There are 55 article(s) tagged Britney Thornton:

• September 2025

  • The politics of the coming National Guard deployment

    Here’s a look at the still-moving political developments in the federal intervention into Memphis’ crime problem.

    By Bill Dries September 29, 2025

  • ‘I don’t want to see a tank in my neighborhood’— County Commission debates Guard deployment

    County Commissioners got their first look at two resolutions offering different responses to the coming deployment of National Guard troops to the city. 

    By Bill Dries September 17, 2025

• August 2025

  • County Commission plans next steps for Shelby County Jail

    The Shelby County Commission has an amended plan to seek proposals on where and how to build a new jail. The detailed process was pushed Monday, Aug. 25, to a Sept. 3 committee meeting for more discussion.

    By Bill Dries August 26, 2025

• May 2025

  • Fractured ties between Shelby County mayor, Commission could make budget season bumpy

    The Shelby County government budget season opens Wednesday, May 14, in County Commission committee sessions. There is more than dollar figures and the county property tax rate at stake.

    By Bill Dries May 14, 2025

  • Noisy debate doesn’t deter County Commission from ethics vote

    The vote brought to the surface deep differences the body has with Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, and one commissioner brought a plastic bag filled with house shoes. 

    By Bill Dries May 06, 2025

• April 2025

  • County Commission weighs changes to embattled grant program

    County Commissioner Britney Thornton said Wednesday the allegations against Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. shouldn’t be considered in deciding what, if any, changes should be made to the body’s grant program.

    By Bill Dries April 20, 2025

  • ‘First Eight’ prekindergarten program expansion clears County Commission

    The Shelby County Commission approved unanimously an expansion of universal prekindergarten services.

    By Bill Dries April 14, 2025

  • County grant panel near recommending ways to avoid future abuse

    Proposed changes to how the Shelby County Commission gives funds are area nonprofits follow the federal indictment of Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. on bribery and tax evasion charges. 

    By Bill Dries April 04, 2025

• March 2025

  • County Commission delays vote on MSCS advisory group

    Shelby County Commissioners are still divided over whether their earlier no-confidence resolution in the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board led to plans to for a state takeover of the school system. 

    By Bill Dries March 31, 2025

• February 2025

  • County Commission moves forward on sheriff’s pay raise, but not its own

    County commissioners are considering a raise for the whoever is elected Shelby County sheriff in 2026. Meanwhile, a proposal to give the next group of commissioners a pay raise was withdrawn.

    By Bill Dries February 24, 2025

  • Did no-confidence vote set stage for state takeover of MSCS?

    Shelby County Commissioners Mickell Lowery and Britney Thornton talked on “Behind The Headlines” about the political boundary between the commission and the MSCS board.

    By Bill Dries February 08, 2025

  • Some Shelby County mayor contenders make first steps

    As the end of Lee Harris’ tenure as Shelby County mayor nears, potential successors start laying the groundwork for their campaigns. 

    By Bill Dries February 03, 2025

• January 2025

  • Lowery proposes commission have ‘direct role’ in MSCS spending

    Shelby County Commissioner Mickell Lowery said on “Behind The Headlines” that he would like to see the commission have line-item control of MSCS spending.

    By Bill Dries January 31, 2025

• December 2024

  • County approves Frayser school funding despite news of MSCS turmoil

    There were no votes opposing the new Frayser high school, but word that the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board will vote on a possible ouster of Superintendent Marie Feagins cast a long shadow over the discussion.

    By Bill Dries December 16, 2024

• September 2024

  • County Commission delays vote to fund sheriff’s ‘emergency’ jail repairs

    Sheriff Floyd Bonner wants $15.5 million for jail repairs that’s already planned for a mental health diversion center. The County Commission is sending the problem to committee for a possible Sept. 28 vote.

    By Bill Dries September 09, 2024

  • County Commission backs City Council lawsuit over gun control referendum

    The vote was along party lines with a discussion before the vote that mirrors past discussions about “building relationships” in Nashville versus “standing up to bullies.”

    By Bill Dries September 09, 2024

  • Sheriff asks for $15.5M for ‘emergency’ jail repairs

    More than 630 jail doors as well as light fixtures, a walk-in freezer and access-control systems damaged in a power surge this past March are said to need to be repaired or replaced. 

    By Bill Dries September 07, 2024

• August 2024

  • Mental health center, pay raises move forward at County Commission, but not without friction

    Commissioners approved a design contract for the proposed mental health center on a second vote. The commission also redistributed the 6% pay raise budgeted in June.

    By Bill Dries August 27, 2024

  • County Commission denies new ballot question for November

    The final vote on the referendum allowing the County Commission to hire its own independent attorney failed by one vote.

    By Bill Dries August 21, 2024

  • County Commission may add sixth referendum to November ballot

    If approved by the commission in two more votes, the referendum would join five other ballots questions put on the same ballot for Memphis voters by the Memphis City Council.

    By Bill Dries August 12, 2024

• July 2024

  • Confusion over land-bank ordinance tangles up County Commission

    County Commissioners found out Wednesday the ordinance they thought they approved last month — on changes to the Shelby County Land Bank — actually failed. But not before County Mayor Lee Harris vetoed it. The result is a confusing parliamentary mess.

    By Bill Dries July 17, 2024

  • County Commission could override Mayor Harris veto on land bank reform

    The commission gave final approval to sweeping changes to the Shelby County Land Bank at its last meeting in June. Mayor Lee Harris vetoed the resolution saying it costs too much and is an unclear plan. The commission meets in special session Wednesday, July 17, to vote on overriding Harris’ veto.

    By Bill Dries July 15, 2024

• June 2024

  • County Commission has several hitches on way to ending budget season

    The Shelby County Commission is unlikely to wrap up its budget season Monday, June 3, despite having an agenda with final votes scheduled on the budget and the property tax rate. 

    By Bill Dries June 03, 2024

• May 2024

  • Halbert says corrective-action plan underway in clerk’s office, but...

    Wanda Halbert says she’s working on a plan, but she said her reports may still be late or inaccurate, the software auditors recommended doesn’t work for her office and the county is not funding her enough.

    By Bill Dries May 15, 2024

• March 2024

  • Land Bank debate spills over into other issues on County Commission agenda

    The County Commission took three votes on the county Land Bank Monday, which touched on larger issues that showed lingering differences across two other unrelated items.

    By Bill Dries March 18, 2024