[9:53] >>

[9:56] sergeant-at-arms,

[9:58] would you please call the december

[9:59] 16th council meeting

[10:02] to order.

[10:03] >> [ indiscernible ]

[10:08] >> I would like to welcome

[10:11] hindu statesman

[10:14] , who is president of the universal

[10:16] decided hinduism to lead us in a prayer

[10:17] . Thank

[10:20] you, sir, being with us.

[10:23] the floor is yours.

[10:24] >> starting with

[10:26] the most sacred month,

[10:29] I will be reading from

[10:32] the scriptures some as old as

[10:35] 1500 bce

[10:38] interpreted into english.

[10:50] we meditate

[10:53] on the transcendental

[10:56] who is inside the heart the life

[10:59] of the sky, and inside the soul

[11:02] of the heaven. May stimulate and illuminate

[11:06] our minds .

[11:12] lead us

[11:17] from the unreal to the real lead us

[11:19] from darkness to light, lead us from death

[11:21] to mortality.

[11:39] strive constantly to serve the welfare

[11:40] of the world by devotion to selfless

[11:45] , do

[11:47] your work with what is always in mind.

[12:00] may we be protected

[12:06] --may we work together

[12:09] with no obstacles arise

[12:12] between us.

[12:15] piece , peace,

[12:18] peace be unto all.

[12:21] thank you.

[12:26] >> I pledge allegiance to the flag

[12:27] of the united states of america

[12:28] and to the republic for which it stands,

[12:29] one nation under god, indivisible,

[12:30] with liberty and justice for all.

[12:39] >>

[12:42] councilman, you are recognized.

[13:00] >> thank you, mr. Chair.

[13:03] greetings, being hereby known

[13:08] in recognition of a life of exemplary

[13:09] qualities, outstanding service to

[13:10] the

[13:12] city in many cities,

[13:15] involvement in

[13:16] humanitarian affairs and demonstrated

[13:17] concern for governmental process has

[13:18] been appointed chaplain

[13:21] of the day

[13:24] of the memphis city council. It is

[13:25] hereby

[13:26] entitled to all the honors, rights,

[13:27] and privileged

[13:28] pertaining to the office and to the

[13:30] display the certificate given this day

[13:33] , the 16th of december

[13:36] by the chairman and myself.

[13:39] >> thank you. >> thank

[13:42] you, sir.

[13:45] could we possibly

[13:47] ask council members to come down and get

[13:48] a photograph with our

[13:51] colleague here? He has been

[13:53] many places and would like to have

[13:54] this as a memory.

[15:41] >> would you please call the roll?

[15:48] >> [ roll call ]

[16:09] you have

[16:12] a quorum.

[16:15] >>

[16:17] thank you, madam controller. I believe

[16:21] vice chair swearengen-washington

[16:24] has read the minutes

[16:27] from december 2nd.

[16:28] >> I have reviewed

[16:29] the minutes,

[16:30] I find them to be in order and move

[16:31] for

[16:32] the adoption of the december 2nd,

[16:33] 2025, meeting minutes.

[16:45] and I so move.

[16:48] >> the minutes were moved by

[16:50] vice chair swearengen-washington and

[16:51] seconded by council member

[16:54] spinosa. Please take us

[16:57] to the voting screen.

[17:13] >> [ roll call ]

[17:25] >> the item passes.

[17:28] welcome

[17:31] to

[17:34] our december 16th,

[17:35] 2025, regular meeting of the memphis

[17:37] city council.

[17:42] meetings of the council should be conducted

[17:43] in an orderly manner to ensure

[17:44] the public has the full opportunity to

[17:45] be heard in the deliberate process of

[17:46] the councils retained at

[17:48] all times. The sergeant at arms has

[17:49] cards available

[17:52] up front

[17:53] and cards for members of the public wishing

[17:55] to be heard on a

[17:57] specific item. All those wishing to

[17:58] speak must turn in their comment card to

[18:00] the sergeant at arms before the item

[18:04] is called . If you're not

[18:05] here to speak on a specific item,

[18:06] you can only request to give general

[18:07] comments at the end

[18:10] of the meeting and

[18:11] as chair I will only recognize citizens

[18:12] that are properly registered to speak

[18:15] by completing a comment request card

[18:16] to the sergeant

[18:18] at arms. Members of the audience and

[18:19] persons addressing

[18:20] the council will not be permitted

[18:21] to engage in gossip, make defamatory

[18:23] slanderous or profane comments or

[18:25] use abusive or

[18:28] vulgar language. Chairperson,

[18:31] the council maintain order and

[18:34] any persons in violation of the

[18:36] --any conduct in order to leave the

[18:40] council chambers

[18:42] for security personnel to remove any disruptive

[18:43] person

[18:46] in the council chambers

[18:47] who refuses to leave voluntarily.

[18:49] these rules were posted

[18:50] on the door as you enter the chamber and

[18:51] as you pick up comment cards. An example

[18:54] of the poster is posted on the door.

[18:58] signs larger than that are

[18:59] prohibited and will be removed from the chamber.

[19:01] all that to say

[19:04] let's have a

[19:05] good meeting. We have some important

[19:06] work to get through. Housekeeping items.

[19:10] 26, 27, 29

[19:13] will be held

[19:16] until january 13, 2026. Item

[19:17] 28 will be held until march third,

[19:22] 2026.

[19:27] madam comptroller, call item number one.

[19:28] >>

[19:31] item number one is a resolution recognizing

[19:34] and honoring the memphis parks literally

[19:37] this is

[19:40] sponsored by council

[19:43] member logan.

[19:46] >>

[19:52] but thank you, chair

[19:55] and colleagues. I am so excited to

[19:57] actually present these certificates.

[19:58] I

[20:01] attended an event

[20:04] -- an amazing event at the park

[20:06] --the community center in raleigh

[20:10] , and it was a

[20:13] joint activity among the

[20:16] community centers.

[20:18] the event was passport to literacy

[20:22] and it was unbelievable how they came together

[20:24] in the parks department, put this

[20:28] program on, and now , we have

[20:31] 10 new published authors

[20:34] from the parks department.

[20:35] I felt like this is an opportunity

[20:37] to recognize our

[20:40] amazing parks staff as well as

[20:43] our parents

[20:45] and those young people that attended this

[20:46] program who worked

[20:49] so hard and now

[20:50] they are published authors as a result

[20:52] of this program. I'm going to call

[20:55] their names and

[20:56] asked them to call their parents name

[20:58] and asked him to come down and I want

[21:01] to bring up the parks director

[21:04] is representing parks to talk

[21:07] about the program and when I called

[21:08] her name,

[21:10] we will ask the parent to stand as well.

[21:25] >> [ reading list of names ]

[21:40] parents are

[21:43] ,

[21:46] >> [ reading list of names ]

[21:52] parents

[21:55] , if you are here,

[21:58] please stand.

