There are 24 article(s) tagged Shelby County Ethics Commission:
Lee Harris has vetoed six ordinances or resolutions approved by the Shelby County Commission in his seven years as county mayor. Some have stood, others have been overridden by the commission and one was some of both.
The vote came after harsh words were exchanged between Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr.
The Shelby County Commission is scheduled to vote on cutting short the terms of some Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members and a new jail resolution that would rule out the old Firestone plant site.
Commissioner Michael Whaley withdrew an ordinance that would have downsized the Ethics Commission in order to get the group to meet — something it hasn’t done in years.
Two ethics proposals return to the Shelby County Commission Monday. County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., who faces criminal charges himself, is accusing others of wrongdoing.
The commission also takes a second reading vote Monday on a pay raise for the next Shelby County Sheriff. Final action on a pair of ethics ordinances has been delayed to next month.
Shelby County Commissioners are still divided over whether their earlier no-confidence resolution in the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board led to plans to for a state takeover of the school system.
The Monday, March 31, County Commission meeting will be a busy one. On the agenda is an advisory board for Memphis-Shelby County Schools and a call for public hearings on xAI’s permitting process.
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 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 Commission Scorecard tracks votes on an attempt to change who investigates ethics complaints and selection of a new chairman and chairman pro tempore at the first meeting of the term.
The ordinance would take the power to appoint the county ethics officer away from the county attorney’s office. It comes eight years after that office investigated whether Brooks lived in the commission district she represented, and concluded she didn’t. Shelby County Commission weighs forming public safety committee in wake of recent violenceRelated story:
The second part of the City Council-County Commission move toward a consolidation charter proposal showed up unexpectedly in committee session last week on the county side. And it was panned by most of the seven commissioners present even after a compromise to consider steps short of a merger of the two governments.
The Commission Scorecard recaps critical votes at the Aug. 23 meeting and an overtime vote at a special Aug. 30 session. The special meeting may have been the last word on bonuses for county employees. But it is far from the last word on the underlying issue that drew out the final vote across two meetings in one week.
Commissioners made changes Monday to the blue ribbon ethics panel it created despite a veto by county Mayor Lee Harris. The changes didn’t go down well with those who wanted the group to report directly to the commission and not the county Ethics Commission.
The Shelby County Commission voted Monday, Aug. 9, to override the veto of a new ethics advisory panel the commission would appoint.
The County Commission will soon have a panel of five to advise on ethics. One commissioner warns it could be seen as conflicting with the ongoing special prosecutor’s investigation into a 2019 grant proposed by Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr.
The County Commission Scorecard tracks the second in a series of votes on a county property tax rate. But the votes probably don’t close out the county’s budget season with four of the 13 commissioners absent.Related story:
The proposed review of appointees to the ethics body comes as County Mayor Lee Harris is about to propose new ethics regulations.
Some of the changes proposed and outlined on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast address issues that came up in the allegations made against county commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. in an independent investigation made public last month in The Daily Memphian.
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.
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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