Money to repair broken cell door locks at Shelby County Jail approved by County Commission
Shelby County Commissioners took more action Monday night and Tuesday morning than just voting on the various items related to the fiscal year 2025 budget.
More repairs to jail locks at the Shelby County Jail, often called 201 Poplar, were approved by Shelby County Commissioners.
In early May a disturbance caused by inmates resulted in fires inside the jail, cell doors being knocked off their tracks and several inmates being injured. The order for the 200 door motors and associated parts for cell doors was filed at the end of May.
Commissioners also passed multiple items relating to funding for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office without much discussion. The items came at the heel of the nearly 12-hour-long meeting.
The emergency purchase is the latest in a string of maintenance issues at the jail. Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner has called for a new jail facility to be built, citing the age of 201 Poplar, which was built about 40 years ago.
In February, Commissioners approved a boiler replacement for the jail kitchen at 201 Poplar and in May another emergency purchase order was approved to replace and repair broken jail locks, which were damaged by a power surge.
The replacement comes with a price tag of over $2.2 million and was approved by the purchasing department because it was justified as an emergency need. The boiler system that was replaced provided hot water to inmates in the jail, and Alston said the replacement was needed to address "public health."
Land Bank ordinance passes
The Shelby County Land Bank will soon undergo changes to how it operates and will also take on a new name. The Land Bank ordinance which has been in and out of Commission meetings for the better part of 8 months passed during the same meeting as the jail lock funding.
The ordinance, which has been substituted numerous times, aims to change how the land bank operates and hopes to make the department a revenue generator for the county. Some examples of the major changes the ordinance will have include the increase of fees to property conveyances to non-profits, the name change to the Shelby County Real Estate Department.
Harold B. Collins, chief administrative officer for Shelby County, said the $349,000 cost and the hiring of new employees is why the administration is against the changes.
Previously: MSCS pausing big job cuts, Shelby County budget talks get tense | The Week in Politics
More: Shelby County Sheriff's Office budget: Dispute over cuts vs. county pay raises deepens
The operating budget allocated $259,575 to fund some of the changes.
Commissioner Britney Thornton chaired the Delinquent Tax Property Ad Hoc Committee and constructed the ordinance based on the issues she saw.
The committee had its last meeting in August, and Thornton presented an ordinance that would introduce big changes to the land bank in late September. As the ordinance passed through the commission, it underwent major changes which required additional readings.
The administration has been a critic of the changes Thornton has advocated for, saying again that many of the changes she would like to see can be done without an ordinance.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris's budget proposal called for no new hiring to cut costs across the county because of the tight budget this year.
The ordinance will go into effect July 1.
Brooke Muckerman covers Shelby County Government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at (901) 484-6225, [email protected] and followed on X, formerly known as Twitter @BrookeMuckerman.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shelby County Commission approves emergency repair funding for jail