Memphis Budget Proposal
Last month, Mayor Paul Young presented a largely flat budget to the Memphis City Council. The $883 million proposal—just $20 million more than the previous year’s budget—includes necessary personnel cost increases, as well as a previously negotiated 5% increase for the Memphis Fire Department. Mayor Young also included $30 million for MATA, which has seen recent turmoil in leadership, route coverage, and fiscal responsibility. This is approximately $5 million less than the transit system received from the city in the previous year, including emergency funds that were allocated
mid-year.
Several factors contributed to the tight budget presented by the mayor this year, including expiring COVID relief funding, a lower than anticipated level of revenue from last year’s property tax increase, and complications in implementing the increase in the city’s vehicle registration fee.
Shelby County Budget Proposal
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris’ budget presentation to the County Commission this week centered on his claim that he was proposing a 20% decrease in property taxes. In reality, he is proposing that Shelby County keep the state recertified level of taxes following last year’s reappraisals. (State law forbids the county from securing more revenue then it had previously with an old tax rate following an increase in property values from reappraisals. Based on reappraisals, the state will set a “recertified” rate; if property values increase, a lower tax rate is set, which generates the same amount of revenue as the higher rate with lower property values did. It is then up to county commissioners whether or not they want to “raise taxes” to generate more revenue to utilize in the budget.) Harris paired his declared tax cut with a proposed $5 increase in the wheel tax, due to the fact that the $25 increase from last year did not produce the amount of revenue that was anticipated.
Other highlights from Mayor Harris’ budget proposal include a $150 million increase (from $350 million to $500 million) to fund the relocation of Regional One Health, as well as a flat level of funding for all eight school districts in the county.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools Budget Proposal
Interim Superintendent Rod Richmond presented a $1.85 billion budget to the Shelby County Commission this week, which mirrors the city and county budget by remaining largely flat. Given the end of COVID relief funding for school districts and the threat of losing federal funding for education in general, the district is asking for an additional $37.7 million from the county for “one-time” investments. These include fire and safety upgrades for several schools’ outdated fire alarms, intercoms, and HVACs; funding for adult high school education completion through Goodwill Excel; and an expansion of Tutor 901 services provided through Literacy Mid-South. Remember: Mayor Lee Harris proposed keeping the same level of funding for MSCS as they received last year.
Assistant Superintendent of Operations Tito Langston also announced that the district hopes to present a final comprehensive facilities plan to the school board in August. This highly-anticipated plan will likely include proposals for several school closures and mergers, as well as a plan to address the more than $1 billion in deferred maintenance costs across the district.