[22:01] these are

[22:04] all published authors , and they

[22:07] have the books with them.

[22:13] come right over. I will

[22:15] give you a space to tell about the

[22:16] program and the others.

[22:19] appreciate you.

[22:20] >>

[22:22] good afternoon

[22:25] , council members, the mayor, and

[22:28] distinguished guests. Thank you for this

[22:29] resolution and

[22:31] recognizing us with the literacy program.

[22:32] this is

[22:34] a literacy initiative of memphis parks

[22:35] as

[22:37] you see. They came together and

[22:40] they created

[22:42] and they reimagine how learning can happen

[22:43] in our community.

[22:46] it integrates

[22:48] reading, writing, storytelling, into

[22:49] the neighborhood

[22:52] community centers

[22:54] placed in traditional known recreation,

[22:55] transforming them into spaces

[22:57] where literacy creativity and youth

[22:58] are forced

[23:02] to thrive. Through this program

[23:03] young people are not only playing

[23:05] in our community centers,

[23:07] they are becoming published authors, storytellers

[23:08] ,

[23:11] and leaders. It addresses

[23:14] a critical community need by

[23:15] meeting youth where they are and providing

[23:18] parks and recreation are more than

[23:20] places to play. We are

[23:23] essential to education.

[23:26] to empowering youth

[23:29] an opportunity of potential.

[23:31] we are honored this day by you guys

[23:34] recognizing us and having the grace

[23:35] to

[23:37] give us this on her. We thank you

[23:40] for helping us cultivate the potential

[23:41] and strength

[23:44] by building the family's and

[23:45] becoming more literate and connected.

[23:47] these children

[23:50] --these authors here

[23:52] have become published authors throughout

[23:55] memphis parks , the literacy program.

[23:57] this first time event highlighted

[24:01] creative expression and community

[24:02] pride transforming

[24:04] local kids into storytellers with books,

[24:08] now available online and royalties

[24:11] are earned forever. Thank you ,

[24:13] thank you, thank you, from memphis parks.

[24:20] >> I'm going

[24:23] to read the resolution for

[24:26] your hearing ,

[24:27] then we will come over here and take

[24:29] a picture, okay?

[24:31] whereas literacy including reading and

[24:32] writing is

[24:33] fundamental to academic success, workforce readiness

[24:40] and long life opportunity yet many children

[24:41] and families in memphis continue to face

[24:43] significant literacy challenges. Few

[24:44] than one quarter

[24:46] meet grade level proficiency in reading

[24:49] on state assessments highlighting

[24:50] the urgent need

[24:53] for innovative acceptable

[24:54] and community-based literacy initiatives.

[24:56] and whereas the memphis

[24:59] city council

[25:00] recognizes and honors the memphis

[25:02] parks literacy meets recreation program

[25:05] commonly known as

[25:08] bill young authors guild project

[25:11] for their

[25:12] successful efforts in enabling 10

[25:13] authors to publish books in 2025.

[25:17] and whereas the let me's rec program

[25:20] and the

[25:22] encourage participants to tell their

[25:25] own stories and encourage their literature beyond the

[25:26] traditional classroom setting

[25:29] three unique opportunities

[25:31] special events and interactive activities

[25:32] and whereas the let me's

[25:35] rec program provides

[25:38] joyful and relevant

[25:40] that bridge literacy and recreation fostering

[25:44] a lifelong love of reading

[25:47] and whereas the council member

[25:50] easter-thomas lit meets rec

[25:53] participants project

[25:55] teach participants how to develop,

[25:56] write, and illustrate and

[25:59] publish their own stories

[26:00] including opportunities to receive

[26:02] royalties from books

[26:05] sales inspiring

[26:06] young people to embrace their creative potential

[26:08] engaging in meaningful storytelling

[26:11] and envision themselves as

[26:13] published authors whose work can influence

[26:14] ,

[26:15] educate, and uplift the community.

[26:17] and whereas the memphis

[26:19] city council wishes continued success

[26:20] to the

[26:22] memphis park literacy recreation program

[26:25] and the young actors guild project

[26:28] in their efforts to support youth

[26:29] literacy, creativity

[26:31] and positive development in the city

[26:32] of memphis

[26:35] now therefore be it resolved that

[26:36] the memphis

[26:38] city council hereby stands the

[26:40] sincerest congratulations to the memphis

[26:41] parks literacy

[26:44] meets recreation program

[26:47] and project for their outstanding

[26:50] achievements and

[26:52] meaningful contributions to youth

[26:53] development and literacy

[26:56] in memphis. Adopted december

[26:59] 16, 2025, district 1.

[27:02] let's stand and

[27:05] give them a hand. And their parents that

[27:08] are here.

[27:44] >> congratulations to you, we are so

[27:45] proud

[27:47] of you. Okay.

[27:56] >> amazon and barnes

[27:59] & noble.

[30:45] >>

[30:47] madam comptroller, please read item

[30:51] number two.

[30:52] >>

[30:53] resolution recognizing and honoring the graduating class

[30:56] of the south city leads resident leadership academy.

[30:57] this resolution is sponsored by

[31:00] councilwoman white.

[31:03] >>

[31:06] thank

[31:07] you so much, chairman. I'm so excited.

[31:12] I had

[31:15] the opportunity to go to

[31:18] the graduation , and right here beside

[31:20] me is the brilliant rebecca hutchinson,

[31:24] who leads

[31:27] opportunity

[31:30] revitalization and empowerment.

[31:33] it is south

[31:34] city leads resident leadership academy

[31:39] and these wonderful people decided they

[31:40] wanted

[31:41] to learn more about our government

[31:43] , how they could become engaged. Each

[31:45] one of them participated in a community project

[31:48] and it was the most

[31:51] amazing program to see

[31:52] that we want people to be more interested

[31:54] in what's going on in the community

[31:57] and see that these individuals decided to

[31:58] dedicate

[31:59] their time to serve in their communities

[32:00] and learn more about

[32:02] how the communities operated and make

[32:03] sure they

[32:06] were contributing to our

[32:07] thoughts and ideas and policies that

[32:09] we pass here on

[32:12] the council. I wanted to

[32:14] make sure we recognize not only ms.

[32:15] hutchinson but

[32:17] the graduates. So to the graduating class

[32:21] of s.c.o.r.e.

[32:24] , congratulations. Yes.

[32:32] you all have demonstrated exceptional

[32:33] commitment, leadership and

[32:35] passion for improving your communities

[32:36] through initiatives such

[32:39] as community

[32:41] , school initiatives, school supply

[32:42] drive, neighborhood cleanup and

[32:45] senior outreach.

[32:51] is she here? She's not here.

[32:53] one of the graduates was talking about how

[32:54] before this class

[32:57] she goes along with her

[32:58] children and feeds meals to the children.

