County creates budget hole, councilwoman resigns MRPP position | The Week in Politics

Memphis Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-Thomas resigned from her position with Memphis River Parks Partnership in response to the ethics complaint filed against her regarding her employment.

Easter-Thomas and her attorney Andre Wharton have been battling an ethics complaint for months. That complaint process ended Wednesday after Rodrick Holmes, the attorney representing the board, said the councilwoman had resigned from the job with the parks partnership.

In addition to recommending the board accept Easter-Thomas' resignation as "ending the continuing conflict of interest with MRPP," Holmes said the board should recommend to the city council that she be censured.

The board will now issue a written opinion to the city council, and councilmembers will vote on whether to censure Easter-Thomas or not.

Halbert suspension hearing set

Embattled Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert appeared in court for the first time since the ouster petition was filed against her to remove her from office. Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson said she would not grant an out-of-county jury for the jury, saying that the citizens of Shelby County are more than capable to hear the case.

Halbert will have her suspension hearing June 25. Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp said she would be calling 13-14 witnesses for her suspension arguments, but Halbert's attorney Darrell O'Neal said he does not know if he will be bringing in witnesses.

Wamp said most of her witnesses reside in Shelby County and work for Shelby County Government.

The trial is set to begin on August 26.

Corbin-Johnson, in court Friday, questioned whether Halbert's motion to dismiss was proper in an ouster proceeding. Wamp argued that it was not proper, and that ouster proceedings required an answer to the complaint.

"There is no answer or defense in the motion to dismiss," Wamp said in court. "There’s no denial, it is not an answer, which means it is not a placeholder."

O'Neal, in arguing that the motion was proper, cited a 2015 ouster case that allowed, and granted, a motion to dismiss. He also said the motion to dismiss worked as a placeholder to an answer to the petition.

Corbin-Johnson, in denying the motion to dismiss, said nobody alleged the motion to dismiss in the 2015 case was improper. She denied the motion without prejudice, allowing Halbert to question the sufficiency of the petition down the road.

Budget season kicks off for Shelby County Government

Shelby County Government kicked off budget discussions for fiscal year 2025 last week and county leaders are set to have more meetings and discussions this week.

The budget this year is tight, with little wiggle room for various additional funding requests. Some department and non-profits around the county did try their luck with the Commission during Wednesday's committee meetings.

Commissioners passed 11 amendments to the proposed fiscal year 2025 operating budget, and Director of Budget and Fiscal Planning Michael Thompson said during the committee meeting that it created at least a $10 million hole in the budget.

Because of the proposed new expense to the budget proposal, Commissioner Erika Sugarmon and Edmund Ford Jr. started discussing the possibility of a tax increase. Thompson said a 6-cent property tax increase would offset the added expense to the budget created during the committee meeting.

As of publication, there was no tax increase proposal for Shelby County in any resolution documents, and the mayor's administration said that they do not support a tax increase of any kind.

Right now, the fund balance is below the 20% policy limit, which requires the fund balance to have two months of operating funds in it, Director of Budget and Finance Audrey Tipton told Commissioners.

Congressman secures funding for Agape, Code Crew

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen last week announced he had secured $1 million through the annual appropriations process for a partnership program between Agape Child and Family Services and CodeCrew. The money will help fund a job-training program to help young adults in Memphis secure the necessary skills for in-demand computer science jobs.

Cohen said training young Memphian to fill technology jobs currently available in the community can lead to upward economic mobility for many in the city.

"This Community Project funding will help increase our workforce, (create) a better workforce and move Memphis forward economically," he said. "I want to help people get opportunities through jobs and better jobs, and this does."

Memphis mayor talks public safety, community clean up efforts at town hall

Memphis Mayor Paul Young held another One Memphis town hall last week, taking questions from community members on everything from crime suppression strategies and litter pickup efforts to job readiness training and how crime has impacted local businesses.

Young said the city was trying to tackle both crime prevention and intervention, and building community programming that can support young people and get them off paths that could lead to criminal activity.

In addition, he said that local law enforcement agencies were looking to increase the use of camera systems already in place and that there had been increased partnerships with the Tennessee Highway Patrol to increase the number of officers present on the roadways.

"Hopefully, you've seen in Tennessee Highway Patrol interstates, because they have had a significant presence the last couple of months, and I know that the graduating classes are officers dedicated to Memphis so we're excited," he said.

The mayor also talked about the possibility of organized community cleanup days to address litter around Memphis and engage residents.

Shelby County mayor's deputy chief of staff moves to city manager role

Frankie Dakin, deputy chief of staff for Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, announced he was nominated to be the next city manager of Millington. Current City Manager Ed Haley was appointed to the role whilst Dakin was a city Alderman in 2014.

Haley served 18 years on the Millington Board of Mayor and Aldermen, State Representative in the Tennessee General Assembly for eight years, 13 years as the Town Superintendent for the Town of Arlington and 27 years with Shelby County Government.

In total, Haley has served Shelby County in some capacity for the last 60 years.

Catch up on the week:

• Federal judge to rule on admission of Tyre Nichols character evidence

• No timeline for video of shootout that killed Memphis police officer, teen

• A Memphis police officer was killed by friendly fire. How common is it?

• Memphis Catholic group raises money to buy goats for people in Haiti

• MSCS superintendent taps Justin Bailey to head general counsel office

• Biden nominee, Kevin Ritz, nears Senate confirmation vote. What to know

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Week ahead

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners will meet on Monday, June 3 at 3:00 p.m. Watch the livestream via the website, or attend in person at Vasco A. Smith, Jr. County Administration Building, located at 160 N. Main St. in Memphis.

Memphis City Council will also meet for both committee and full council meetings on Tuesday, June 4 starting at 7:00 p.m. Watch the livestream via the Memphis City Council YouTube Channel, or attend in person at 125 N. Main, Room 514 in Memphis.

Commercial Appeal editor Corinne Kennedy contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shelby County talks 'hypothetical' tax increase to fill hole in budget