County Commission considers more frequent property reappraisals
Monday’s commission agenda includes prep for the budget season that begins later this month in county government.
Topic: Edmund Ford Jr.
RSSThere are 70 article(s) tagged Edmund Ford Jr.:
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April 2021
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March 2021
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Ford grant investigation poses broader questions
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.
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Ford, Harris trade words over investigation into commission grant
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.
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Special prosecutor reviewing information in Ford criminal investigation
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.
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Opinion: Ford’s handling of Junior Achievement grant reminiscent of past scandals
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.
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Independent county report concludes Ford violated county ethics in $45,000 JA computer deal
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.
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Released emails show early vaccine questions between Memphis, county health officials
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.
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February 2021
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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.
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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.
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January 2021
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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.
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November 2020
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Discussions spur dialogue for change
A variety of community voices spoke out on police reform during two discussions last week.
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October 2020
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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.
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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.
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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.
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September 2020
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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.
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August 2020
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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.
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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.
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July 2020
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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June 2020
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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.
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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.
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May 2020
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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.
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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.
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