[33:00] I want to recognize

[33:03] >> [ reading list of names ]

[33:24] congratulations.

[33:26] we have a certificate and a gift for

[33:27] each one of you all. Thank

[33:30] you for all that you do.

[33:33] >>

[33:36] thank you so very much,

[33:41] council member white. This is an amazing

[33:42] opportunity

[33:45] for our participants in the leadership

[33:48] academy to understand what

[33:49] public policy is about. These are

[33:50] individuals who live work and worship

[33:51] in the

[33:53] south city community , which is not

[33:54] far from here.

[33:57] 38126.

[34:00] we don't believe

[34:01] that we can empower residents but

[34:03] we believe that they already processed

[34:05] the power and what is missing is the

[34:06] connection to information

[34:09] resources and knowledge.

[34:12] and once we help them to connect to that

[34:14] , they activate that internal power

[34:15] and they

[34:18] can go out in the neighborhood and

[34:19] they

[34:20] can work with the ywca and fulfill

[34:21] the wish list

[34:24] of those mothers in the

[34:26] senior housing. There's so much they

[34:27] can do. We just heard

[34:31] about what they've done .

[34:33] they learn about the data in the neighborhood

[34:34] and what

[34:37] it looks like ,

[34:38] they learn about public policy and how they can

[34:40] impact public policy. They learn

[34:41] how to develop the community service

[34:43] project amongst so many

[34:44] other things and we are very proud

[34:46] of

[34:49] cohort eight

[34:52] and we started in 2021.

[34:54] so we are excited about this and we

[34:55] continue to do this work

[34:58] and continued to build

[35:00] into and nurture the residence and neighborhood

[35:01] of south city.

[35:03] thank you so much for this recognition.

[36:04] >> congratulations

[36:07] graduating class.

[36:10] please call item number three.

[36:13] >> honoring the graduating class item

[36:14] number three is a of memphis academy of civil

[36:18] engagement (mace).this resolution is sponsored by

[36:19] councilmembers white and smiley.

[36:28] >>

[36:31] your recognize.

[36:32] >> thank you

[36:33] so much. I had to have councilman

[36:37] smiley come down here. If

[36:40] we could have

[36:43] our former city councilwoman

[36:49] along with the graduates.

[36:58] first of all, I want

[37:01] to thank the council

[37:02] for supporting this program. Back

[37:04] in 2021

[37:07] when I had an idea trying to find

[37:09] a way to give people more engaged

[37:10] with city government so they could

[37:12] learn more about our community and

[37:13] what ended up happening is

[37:16] we created graduates

[37:17] who leave this program more informed

[37:19] and feel more empowered

[37:21] to get involved in the community and

[37:22] become advocates for the

[37:25] community. Deeply appreciative

[37:28] of them and I would

[37:31] like to create space for them to talk

[37:32] about what this program

[37:34] is doing.

[37:35] >> thank

[37:36] you all so much for this privilege

[37:37] and opportunity. We want to

[37:39] say thank you to the city council

[37:41] for approving this program. It's been a

[37:43] tremendous impact

[37:45] in the community we are fortunate

[37:46] to have some

[37:48] the citizens that want to understand

[37:49] the inner workings of government

[37:52] want to understand how they can also

[37:53] be a part of

[37:55] the solutions in our community

[37:56] and have deep impact in their neighborhoods

[37:58] and say thank you

[38:01] to our partners at

[38:02] public safety at the memphis fire

[38:04] and police department.

[38:05] is because of the citizen to dedicate

[38:07] their time and energy

[38:10] to being a part of the change they

[38:11] want to see in memphis. Thank you

[38:13] so much.

[38:18] >> I said I wouldn't speak because

[38:19] I'm a little horse.

[38:22] memphis is

[38:25] a great city.

[38:34] it is always

[38:39] a humbling experience when you see citizens

[38:40] to take their time for

[38:43] 7 weeks two and three

[38:46] hours a session to learn as much as they

[38:49] can about memphis

[38:52] and where they can use their talent.

[38:55] it

[38:57] was not long ago and every time you sit

[38:58] in those seats you must feel honored

[39:01] and humbled . Because people entrust

[39:04] their neighborhoods

[39:07] and communities to you.

[39:12] it's a humbling experience to serve and

[39:13] that's why I'm glad they have

[39:16] an opportunity to see such fine

[39:17] leadership your memphis and especially

[39:19] my colleague

[39:22] mr. Ford.

[39:27] especially my colleague mr. Ford.

[39:34] I feel very honored to have served

[39:35] with him and

[39:37] to know all of you and thank you

[39:40] for investing in our future.

[39:53] but the memphis city

[39:54] council commence these graduates for their

[39:55] dedication to civic engagement and

[39:56] efforts to strengthening

[39:57] the fabric of our city. Congratulations

[40:02] to

[40:03] >> [ reading list of

[40:05] names ]

[40:40] you represent a growing network of informed

[40:44] citizens dedicated

[40:47] to building a better memphis. Thank you for all that

[40:50] you do.

[41:29] welcome and thank you for

[41:30] joining us today from memphis city

[41:32] council meeting.'s

[41:50] >> thank you, chair. The students

[41:52] are the american muslim advisory council

[41:56] here.

[41:59] and

[42:02] we are so honored. I had

[42:04] the pleasure of being in their presence

[42:07] . They came to learn about the policies

[42:09] and legislation here in the city of

[42:11] memphis. Myself, the mayor

[42:14] , and a couple more administrators

[42:17] came and I wanted to tell them thank you.

[42:18] they are asking, can we come back

[42:20] to meeting

[42:22] , and I said you sure can. Thank you.

[42:26] just

[42:27] excited about what you are doing and how

[42:28] you're moving forward and your love

[42:29] for

[42:30] this country because we love you.

[42:38] >> thank you

[42:41] for joining us.

[42:44] welcome and thank you for being here.

[42:45] it's good

[42:47] to see you.

[42:53] >>

[42:56] we appreciate you.

[42:58] although our name sounds a little bit

[42:59] different and I

[43:01] know sometime people were laughing at us

[43:02] here for names

[43:05] , but we've been here for

[43:08] so long and we really appreciate

[43:13] what memphis gives us and we would

[43:14] like to give back to

[43:17] the city here as well. We, as muslims,

[43:18] we

[43:20] are proud to be the fabric of

[43:23] this city .

[43:24] you probably don't know that the 1990

[43:26] it was really

[43:29] the case of

[43:32] [ indiscernible ] who really

[43:38] --more representation for everyone

[43:41] for african americans and minorities

[43:42] to

[43:44] be on the city of memphis. Used to

[43:45] be

[43:46] they had a councilman at large and

[43:47] that really took away all the

[43:50] presentation of the minorities. Just

[43:51] as we

[43:53] do have that contribution

[43:56] , we also would like

[43:58] to show there are a lot of other things offered

[44:01] to the city of memphis and we are

[44:02] proud as well.

