The following is an excerpt from our March issue:
By: Chuck Bates
Last month we discussed the real state of our economy, not the rose colored picture that is most often presented to we the people by various politicians and government agencies. What we hear on the nightly news does not always square with reality. This is particularly true the closer we get to an election day and the powers that be desire to remain the powers that be. (more…)
The following is an excerpt from our March issue:
By: Mick Wright
Elvis Presley’s first paid gig was performed at The Shell, an amphitheater in Overton Park, nestled between the The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, the Memphis College of Art and The Memphis Zoo. The beautiful property is one of the city’s most cherished recreation areas and features a golf course and a veteran’s memorial; it’s also just a few blocks from Sun Studio, where Elvis cut his first record.
In 2004, the 68-year-old Shell was ordered closed by the Parks Department, which cited code violations and liability concerns and estimated the needed repairs at $500,000.
The rebuilding effort provides a stark contrast to another project being contemplated down the street. Unlike Mayor Willie Herenton’s Liberty Bowl proposal, the Shell’s restoration is necessary, relatively inexpensive, and strongly supported by the community. For nearly two decades, the Shell was maintained by volunteers with no city investment, and the capital funding recently approved by the City Council will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Mortimer Levitt Foundation and friends of the shell.
Unfortunately, there are some similarities. First, the city has appropriated half a million dollars, almost exactly the full amount originally estimated. Why the cost of repairs doubled in the span of two years is unclear. You might think the city could use materials left over from the Ford parking garage at FedEx Forum or salvaged from one of several buildings targeted for destruction, but the Shell plan doesn’t appear to require much infrastructure. In fact, most of the benches will actually be removed to allow for a grassy knoll and lawn seating.
Further, the Shell was built in 1936 for less than $12,000, which would be only $170,000 today adjusting for inflation. The total spent this year will be more than five times that amount. (more…)
The following is an excerpt from our March issue:
By: Jonathan Lindberg
If it seems like Mayor Willie Herenton is being allowed to write his own script for the upcoming mayoral election, it might just be because he is. In February, three candidates, John Willingham and Carol Chumney and Herman Morris, all threw their hats into the ring. If Herenton has his way, one more visible candidate will enter the race between now and May 1. Four energetic candidates to fight over the anti-Herenton vote and Herenton will win the day.
Granted, we are not there yet.
What is interesting about Chumney and Willingham declaring their candidacy just days apart is the fact that Chumney unofficially entered this race seven months ago with the implied hope of discouraging candidates like John Willingham from even entering the race. Unfortunately, John Willingham never got that memo.
A vote for Willingham is by no means a vote taken away from Herenton, or for that matter Morris. In fact, anyone who would consider supporting Willingham, the anti-establishment candidate, would never imagine casting a vote for Herenton. No, a vote for Willingham is definitely a vote that would have gone to Chumney four weeks ago. In a race that must be close to be won, that is not a good thing.
This is not to say it is panic-time. The election is still seven months away, an eternity. However, Chumney must work double-time, raising enough money not only to convince voters that Herenton deserves to be fired, but also that a vote for one of the other candidates is really a wasted vote. One has to wonder, is there enough money available? (more…)
The following is an excerpt from our March issue:
By: Mike Ritz
When it comes to the upcoming challenges facing the County Commission, the biggest challenge we face will be financial. We have our hands full of potential property tax increases before the 2008 budget proposals come from the Mayor, other elected officials, and the City and County Schools.
For several months, Mayor Wharton has worked with the suburbs to increase ambulance service to the county outside the City of Memphis and Bartlett. (Those two cities operate their own ambulance services.) If that service contract amendment is approved by the County Commission, the cost of the $2,180,000 contract amendment will add 1.4 cents on the tax rate. The ambulance service proposed by Mayor Wharton may be dying as Germantown and Collierville may opt for their own service and the County bids out what is left.
In early January, the County Sheriff asked the County Commission to approve the hiring of an architect and contractor to build a county jail with a capacity for 4,000 inmates. His cost estimates were $60,000 per bed. A more realistic estimate is probably $80,000. The costs to the taxpayers will be at least $320,000,000. On a twenty year bond schedule, the cost to the taxpayers will add 14.8 cents on the tax rate. Sheriff Luttrell committed to working with our Committee in order to discuss his plans further. Most recently, Luttrell sent out a Requests for Proposals, detailing work he wants done before other alternatives have been discussed and the planning committee ever met.
A day later, at a joint Budget and Personnel Committee meeting, the Commission was informed of a $448,000,000 unfunded liability for retirees health insurance and life insurance. While the county retirement pension plan is solvent, the health and life insurance plans will need to have the benefits modified (reduced) or our taxpayers face an immediate and every year catch up price of $36,300,000 or 22.6 cents added to the property tax rate. The County administration has since proposed that (1) the retirees over 65 must use Medicare drug coverage; (2) the retirees pay a higher percentage of the health insurance premium; and (3) the maximum life insurance benefit for a retiree be $10,000. The Commission has not voted on this proposal which still leaves an annual $10,000,000 extra cost or 6.2 cents on the tax rate.
Later in January, the Mayor Wharton told our Emergency Communications Committee of his plan to improve ambulance service, fire service, and emergency communications for the entire County. While he shared no budget with the Committee, he told the media that the cost of his plan could be $100,000,000. That $100,000,000 price tag equates to 62.5 cents on the tax rate. To be fair, the Mayor did say that he would like to get some state authorization to help with this a fee, so it was not a property tax burden. However, he did not commit to delay implementation of the plan until he got the fee authorization from the state. (more…)
