MLGW pushes full recovery to Saturday; council member ‘incredibly frustrated’
Some elected leaders are already promising a long-term review of why outages continue to cripple the city for days at a time.
There are 77 article(s) tagged Chase Carlisle:
Some elected leaders are already promising a long-term review of why outages continue to cripple the city for days at a time.
The council moved to bind approval for a new Midtown hotel to other parts of the project, calling for retail and residential development before a certificate of occupancy can be issued for the hotel.
The state has lowered the percentage it expects to make on investments that finance pension funds. By state law, the city of Memphis must lower its discount rate as well in the spring budget season.
Whether it is an old-fashioned drag race on a quarter-mile of city street straightaway, weaving in and out of traffic at 100-mph-plus on interstates or performing stunts in public parking lot, the street racing culture brings danger, and sometimes tragedy, to those unfortunate enough to be nearby.
The delay came after some council members opposed to the ballot question pushed for a separate vote on first reading Tuesday, Dec. 21.
City Council members resurrect a project they killed three weeks ago on a tie vote for a January re-vote. And the debate was contentious.
Most council members abstained or didn’t vote Monday in a test vote on the new proposal to allow Memphis Police officers to live outside the county ,but within a 50-mile radius.
The Memphis City Council approved one pipeline ordinance but denied another that would have kept oil pipelines from locating within 1,500 feet of schools, churches and parks.
The Black-owned multi-family developer who partnered with Carlisle Development on part of the One Beale project and the nearby 7 Vance mixed-use development is taking Carlisle to court as the issue of minority participation in general moves back to the front burner.
The percentage is a calculation that excludes the city’s spend in areas where it is determined there are no local minority businesses.
The higher minimum wage for EDGE tax break incentives was well short of seven votes Tuesday, Oct. 19, on the Memphis City Council. Opponents of the measure defeated a move to delay the outcome but there may still be some life left in the call for higher pay for tax breaks.
The council also delayed action on several resolutions awarding federal American Rescue Plan Act funding allocated for the council’s uses.
The council is on record opposing TVA’s plan to truck coal ash from the old Allen Fossil Plant to a landfill in Capleville. The Tuesday council committee discussion also ventured into TVA’s role in the Blue Oval City Ford battery plant.
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.