[44:05] many of us were born and raised here

[44:07] and went to public school here and

[44:08] we are

[44:11] very proud to represent the city of memphis

[44:12] ,

[44:13] and we want to thank the council for

[44:14] providing us

[44:17] this opportunity to be here as well

[44:20] and to recognize our efforts. We appreciate you.

[44:23] thank you.

[44:29] collies,

[44:32] forgive me. I did not mention

[44:33] it at the beginning of the meeting,

[44:35] but item number four was held in planning

[44:38] and zoning so it will be held

[44:41] for 3 weeks until

[44:44] january 13th meeting. Please call

[44:47] --I'm sorry,

[44:50] the second meeting in january

[44:53] so that would be the 27th of january.

[44:56] held until the 27th.

[44:58] please take us to item number five.

[44:59] >>

[45:01] resolution pursuant to chapter 9.6 of the memphis and shelby

[45:05] county unified development code

[45:08] approving a planned development at the subject property

[45:11] located at 7913 dexter road.

[45:14] this resolution is sponsored by the division of planning and

[45:17] development.

[45:20] applicant: case no. Pd 25-14

[45:26] >>

[45:27] madam vice chair, your recognize.

[45:29] >> this item was sent down with a

[45:30] favorable recommendation

[45:32] and I so move.

[45:33] >>

[45:35] item 5 was moved by

[45:36] vice chair swearengen-washington seconded by

[45:38] council member spinosa.

[45:41] does any member want to hear from

[45:42] the applicant?

[45:45] very good. Please take us to

[45:48] the voting screen.

[46:09] >> [

[46:12] roll call ]

[46:27] >> that item passes.

[46:30] please take us item number six.

[46:36] resolution pursuant to chapter

[46:39] 9. 6 of the memphis and shelby

[46:41] county unified development code approving a special use

[46:45] permit at the subject property

[46:47] located at 577 east raines road. This resolution is

[46:48] sponsored

[46:49] by the division of planning and development. Case

[46:57] no. Sup 25-24

[47:02] .

[47:03] >> thank you, chair. The committee met

[47:06] , there was a

[47:07] favorable recommendation for this site.

[47:09] they have an impressive plan

[47:13] and have been partnering with one

[47:14] of the local memphis city shelby county schools. Thank

[47:15] you

[47:18] and I so move.

[47:21] >> that item was

[47:22] moved by vice chair swearengen-washington seconded

[47:24] by

[47:26] council member green. I do have a

[47:27] comment card.

[47:35] your recognized.

[47:36] >> thank you so much.

[47:46] please give us your name and address.

[47:47] >>

[47:48] dr. Franklin

[47:51] 1755 ash. 38108.

[47:56] good afternoon, city council members.

[48:00] as we gather for the final meeting of

[48:01] this year, I want to acknowledge the citizens

[48:03] of memphis in our

[48:06] local government. We've been

[48:07] fortunate to have incredible leaders

[48:09] like you

[48:12] , yet we face many challenges that

[48:13] often

[48:15] go seen. In this chamber we

[48:16] ask men and women of faith are united

[48:18] in prayer

[48:21] for you and the decisions

[48:23] that will propel her city forward.

[48:26] inspired by the bibles call, follow

[48:27] peace

[48:29] with all men. We are actively engaging

[48:32] in a prayer watch with many groups

[48:33] throughout

[48:36] the city in joining us at this very moment.

[48:39] we are playing not just here in the chambers but

[48:42] online and

[48:45] in various groups.

[48:46] believing god's guidance as we look

[48:48] toward 2026 and work

[48:51] together in unity. Scripture

[48:53] reminds us my people are called by

[48:54] my name

[48:57] will humble themselves and pray

[49:00] see my face and then will I hear

[49:03] from heaven and here

[49:05] --this urgency resonates deeply as

[49:06] we gather today. I

[49:09] genuinely wish for the best for

[49:12] my community.

[49:13] I encourage each of you to join us in a moment

[49:15] of prayer

[49:17] as we physically are present here.

[49:18] we are spiritually connected

[49:21] to those playing across the

[49:24] memphis city. Remembering the scripture that

[49:27] warns us of our responsibility.

[49:29] the blood will be on our hands. As

[49:30] we conclude

[49:33] 25 and

[49:35] reflect on the city affairs, I pray

[49:36] as we answer

[49:39] 2026 our decisions

[49:41] are prioritize the collective needs of

[49:42] memphis

[49:45] over personal interest. I also

[49:48] invite everyone in this chamber

[49:51] to wear red symbolizing the

[49:54] blood of jesus. This serves as a powerful reminder

[49:55] to our

[49:57] city council that we all share the responsibility

[49:59] for the direction in which we take.

[50:03] the bible says what can wash away our sins

[50:06] and the answer

[50:07] is nothing but the blood of jesus. As we approach

[50:09] this final governing meeting of the year

[50:14] we face many ups and downs from the school board to the county

[50:15] commission and the memphis

[50:17] city council. Yet I faith in god and

[50:18] in

[50:21] each of you that together we can try to do what is right

[50:24] for memphis , tennessee,

[50:26] may god bless you and keep you.

[50:27] >>

[50:28] thank you,

[50:30] dr. Franklin.

[50:33] >>

[50:36] number 6? Thanks.

[50:39] >>

[50:42] please take us to the voting screen for item number six.

[50:52] correct.

[50:55] please cast your vote

[50:58] for 6.

[51:04] >> [ roll call ]

[51:19] >> that

[51:22] item passes.

[51:23] >>

[51:27] item number seven is aresolution pursuant to chapter 9.6 of the memphis and shelby

[51:29] county unified development code approving a special use

[51:31] permit at the subject property

[51:37] located at 1032 hale road.

[51:40] this resolution is sponsored by

[51:43] the division of planning and

[51:46] development. Case no. Sup 25-27.

[51:53] >> ma'am, vice chair, your recognize. >> the

[51:55] committee met

[51:57] there was a favorable recommendation and I

[52:01] so move.

[52:04] >> seven was moved by vice chair swearengen-washington and seconded by

[52:06] council member spinosa. Does anyone wish to hear from

[52:07] dpd

[52:10] or the applicant?

[52:11] please take us to the voting screen.

[52:13] castor

[52:16] wrote for item number seven.

[52:28] >> [ roll call

[52:31] ]

[52:49] >> please call item

[52:51] number eight.

[52:52] >> number eight resolution pursuant to chapter

[52:59] is a 9.6 of the memphis and shelby county unified development

[53:01] code approving a special use permit at the subject property

[53:02] located at 5133 park avenue. This resolution is sponsored by

[53:06] the division of planning and development. Case no. Sup

[53:13] 25-32.

[53:16] >>

[53:17] madam vice chair, your recognize.

[53:18] >>

[53:24] the committee met there was a favorable recommendation, and I so

[53:25] move.

