Last week, the Memphis City Council finalized the City of Memphis’ Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 budget a full week ahead of the June 30th deadline. Budget discussions were largely driven by tight fiscal conditions and the city council’s decision not to raise the property tax rate in the year before nearly half of the body prepares for reelection.
Without new revenue, no new spending can occur without proportional budget cuts. In the end, the city largely maintained existing allocations, while approving a 2% raise for city employees (significantly less than the 5% they requested), along with a $2,000 bonus. Funding for local public Pre-K stayed level from FY26, while AutoZone Park (the home of the Memphis Redbirds) received a $5 million infrastructure boost.
Across Main Street this week, the Shelby County Commission passed Shelby County’s FY27 budget with the first property tax increase in over a decade. Despite the state-set recapture rate of $2.66 per $100 of assessed value falling three cents below the existing tax rate of $2.69, the commission opted to raise approximately $13 million in revenue by setting the new rate at $2.702382 to fund their budgetary priorities.
Among the newly funded priorities are new staff for the Shelby County public defender’s office, as well as additional funds for nonprofits such as Hospitality Hub and Heal the Hood. The commission, like the council, opted to keep Pre-K funding the same from FY26.
