There are 67 article(s) tagged Michael Whaley:
At a meeting that stretched past 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, the Shelby County Commission closed out its budget season with no property-tax hike and a 6% pay raise for county employees.
But there are still some lingering concerns about the proposal, which would make the proposed University Schools district the 10th public school operator in Shelby County.
County Commission Budget Committee Chairman Michael Whaley talks about the proposed doubling of the county’s capital budget on The Daily Memphian’s “On The Record” podcast.
As a final Shelby County Commission vote nears on a move toward a “greener” fleet of government vehicles, there are a lot of questions about the county administration’s timeline for meeting its goals.
At one point Shelby County commissioners forgot they had allocated capital funding to the county’s seven public school systems as they debate how to fund $350 million ask by Regional One.
The commission voted to fund a new voting system with both touch-screen machines with a paper trail as well as hand-marked paper ballots.
The May county primary results are certified and the Democratic and Republican nominees who advanced to the August ballot are now seeking to appeal to a larger group of voters in that election.
“It’s likely that nearly all property tax payers will pay less next year than this year even with the higher property values we are seeing across the country,” the county’s new budget chair said.
The rate of $3.399 advanced Monday, May 9, on first reading with uncertainty ahead for the second of three votes on May 23. Barretville General Store gets green light for expansion despite ‘family squabble' County Commission debates filling open State House District 91 seatRelated stories:
The Daily Memphian readers chime in to share their experiences, which sometimes involve mail delivery issues. But County Clerk Wanda Halbert says there are other problems within county government.
The $13 million in additional funding found from a group of seven county budget line items brings the total cost of the project to around $30 million including the $3 million the county paid for the Old Getwell building that is being renovated.
The commission being elected in August with at least six new members will get a 19.9% pay raise. The mayor and sheriff elected on the same August ballot will get 21% raises.
The redistricting map approved Monday keeps a new Cordova-based district, restores the Collierville 7 precinct to District 2 and Germantown 4 to District 4. It also separates two incumbents expected to run again.
Democrats voted for it and Republicans voted against it. But the party line was not enough to make it the final vote on the redistricting plan that creates a new commission district built around Cordova, where most of the growth was in the 2020 Census.
The ad hoc group, made up mostly of county commissioners, included in its top 3 a map that drew the ire of commissioner Brandon Morrison last week for endangering her re-election prospects last year.
The resolution to form a commission to draft a consolidation charter showed up in Wednesday committee sessions without notice. Like the City Council, county commissioners amended it to stop short of beginning to draft a charter and to include looking at changes to local government short of consolidation.
The commission also delayed the second of three votes on the Byhalia Connection Pipeline ordinance after it was amended.
The proposal by Assessor Melvin Burgess would have moved the cycle of countywide property reappraisals for taxation purposes from once every four years to every other year.
Some commissioners have doubts about the move to every other year reappraisals. Assessor Melvin Burgess Jr. says the results will be less sticker shock from increases in values after four years.
The County Commission put off a vote on the change in the reappraisal cycle until its April 12 meeting as commissioners hear a lot from constituents about increased property values in the current reappraisal.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris' administration officials answered questions as county commissioners prepare for another review of the fiscal 2021 budget.
Even with fourth coronavirus patient, Shelby County Health Department director said there is still no need for mass testing.
The founder of the charter school company operating Frayser's ASD School, MLK Prep, and County Commissioner Michael Whaley talked about the Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris' proposal for a new high school in Frayser on "Behind The Headlines."
Amending the county's residency requirements for public safety workers is intended to help with hiring and retention.
A new policy approved by the Shelby County Commission will make it easier for suburban school systems to tap into capital improvement funds.