[53:26] >> item number

[53:27] eight was moved by vice chair swearengen-washington

[53:28] seconded by council member spinosa.

[53:31] I have one comment card.

[53:34] if you would approach the podium

[53:37] and you have two minutes.

[53:40] >> thank you, chair.

[53:43] 5442 sunday away.

[53:49] I wanted to bring some things

[53:50] to your attention concerning this

[53:52] item. 5133

[53:57] orange mountain park. We've been moving and discovering

[53:58] different things and

[54:01] the gas stations

[54:02] we've been looking at, that's why I

[54:04] think the elder who came

[54:07] from india

[54:10] , we just

[54:13] played against utah

[54:15] but showing the connections spiritually. We have been finding

[54:16] some

[54:19] issues with some people

[54:22] who own these gas stations.

[54:25] I want to inform you to take a closer look

[54:28] at the expansion of these gas stations.

[54:31] I have

[54:34] [ indiscernible ] behind me so I will talk to

[54:37] her privately and I will have some

[54:38] of

[54:39] my concerns hopefully, you know, those

[54:40] questions

[54:41] answered. And then we can move forward

[54:43] ,

[54:45] and I will be able to email you all

[54:46] privately as well

[54:49] concerning this matter. But I want

[54:50] to inform everyone to please take

[54:55] a close look

[54:57] at the gas stations. Thank you.

[54:58] >> thank

[55:01] you.

[55:04] colleagues, any questions?

[55:07] does anyone want to

[55:10] hear from --

[55:16] all right.

[55:19] name and address.

[55:22] but thank you, mr. Chairman.

[55:25] the applicant

[55:28] partnering

[55:31] with the applicant on the record

[55:33] has been developing these particular stores

[55:37] in memphis for the last 15 years or so.

[55:39] we are just under construction on

[55:40] one

[55:41] at the polo grounds your topgolf.

[55:43] he's built extensively

[55:46] in bartlett

[55:49] and germantown and is a resident

[55:52] of memphis and shelby county and has

[55:55] his offices in collierville. His wife

[55:56] was

[55:58] on the design review commission in collierville.

[56:01] they live in south wind

[56:07] and they are here permanently.

[56:13] >>

[56:16] does anybody want hear from dpd?

[56:19] if anyone has any

[56:21] questions, I would ask you day

[56:22] >>

[56:25] is there

[56:28] any opposition

[56:31] ? No?

[56:34] okay.

[56:37] >> anyone else? All right.

[56:40] please take us to

[56:43] the voting screen.

[56:58] >> [ roll call ]

[57:11] >>

[57:14] that

[57:17] item passes.

[57:28] >> madam comptroller, take us to the

[57:31] regular agenda to item number 34.

[57:38] >> number

[57:41] 34 is

[57:44] to

[57:47] mend the operating budget this

[57:48] resolution is sponsored by the administration

[57:50] and help

[57:53] from december 2nd.

[57:54] >>

[57:56] your recognized.

[57:59] >>

[58:01] I can't remember the recommendation.

[58:09] I believe this came down with no recommendation. I will move it

[58:10] to the floor for discussion.

[58:11] >> 34

[58:14] was moved by

[58:17] council member carlisle.

[58:20] >> I

[58:23] didn't know I was in the queue.

[58:26] this is the

[58:29] fire item.

[58:35] >> before

[58:38] I go to the voting

[58:40] screen I have one comment card.

[58:41] >> hold on,

[58:42] mr. Chairman.

[58:45] technically they're supposed to be

[58:47] a vote

[58:50] on the but I know that the rules

[58:54] given the fact we're talking about

[58:56] a $2 million changed the budget,

[58:59] I think, if I may ,

[59:02] thank you. I motion

[59:04] to hold the last meeting in order

[59:05] to try

[59:08] and work on a solution that would

[59:09] acknowledge with the councils trying

[59:11] to do specific to

[59:14] fire employees. I spent

[59:20] 35 or 40 hours going through eight years of

[59:23] audits. I could not get answers to questions

[59:26] on this year's current audit.

[59:31] I failed through committee to get

[59:32] specific answers

[59:33] to specific questions with specific numbers.

[59:35] the more I spent time with

[59:38] the audit

[59:40] , the more I realized kind of where

[59:41] we are at

[59:44] and I'm in the same allotment for

[59:45] the new year because I think it applies

[59:47] to the budget

[59:50] versus general financial health

[59:51] and they are two different things.

[59:53] but ultimately

[59:56] I didn't find a single trigger

[59:58] because I couldn't get the complete information to tie a

[1:00:01] trigger to in order to make sure we

[1:00:02] are in financial health.

[1:00:04] I can continue to go through every metric

[1:00:08] for 2

[1:00:11] 1/2 hours on why no business

[1:00:14] public entity under the sun

[1:00:17] should make this decision today

[1:00:18] based on the current information it

[1:00:19] has. Partial would be an understatement.

[1:00:26] I can answer

[1:00:28] financial questions but I don't really

[1:00:29] think everybody wants them the way they

[1:00:30] want to hear

[1:00:31] them and we would probably be here for

[1:00:32] too long.

[1:00:35] to say we have a spending problem would

[1:00:37] be an understatement of that epic proportions.

[1:00:40] incrementally we've spent over half

[1:00:41] $1

[1:00:44] billion in the last five years.

[1:00:47] 200 million accelerate memphis

[1:00:50] that was --we picked

[1:00:53] up an incremental

[1:00:55] 260+ million dollars in federal funding

[1:00:56] and guess

[1:00:58] what our property tax collections

[1:00:59] were

[1:01:01] on point the whole time. State sales tax on point

[1:01:02] all time. We

[1:01:04] had moments where there were gaps

[1:01:08] in

[1:01:09] what we used to budget too, meaning

[1:01:10] if you go back and look at our audits

[1:01:11] to budget

[1:01:12] we would pick up an extra 20 to 40 million

[1:01:14] throughout the year.

[1:01:17] budget is what you make it

[1:01:20] and you're relying on

[1:01:21] the information given to you by the

[1:01:23] administrators at that time. We

[1:01:26] are crossing administrations.

[1:01:28] when I say to you that we collected --

[1:01:32] we lost

[1:01:34] the hall income tax. That is true. But it was

[1:01:35] made up by

[1:01:38] [ indiscernible ] so

[1:01:41] there was no real funding gap. When

[1:01:42] I say incremental, incremental, hard

[1:01:44] cash that's gone out

[1:01:47] the door. We did real work and we

[1:01:50] did parks, right? So what's

[1:01:52] the financial picture. We raised taxes

[1:01:55] and spend an extra half 1 billion

[1:01:56] and you have to

[1:01:58] ask to be get there? And that's the

[1:01:59] question we will broach january,

[1:02:02] february, march to make sure we have an

[1:02:05] understanding and we can get

[1:02:08] into today and I know you don't

[1:02:09] want to. We need to keep the main

[1:02:11] thing the main

[1:02:14] thing. I've had a very good working relationship --

[1:02:17] I'm not saying

[1:02:19] there's anything nefarious or malicious going on.

