Elon Musk to build supercomputer in Memphis, budget season drags on | The Week in Politics

Brooke Muckerman and Neil Strebig, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·3 min read

Elon Musk-founded xAI will build the "world's largest supercomputer" in Memphis, the Greater Memphis Chamber announced Wednesday.

Chamber President and CEO Ted Townsend said this project represents a multibillion-dollar investment and is the largest by a new-to-market company in Memphis history. Final job counts and total investment are still being calculated by the company, he said. The project is expected to open this year.

Few specifics were provided about the project, which is called "xAI's Gigafactory of Compute," including its location. Townsend said due to global security concerns, the location would not be announced.

Leaders from around Shelby County expressed excitement about the tech giant's choice of Memphis. President and CEO of Memphis Light, Gas and Water Doug McGowen said the utility company is "pleased," and that MLGW will meet the power demands "without putting out power grid or water at risk."

Budgets for city, county to cut close to start of fiscal year

Both the Shelby County and city of Memphis governments will push their fiscal year 2025 budget approvals to the end of the month, days before the deadline to approve budgets.

Shelby County commissioners and Memphis City councilmembers deferred their budget items to the later June meetings.

Commissioners took no action on numerous budget items during Monday night's meeting but did have a robust discussion about the three items. During the discussion of the approval of the operating budget for fiscal year 2025, Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. said he wrote to the Tennesse Comptroller of the Treasury to get information regarding the fund balance.

More: Memphis City Council pushes major budget items to days before start of the next fiscal year

According to the letter, the current fund balance is sitting closer to 11% of the annual revenue. County policy, according to the letter, states the unassigned general fund must stay between 20% and 30%.

The budget amendments that received a favorable recommendation from commissioners would all pull from the fund balance, bringing the fund lower. When the fund balance is below the county policy or state policy, it could impact bond ratings that the county relies on to issue bonds to build capital projects.

Budget discussions have only just begun, as there was no action taken on any fiscal year 2025 budget resolutions during Monday night's meeting. The county property tax, which at this time is staying flat, could also see changes next week.

Commissioner Erika Sugarmon said she will be presenting a 30-cent tax increase, similar to what she proposed during last year's budget season.

Commissioners did not pass a resolution that would have requested mediation between Juvenile Court and Shelby County Sheriff's Office.

Catch up on the week

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Week ahead

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners will meet on Monday, June 3 at 8:30 a.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.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis, Shelby Co. budgets pushed to late June | The Week in Politics

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