County Commission may attempt to block state schools takeover
“If we do nothing then we are really leaving ourselves at the will of the state,” said Commissioner Shante Avant.
There are 59 article(s) tagged Michael Whaley:
“If we do nothing then we are really leaving ourselves at the will of the state,” said Commissioner Shante Avant.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris has produced six letters, going back to April 2021, in which he asked the County Commission to vote on new ethics board members.
A proposed one-month moratorium on the Shelby County Board of Commissioners’ grant program was voted down, but the commission may change how grants are made. There could also changes to the ethics board. County Commission has little appetite for giving itself a raiseRelated content:
The possible freeze, which follows the indictment of Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. on bribery and tax evasion charges linked to grants, is one of the items on the March 17 agenda.
The grant program that allots each county commissioner $200,000 is at the heart of federal bribery and tax-evasion charges against Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr.
The proposals include ballot questions for voters countywide in 2026 and an attempt to bring to life the dormant Shelby County Ethics Commission — or abolish it.
There is no provision for removing a Shelby County commissioner facing criminal charges, but there is a push to strengthen the ethics commission’s role, Chairman Michael Whaley said.
The Shelby County Board of Commissioners is moving toward creating a “governance plan,” which would set goals for both the elected school board and Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins.
The Shelby County Commission met for a retreat where the aim was to get at the working relationship among the body of 13. That relationship has been rocky during the first half of the group’s four-year term.
The rules discussed at a Saturday, Dec. 14, retreat at Shelby Farms Park include a budget subcommittee to hash out details of budget amendments.
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.
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.
The incoming and outgoing chairs of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners talked on “Behind The Headlines” about new Cordova and Frayser schools funding and rebuilding Regional One Health’s campus.
The commission meeting also marks the last for Miska Clay Bibbs as chairwoman of the body. Michael Whaley becomes chairman next month.
The final vote on the referendum allowing the County Commission to hire its own independent attorney failed by one vote.
The vote totals in Thursday’s race for General Sessions Court clerk could be a larger political indicator than who is the next clerk. Also reaction from Cohen, Kustoff and Blackburn to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to D.C.
The vote Monday, July 22, revealed some enduring gaps among the commission’s nine-vote Democratic majority.
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.