[1:02:23] there just a lot of questions

[1:02:26] that cannot be answered today. That's okay. We've made decisions on

[1:02:27] partial

[1:02:29] information before and I respect every

[1:02:32] member's reason. As the three maybe

[1:02:34] four your budget chairman it won't be on

[1:02:35] sound financial ground

[1:02:39] , full stop.

[1:02:41] when jim strickland took office in 2015

[1:02:42] our balance

[1:02:45] was $91 million.

[1:02:47] he took office because his responsibility was billed a city

[1:02:48] guided by

[1:02:49] bad financial decisions and reduced revenues.

[1:02:54] cut first responder pay and benefits. When he

[1:02:57] left office --114 million.

[1:03:00] today it's that 91

[1:03:02] million cash on hand. It's actually

[1:03:03] less than

[1:03:06] that. It's 91 net liabilities.

[1:03:09] we know

[1:03:10] where 15 million so it's really 76 million.

[1:03:12] you will

[1:03:14] draw down the extra 2 million cynee at

[1:03:15] 74 million.

[1:03:18] fiscal policy is

[1:03:21] 8%. If you read a

[1:03:23] bond reports from moody's or s&p everything

[1:03:27] is shifted.

[1:03:29] that is not anyone in the fire department's fault.

[1:03:30] that's not anyone

[1:03:33] in the association's fault.

[1:03:35] they advocate the way they want to only allow

[1:03:38] to happen because we are the keepers

[1:03:39] of the ecosystem here.

[1:03:42] that goes for every other association

[1:03:44] and employed it comes down or anyone

[1:03:45] that talks

[1:03:48] to us.

[1:03:49] I will rap this up but it's a big

[1:03:51] thing since I spent 35 hours I

[1:03:53] feel I have a minute to talk on. Over that time

[1:03:56] city has declined in population so every

[1:03:57] time we raise taxes,

[1:04:00] you heard me today

[1:04:01] second-largest taxpayer went from

[1:04:05] bellsouth communications to the memphis

[1:04:06] city center

[1:04:09] revenue corporation

[1:04:10] holding 300 million in real estate.

[1:04:15] the last and final

[1:04:16] thing I will say and I will be quiet

[1:04:19] that I take a very personal issue with and I

[1:04:21] will directed,

[1:04:23] but personally you know I never enter into

[1:04:27] an agreement on any

[1:04:30] two-year deal

[1:04:31] when I can't I've been clear we cannot be

[1:04:33] --in the very first

[1:04:34] year together we tried to work through

[1:04:36] couple things but I respect

[1:04:38] your position but I will not be called a liar

[1:04:40] , I will not be called a cheat , I

[1:04:42] will not be called anything

[1:04:45] other than what I am,

[1:04:48] which is I do I simply

[1:04:50] do and work my tail off for the city and am speaking

[1:04:51] for myself.

[1:04:57] I built

[1:04:58] an entire political reputation on that and

[1:05:00] I hold very dear.

[1:05:02] I try to support everyone's needs and wishes within

[1:05:03] some sort of

[1:05:06] economic reason

[1:05:07] . I'm telling you now we are getting to the end of

[1:05:09] that rope. For far too long

[1:05:12] it's always we will figure it out

[1:05:14] and memphis has bumped along and survived.

[1:05:18] but step back from to city hall and think

[1:05:20] about what's happening in the environment.

[1:05:21] shelby county is having the

[1:05:31] tissues on revenues. They had to get the state comptroller to borrow money. The public transportation system has a [ indiscernible ] the memphis city school board is

[1:05:33] about

[1:05:34] to see the county commission. They've a

[1:05:36] $2 billion budget

[1:05:37] and they received half 1 billion and

[1:05:39] somehow we are still fixing units.

[1:05:42] we somehow managed to raise taxes.

[1:05:45] my point is I'm

[1:05:48] telling you we

[1:05:49] may have the cash in the account today, but

[1:05:51] that is not going to

[1:05:52] last if we don't make changes soon.

[1:05:57] I know a lot of people here the term broke and

[1:05:58] they

[1:06:00] say from trout and bar the door and

[1:06:01] on

[1:06:03] the street. We

[1:06:05] are broke if we don't make changes.

[1:06:09] we cannot continue down this. It's an

[1:06:11] unsustainable path. We can't tax the same base.

[1:06:13] the people that are mobile belief.

[1:06:15] this

[1:06:18] is a yellow flashing light

[1:06:20] from where I'm sitting, and maybe I'm

[1:06:21] an idiot. Maybe I am

[1:06:24] an idiot.

[1:06:27] but my biggest thing is

[1:06:28] this. This body has the final authority over the budget

[1:06:30] .

[1:06:33] may your

[1:06:36] offered 0% ,

[1:06:38] the impasse committee accepted a recommendation in this body

[1:06:39] in the place

[1:06:42] that accounts set three across the board

[1:06:43] for

[1:06:45] everyone. I respect

[1:06:50] what is being lobbied for, but I don't

[1:06:51] know how it's any different for any

[1:06:53] other association whose agreements

[1:06:54] were passed

[1:06:56] . For me, not only is it a $2 billion problem,

[1:06:57] it's a

[1:07:00] $19 million problem

[1:07:03] because if

[1:07:04] I'm in another organization on the say will

[1:07:06] they got their

[1:07:07] raise that was promised, where's mine.

[1:07:09] those

[1:07:12] are just my general thoughts.

[1:07:15] it has nothing to do

[1:07:16] with the performance of the fire department

[1:07:18] or individuals elected to lobby for them.

[1:07:21] I will

[1:07:31] get into the overtime. But in the reality, this body is not a

[1:07:33] party to an mou between the mayor

[1:07:34] and

[1:07:36] the associations. We

[1:07:37] are just not. There's no signed agreement.

[1:07:42] this

[1:07:43] is the truth. We typically agree those

[1:07:44] deals because it takes the pressure

[1:07:45] off

[1:07:48] of -- it saves months

[1:07:51] and hours

[1:07:53] and hundreds of thousands if not millions

[1:07:54] of

[1:07:57] dollars in salaries, legal fees ,

[1:07:58] and everybody's opportunity costs

[1:08:00] to come down here from

[1:08:02] december and sometimes to july to deal

[1:08:06] with the same five groups

[1:08:09] instead of proactively

[1:08:10] going about what we really want to do.

[1:08:12] so I'm going to leave it

[1:08:14] at that. I respect everyone's position

[1:08:15] in

[1:08:18] this, I really do.

[1:08:19] but on a personal level I'm not can

[1:08:22] be called a liar or a thief or

[1:08:25] saying I went back on my word.

