Shelby County commissioners are still considering a hike in the wheel tax or the property tax to complete their budget season. 

Welcome back to The Daily Memphian’s On The Ballot newsletter, bringing you the latest election coverage. This edition brings voters up to speed on who’s running, who’s campaigning and what happened with the mayoral residency debacle.

The new county funding would be for 40 new counselors with the goal of preventing a “cross over” of children coming to the court for child welfare issues and then moving to delinquent behavior.

Janet Hooks, the county commission’s special adviser to Clerk Wanda Halbert, also says the commission should restore $1 million in funding to Halbert’s office that it cut earlier so she can fill positions with new employees instead of moving existing employees around.

City Council rejects Cordova district, FedEx contract would pay pilots a lot more and we look at what’s next for LeMoyne-Owen College.

The budget for the year starting July 1 has not been approved. Now, the board of trustees must also plan how it will replace the school’s president.

“This is the highest level of ignorance I have ever been a part of and for my own health I can’t be a part of it anymore,” MSCS vice chair Sheleah Harris said. 

Related story:

Banned activists suing MSCS board in federal court

The activists allege violations of their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. They are seeking “nominal” damages, a declaration that the ban was unconstitutional and an immediate injunction on the ban.

The plan voted down would have created a Cordova-centric council district. The defeat leaves in place a set of minimal changes ahead of the October Memphis ballot where nine of the 13 council members are seeking re-election. 

Buster’s Liquors & Wines co-owner Josh Hammond calls for local law enforcement to do something about Memphis’ crime after a recent burglary at his store.

Juvenile Court Magistrate Judge Mitzi Pollard read the additional charges during a Tuesday hearing and set a new hearing date. 

The council took no vote on the tax hike and could vote on it June 27. 

The downgrade to “alert” comes a week after a flash flood watch was lifted for the area in the wake of potential breach conditions identified last month

FedEx pilots’ union leaders approve contract, property tax is going up in Collierville and Terri Bosby is Memphis’ hype woman.

The council also takes a final vote on “party bus” regulations and gets a look at a long-term lease of the new Leftwich Tennis Center with the University of Memphis.

Experts say it’s common for attorneys to start in the public defender’s office and venture into other, potentially higher-paying jobs, like the district attorney’s office. It is also common for public defenders to make the move when a progressive district attorney, such as Steve Mulroy, is elected. 

Terri Bosby has presided over 50 ribbon-cuttings for the Greater Memphis Chamber this year, or more than two a week. At a difficult time in Memphis, Bosby is reminding us what determination and enthusiasm can do.

These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. 

Comeback Coffee expands, Young Rock is over and we learn where mayoral hopefuls stand on a tax increase. 

Former Shelby County Commissioner Sidney Chism’s annual summer political picnic returned June 10. It was also the last day of early voting for the special primary elections in state House District 86. And Martin Luther King III came through Memphis last week in a summer bus tour across the country.

Four county commissioners — two from each political party — met Sunday, June 11, with Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris for four hours. They came up with a compromise that has a wheel-tax hike back in play after it was rejected by the commission earlier this month. But property tax hikes are also in play.

As the Memphis City Council considers whether to raise property taxes, Memphis mayoral candidates were split on whether they want to do so. 

Hiring challenges and overwhelming caseloads for public defenders aren’t new. The local office is doing what it can to incentivize new recruits.

Beginning July 1, Memphis leaders will lay groundwork for a statewide nonprofit association, which they see as the place that will offer research on issues germane to nonprofits and help them get legislative access in Nashville.

The D.C. Scorecard shows partisan lines still intact among the city’s four representatives on the espionage indictment against Donald Trump. Also, Cohen talks Memphis to Nashville Amtrak service, while Kustoff talks workforce at Le Bonheur.