There are 452 article(s) tagged Memphis City Council:
A move for a 31-cent tax hike never got to a vote, with a council majority voting down a rule suspension to consider going up on the tax rate. That and other votes Tuesday, June 15, closed out the city’s budget season.
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 path of the two budget seasons and the use of federal funds to close financial gaps — plus other topics — are the focus of a reporters roundtable on “Behind The Headlines.”
Martavius Jones says he will push for the increase at next week’s council session.
The council approved Tuesday, June 1, accepting $80.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding -- the first of two payments to come from Washington for pandemic relief. But there are still questions and uncertainties about how the money can be used.
Memphis City Council members voted Tuesday, June 1, to extend the city’s five-year old disparity study another two years.
The Tuesday council session includes discussion about proposed home improvement grants, an extension of the contract with the company that runs Liberty Bowl stadium for the city and a delay until June 15 on final votes that would set the city budget and property tax rate.
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.
The council approved on first reading an ordinance that forbids dumping belongings in an eviction on public rights of way and approved on the second of three readings the creation of a Crosstown Historic District Overlay governed by the Memphis Landmarks Commission.
The resolution condemns the bill on Lee’s desk that bans public schools from teaching the racial theory. Council members, Black and white, said their experience on a diverse elected body has shown the importance of discussing race in classrooms.
The loan comes as construction costs are rising nationwide. The loan is covered by private donations pledged over several years as well as raising $2.5 million more from donors. The University of Memphis has pledged to cover any shortfall in raising the additional private funds.
The council will hear, in committees, about the idea of “potential acquisition and adaptive reuse” of a bottling company plant at Southern and Hollywood. On the council agenda is a vote urging Gov. Bill Lee to veto a bill that bans teaching critical race theory.
Last week’s declared “truce” notwithstanding, a group of citizens opposing construction of an oil pipeline through South Memphis neighborhoods want two lawsuits involving the project to move forward.
It could have taken years for city crews to adequately manage garbage pick up in Area E, city council members were told Tuesday. Meanwhile, some council members appear likely to move for more funding of the Memphis Area Transit Authority and the parks division has a plan to add park rangers.
The City Council Scorecard looks at the almost unanimous vote making Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis the new head of MPD. The dissenting votes indicate Davis has cleared one hurdle but faces more to make the words that impressed most of the council match what she does as police chief.
An agreement between the Memphis City Council and the companies behind the Byhalia Connection delays all major decisions on the pipeline until July 1.
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.
The council also approved a new seven-year lease between the city and the Withers Collection Inc., which has been behind on its rent.
The council approved the larger Crosstown overlay district without the 9-acre mound Tuesday, May 4, in the first of several votes on the blueprint for control of design standards by the Memphis Landmarks Commission.
Council unanimously approves a resolution opposing the proposed configuration that would eliminate Scott Street’s southern connection to Poplar Avenue.
On Tuesday, both sides in the pipeline dispute agreed to put their actions on hold until July.
What began as a more general ban of underground pipelines in the city is now a specific ordinance that allows existing underground infrastructure to be grandfathered in. It also allows companies to seek exceptions from the council to the ban.
The Tuesday, May 4, council day includes a possible vote on the nomination of C.J. Davis to be the new police chief. And the council has a proposal to change eviction set-outs 16 years after its last attempt to bring some order to the process.
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.
Many of the speakers reiterated concerns about the pipeline’s potential impact on the city’s aquifer and questioned why the Byhalia Connection had to run through predominantly lower-income Black neighborhoods in Memphis.