Mayor Lee Harris also said he wants to meet with attorneys and other elected officials to see if further steps need to be taken.

While the indictment does not name the nonprofits, The Daily Memphian analyzed meeting minutes from the Shelby County Board of Commissioners and the Memphis City Council to determine which nonprofits were likely involved.

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.

Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. has been indicted on one count of alleged bribery and kickbacks and six counts of attempted tax evasion, according to federal court documents filed Friday, Feb. 28. 

Related content:

Edmund Ford Jr. turns himself in to federal authorities

Ford indictment spotlights County Commission ethics guidelines

Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. entered the Odell Horton Federal Building in Downtown Memphis at about 9:35 a.m. Friday, Feb. 28. 

The Shelby County Health Department recommends local hospitals adopt the “opt-out” approach, in which an HIV test will be part of a patient’s medical visit unless they decline. 

The commission approved more money to buy the property that goes with the old Commercial Appeal buildings. Deals on the three remaining adjacent parcels for the 16-acre site are still pending.

County commissioners are considering a raise for the whoever is elected Shelby County sheriff in 2026. Meanwhile, a proposal to give the next group of commissioners a pay raise was withdrawn.

The new General Sessions Criminal Court judge was chosen by Shelby County Board of Commissioners on Monday, Feb.24, on the third ballot. She takes office March 1.

Related content:

County Commission moves forward on sheriff’s pay raise, but not their own

Commissioners could also have more to say about the forensic audit of Memphis-Shelby County Schools they approved last month. Plus, the body will vote on several millions of dollars for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

County officials aren’t putting any dollar figures to the deficit they expect when County Mayor Lee Harris presents his budget proposal in late April. But it’s the talk of the County Commission’s early budget hearings.

After the ribbon-cutting for the adult wellness crisis center, Alliance Healthcare Services broke ground on the neighboring $11 million children’s wellness center.

The current U.S. Attorney, several judicial commissioners and more current and former assistant district attorneys filed applications by the Wednesday, Feb. 12, deadline set by the Shelby County Commission.

A group of countywide office holders was frustrated when the Shelby County Commission again delayed a vote on changes to hiring and funding they wanted. They were told that County Clerk Wanda Halbert needed to be included in the discussions.

The resolution approved Monday, Feb. 10, calls for $50,000 in funding for the audit from the County Commission’s contingency fund.

The commission also votes Monday on a set of three resolutions buying four more parcels on land on the new site for a rebuilt Regional One Health campus.

Shelby County Commissioners Mickell Lowery and Britney Thornton talked on “Behind The Headlines” about the political boundary between the commission and the MSCS board.

Two Shelby County Jail inmates died on Thursday and Friday, bringing the total to four this week.

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners will vote on the resolution at its Monday, Feb. 10, meeting, authorizing $50,000 from the commission’s contingency fund to pay for the audit.

As the end of Lee Harris’ tenure as Shelby County mayor nears, potential successors start laying the groundwork for their campaigns. 

Shelby County Commissioner Mickell Lowery said on “Behind The Headlines” that he would like to see the commission have line-item control of MSCS spending.

A week before Thanksgiving, a local real estate agent got a call to look for a 16-acre site close to the Medical District.

A new agreement will allow Shelby County Health Department to provide screenings, treatment, preventative care and education to public middle and high school students, whose HIV infection rates are rising at an alarming rate. 

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris talked of the new hospital site as a connection of the Medical District to Downtown, where there is now a lot of vacant land and blight.

Related content:

County mayor in Nashville working on alternatives to MSCS takeover bill

The city’s vehicle-registration fee was supposed to double — from $30 to $60 — as of July 1. But the Shelby County Clerk’s office has not implemented the change.