[1:08:26] I've been crystal clear from the beginning

[1:08:28] of what our authority is

[1:08:31] about where position is

[1:08:33] and I know other members probably feel the

[1:08:34] same. At the end of the day

[1:08:35] I respect everyone's vote on this I'm

[1:08:36] telling you right now if you think

[1:08:37] we

[1:08:38] will have the money, there's cash in the

[1:08:40] account

[1:08:42] but you don't have the longevity to go

[1:08:43] the

[1:08:44] distance if we spend this way continually. The mayor said

[1:08:49] it himself. Whatever

[1:08:50] huge number was thrown out there for 5

[1:08:52] years ago indicated when we said

[1:08:54] leases and obligations and inflation,

[1:08:58] the comment was

[1:09:00] it's going to take -- unless there's

[1:09:01] some other

[1:09:02] large federal chunk of money coming

[1:09:05] , we have to work with what we have

[1:09:07] to work with

[1:09:09] and to dr. Warren's point you can raise

[1:09:11] taxes again . With that, I yield the

[1:09:13] floor.

[1:09:14] >> thank you.

[1:09:18] any other members wish to speak? I

[1:09:22] have two public comment cards.

[1:09:28] john, you are first. You have two minutes.

[1:09:34] >>

[1:09:37] I

[1:09:40] yield my time.

[1:09:46] >> all right.

[1:09:49] amber sherman.

[1:09:55] >> I yield my time.

[1:09:58] >>

[1:10:01] my dressed is 6070 --

[1:10:04] I want talk about this is

[1:10:06] fiscally irresponsible. Every year

[1:10:10] we have a budget season

[1:10:11] and folks talk about having to raise taxes

[1:10:15] and actual citizens in memphis don't get the services we

[1:10:16] need but you continue to approve things

[1:10:21] and make people like they are going get

[1:10:22] a

[1:10:23] raise when you don't have the money

[1:10:25] to pay for it and they are not underpaid.

[1:10:28] I know several firefighters.

[1:10:30] they are getting what they wanted, but we don't have the

[1:10:34] money to do that.

[1:10:37] I think it's important going into

[1:10:40] the next budget season that you are

[1:10:41] more

[1:10:43] fiscally responsible and

[1:10:44] listening to people about what we

[1:10:46] want funded.

[1:10:48] we talked about parks and summer school and

[1:10:49] summer camp

[1:10:52] and talked about more

[1:10:55] recreational things. We

[1:10:56] are talking about giving firefighters more money

[1:10:58] we don't have. We don't have the money to

[1:11:01] pay it. Stop

[1:11:02] approving things when you know you don't

[1:11:04] have the money. Thank you.

[1:11:07] >> thank you.

[1:11:10] nobody else right.

[1:11:16] council member white, your recognize.

[1:11:19] >>

[1:11:22] I think

[1:11:24] I'm not going to go for number four.

[1:11:25] my

[1:11:28] question is , and I don't know if

[1:11:29] there's

[1:11:30] someone from the administration but

[1:11:31] when we left here

[1:11:34] the last time it was what

[1:11:35] part of money is this can come from

[1:11:37] ? Toward the end

[1:11:40] of committee it was mentioned some

[1:11:43] additional money had been found from

[1:11:44] I

[1:11:46] think reimbursement. And we got down here

[1:11:48] we discussed another pot of money

[1:11:49] at one point

[1:11:51] I don't think I made a motion for

[1:11:52] come over

[1:11:55] time line and left with

[1:11:58] council

[1:12:00] member green, where did we land on

[1:12:01] how this is going

[1:12:04] to be paid for

[1:12:07] -- funded?

[1:12:08] >> chief adams.

[1:12:16] >>

[1:12:19] antonio adams.

[1:12:22] it's

[1:12:24] my understanding that this money is

[1:12:28] a reimbursement for training

[1:12:31] that firefighters received.

[1:12:32] this money was originally supposed to be booked in fy

[1:12:34] 25 and

[1:12:37] it was received in fy

[1:12:40] 26. It will be coming from the fire

[1:12:43] -- fire department. So fire division personnel.

[1:12:46] >>

[1:12:49] okay. I don't know

[1:12:52] if you were here last time.

[1:12:55] kind of, -- I

[1:12:58] think --

[1:13:01] I'm sorry.

[1:13:07] aside from

[1:13:13] that money the whole idea was is

[1:13:14] still money that should technically go back

[1:13:18] to the general fund. It still the same

[1:13:19] pot of money. Does that make

[1:13:22] sense? We

[1:13:24] were looking at some other alternatives

[1:13:25] to funding

[1:13:28] --we were trying

[1:13:31] to find

[1:13:32] something that fiscally was responsible

[1:13:34] and made sense. In light of us

[1:13:37] trending down in

[1:13:40] expected revenues and exceeding

[1:13:43] budgeted expenditures.

[1:13:46] so I said

[1:13:49] if this is the rule of the

[1:13:50] body one thing I recommended was it

[1:13:52] come from the over time line being fire

[1:13:55] at the time of the quarterly report

[1:13:58] was about $1 million and

[1:14:01] what

[1:14:03] the quarterly budget would be at that

[1:14:04] point in time.

[1:14:06] am I making sense? We were saying

[1:14:07] to take 1.7 from

[1:14:14] the overtime.

[1:14:19] I didn't know --in the resolution it

[1:14:20] doesn't specifically say what would

[1:14:23] come from

[1:14:24] in addition to that is a consideration

[1:14:28] --and I don't know of the chief is

[1:14:29] here and we have this chief here.

[1:14:32] I don't know if

[1:15:02] so overtime will be needed.

[1:15:05] with respect

[1:15:07] to other items in other areas in the personnel line, we've looked at

[1:15:11] in the past full-time salaries.

[1:15:14] we will delay classes.

[1:15:20] it would only exacerbate an issue

[1:15:23] with respect to replacing

[1:15:26] personnel. So, again,

[1:15:29] our logic was to take

[1:15:32] the reimbursable and reallocate

[1:15:35] the reimbursable. I

[1:15:37] understand the argument and the logic

[1:15:38] respect to

[1:15:40] not using that , but that's where

[1:15:44] we identified

[1:15:45] that it was unobligated dollars that we

[1:15:47] could use this year

[1:15:50] to cover

[1:15:53] that 2%.

[1:16:02] I'm just

[1:16:08] --

[1:16:09] >>

[1:16:11] I

[1:16:12] think the chief financial officer's on

[1:16:13] the way but the point is on a reimbursement

[1:16:14] this

[1:16:15] is my point. There's too much dancing around

[1:16:20] using the term budget and budget year in

[1:16:23] fiscal year. We don't get to the end of the

[1:16:26] race and leave the

[1:16:27] arena and go play in the next arena.

