby County government

    The county's $1.4 billion budget is a work in progress, but officials say they're close.

    By Linda A. Moore May 27, 2020

  • Marathon day for County Commission fails to produce budget

    The commission calculated cuts and additions to the $1.4 billion budget, which must be approved by June 30.

    By Linda A. Moore May 19, 2020

  • Budget committee leaders find millions to cut in next year’s Shelby County budget

    Budget committee Chairman Eddie Jones and Vice Chairman Edmund Ford Jr. presented the proposal. Work on the budget resumes in a special committee meeting Monday before the full Shelby County Commission session.

    By Linda A. Moore May 13, 2020

  • Shelby County government retreat gives clearer picture about county’s budget

    Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris' administration officials answered questions as county commissioners prepare for another review of the fiscal 2021 budget.

    By Linda A. Moore May 08, 2020

• April 2020

  • Fight over Shelby County budget deteriorates into name-calling

    Differences from years ago between Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. and County Mayor Lee Harris have carried over into the county's 2021 budget talks.

    By Linda A. Moore April 29, 2020

  • Harris proposes $1.4 billion budget that’s ‘lean and balanced’

    Shelby County's proposed budget for fiscal 2021 includes $13.5 million in cuts and prioritizes COVID-19 necessities.

    By Linda A. Moore April 21, 2020

  • Tami Sawyer among those getting retested for COVID-19 after delays

    Up to 30 people who have been tested for COVID-19 at Christ Community Health Services have seen their results delayed, including County Commissioner Tami Sawyer. 

    By Omer Yusuf April 01, 2020

• March 2020

  • Lee Harris says he would never have made Ghana trip had he known what awaited

    Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris says in an exclusive interview with The Daily Memphian that he would not have gone with a Memphis In May delegation to Ghana had he had any idea of how quickly the coronavirus pandemic would explode.

    By Linda A. Moore March 19, 2020

• February 2020

  • AFSCME to Harris: Veto residency ordinance for public safety workers

    The labor union official says the ordinance that allows some public safety workers to live outside the county is not "morally or fiscally responsible."

    By Linda A. Moore February 28, 2020