The June 28 Shelby County Commission session saw an attempt to bring back to life bonuses some elected countywide officials proposed three weeks ago. 

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 9-2 vote at the Monday, June 27, commission completes city and county action to create an ongoing tax revenue stream expected to total $30 million in the next 8 years.

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County Commission caught between capital funding for schools or Regional One

County weighs bonuses along with pay raise — again

Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert says her office has been hand-stuffing envelopes, but she remains baffled by what caused the backlog. In the interim, county government has asked for a weekly inspection of the clerk’s license plate and car tag storage space. 

The housing will provide a home for four ex-offenders who are participating in the Shelby County Office of Re-Entry’s FOCUSED program, an 11-week training program that combines job readiness with the opportunity for selection into vocational training programs.

The agenda also includes $300,000 in funding for the Greater Whitehaven Economic Redevelopment Corp. Additionally, commissioners will consider a resolution urging the Tennessee General Assembly to change redistricting maps to reflect an accurate county line between Shelby County and Fayette County.

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County Commission goals include help for Regional One

And with almost half of Shelby County Commissioners leaving office in two months, they have a firm deadline to find $350 million in funding, their share of the project’s funding, for the county-owned hospital. The Commission also has ambitious plans to revamp the county’s MWBE program. 

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County Commission caught between capital funding for schools or Regional One

House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally held a ceremonial signing of the bill at City Hall in Memphis.

“We will lose young professionals, new college grads and young families to surrounding areas of other cities where there is substantial affordable housing available.”

Amy Weirich has been elected to serve on the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference’s Executive Committee.

The new bill will make it a felony to camp on local public property, punishable by up to six years in prison. With transitional homes filling up faster than ever, where does that leave Memphis’ homeless community? 

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Memphis group receives $3.8M grant to help combat youth homelessness

Since 2018, 7,500 property owners in Shelby County have fallen victim to this form of identity theft. 

The former president, the headliner at a conservative political conference on Saturday, offered a preview during a speech in Nashville of what he is likely to say.

Republican-controlled county commissions in other parts of Tennessee have moved fast when state legislative seats open up, appointing replacements in less than a month.

The County Commission Scorecard tracks the votes on the end of the budget season and several unrelated longstanding controversies the commission got off its plate in a marathon June 6 meeting.

The research mobile exhibit, led by the National Institutes of Health, stops in Memphis this week. 

The Shelby County Election Commission has until Monday to complete the process for primary races that each got fewer than 3,000 votes.

At a meeting Tuesday, local residents in favor of a split from the Tennessee Valley Authority criticized MLGW’s bid process — and learned who submitted at least one of the power proposals. 

“I am cautiously optimistic about what we have seen so far,” said Memphis-Shelby County Schools superintendent Joris Ray. 

The ordinance, sponsored by by Republican Commissioner Mick Wright and Democratic Commissioner Van D. Turner Jr., allows people with criminal histories to volunteer to serve. 

COVID gutted the distribution networks for street gold like shoes, belts and sleeping bags. But Pam Scarbrough of Community Alliance for the Homeless found a way around it.

Republican U.S. Representative says it’s “a seat at the table on issues such as taxes, trade and healthcare” for constituents in West Tennessee and the Mid-South region.

Weirich, a Republican who has been in office since 2011, is running for reelection. She faces Democrat Steve Mulroy in the August county general election.

The Memphis City Council members could close out its 2022 budget season Tuesday, June 7, with a set of votes on a new property tax rate and operating and capital budgets.

The clerk’s office has been late in mailing the plates and stickers for most of this year, with complaints increasing.

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County Commission approves budget specifics in marathon session