[1:16:29] it's one house, and the point

[1:16:31] is with took $15 million out-of-pocket

[1:16:35] to pick up 101 positions the year before

[1:16:38] that were unaccounted for.

[1:16:41] that cost us $15 million

[1:16:44] of credit, which affects our

[1:16:47] borrowing ability and every year we pay more to

[1:16:50] borrow money. You need to put it

[1:16:54] back and [ indiscernible ] it's not

[1:16:56] as expensive.

[1:16:59] this is the stuff

[1:17:01] I'm trying to be professional here.

[1:17:04] I'm not can argue anymore about it.

[1:17:11] I know what I'm talking about.

[1:17:14] I know that because I've sat here

[1:17:17] at certain times

[1:17:19] in this, that, and the other and here's

[1:17:21] the reality. I've gone through these documents.

[1:17:24] but I will say this one more time.

[1:17:26] that $2.2 million

[1:17:29] came in because we spent money

[1:17:32] and came back to pay us

[1:17:35] back for. That is not

[1:17:38] net new revenue.

[1:17:40] it's obligated to pay back thing that

[1:17:41] it

[1:17:44] went to expense. Furthermore it's an ongoing

[1:17:47] obligation.

[1:17:50] if you go back and look at the

[1:17:53] bond rating

[1:17:56] if

[1:17:58] you read the audit from last year,

[1:17:59] one of the specific

[1:18:01] notes talks about the increased pensioners

[1:18:02] and

[1:18:08] premium obligations related

[1:18:09] to all the first responder raises.

[1:18:11] we spent

[1:18:14] an incremental $100 million

[1:18:17] from 2015 through 2023 and

[1:18:20] public safety. Maybe shorter years. The same amount

[1:18:22] of money. I don't want to make about

[1:18:23] --

[1:18:26] it's not about fire or non-represented.

[1:18:31] if we are to make this decision, make it

[1:18:32] because you

[1:18:34] want to give fire raise and stop telling

[1:18:35] me you have money somewhere in the account.

[1:18:38] cash is physically there and will

[1:18:39] be there until it runs out but every

[1:18:41] time you draw down and say

[1:18:44] it's magically

[1:18:46] to the point he just said we can't

[1:18:47] manage to

[1:18:48] the overtime , they know they're going

[1:18:50] to run into all that over time.

[1:18:53] we get to the end of the year with

[1:18:54] you

[1:18:55] to overtime or not there will be reconciliation.

[1:18:59] you're just adding 2,000,002 it. If you

[1:19:00] want to

[1:19:02] vote for that, do it. But

[1:19:04] we are not to talk around how or why

[1:19:05] were doing it.

[1:19:07] the sun good essay and I will leave

[1:19:08] it alone.

[1:19:11] antonio,

[1:19:12] you know I love you but were trying to find

[1:19:14] ways to make it stick the right way and we

[1:19:15] received the

[1:19:17] money this year.

[1:19:19] but the idea we are not can acknowledge

[1:19:20] what happened the year

[1:19:23] before is insane

[1:19:25] to me because again we started at 114 million

[1:19:27] in 2023

[1:19:28] and now we are down to 91 million

[1:19:32] and within a draw down another 10 million.

[1:19:35] when does it stop? When the controller

[1:19:37] comes in? Last time we had to cut salary

[1:19:41] was, as we had ongoing pension liabilities

[1:19:43] increasing salaries and less revenues

[1:19:45] and

[1:19:47] you can ask the attorney what the temperature

[1:19:48] was in

[1:19:51] the room in 2012 and 2014.

[1:19:54] I yield the floor.

[1:19:55] >>

[1:19:59] councilmember logan.

[1:20:00] >> when I came

[1:20:01] on board

[1:20:03] the one thing I said since I got here and

[1:20:06] I said to the chief and

[1:20:09] chief adams is we do

[1:20:12] not want to spend all of

[1:20:15] our money. In our rainy

[1:20:17] day fund. We don't want to spend all of our savings.

[1:20:21] we don't have bad credit. There are some

[1:20:24] things as a

[1:20:25] city that is so important. Our credit rating is so

[1:20:27] important for the

[1:20:30] debt we get that we are able to

[1:20:32] do projects with. Changing that credit

[1:20:35] rating is can it change the trajectory of

[1:20:36] how we are

[1:20:39] able to borrow money

[1:20:41] in the debt service pays a lot of things that

[1:20:44] we use. Just having the responsibility as a councilmember for this

[1:20:45] fiscal soundness

[1:20:48] of your city I know several

[1:20:51] other cities that are in trouble financially

[1:20:52] in

[1:20:54] our state. And we already know

[1:20:57] how the state handles

[1:20:58] us as it relates to the finances.

[1:21:00] so we have to be prudent

[1:21:03] as to how we move

[1:21:05] within that savings, and unfortunately

[1:21:06] a lot of the information we

[1:21:08] have now or that I have now I did not

[1:21:09] have before

[1:21:12] we went through the

[1:21:13] impasse process because during the

[1:21:15] impasse process we all want to be hopeful

[1:21:16] and we all

[1:21:18] want to give -- show

[1:21:21] our gratitude

[1:21:24] and how we stand behind

[1:21:27] our employees

[1:21:29] . However, if information comes along

[1:21:30] after that

[1:21:33] that lets us know

[1:21:36] that it may not

[1:21:37] be the best idea, that's why we have

[1:21:38] that whole process. It's unfortunate

[1:21:42] that we don't have even now

[1:21:45] some of the information that was requested.

[1:21:48] we can at any point

[1:21:51] give raises. We

[1:21:53] can at any point come back to this.

[1:21:54] right

[1:21:55] now not having all the information

[1:21:56] that's needed that's been requested

[1:22:00] , it appears

[1:22:01] we are to come back in january and

[1:22:03] look at that and it changes

[1:22:06] the way we may have looked at it previously.

[1:22:08] I want to say for the public consumption

[1:22:09] that you

[1:22:12] may hear that we

[1:22:14] live for say one thing during that time.

[1:22:18] that is not actually the case. If

[1:22:21] you get more information you

[1:22:23] have to make a better decision. Not that it won't happen,

[1:22:24] it just may not

[1:22:27] be the perfect time now. So I didn't want

[1:22:30] to let the constituents know because

[1:22:31] another thing that we always said is

[1:22:33] we need to pay our staff

[1:22:36] --we need

[1:22:39] higher wages in our city. We are for higher

[1:22:41] wages and that starts with the city government.

[1:22:45] but we have to do it responsibly , and I

[1:22:47] would like for us to be able to plan

[1:22:48] for that

[1:22:51] look at exactly where

[1:22:54] we are in determining that way forward.

[1:22:57] I

[1:22:58] wanted to share that for the public

[1:23:00] because we are responsible for making sure that we

[1:23:03] stay sound as a city. Thank you.

[1:23:06] >>

[1:23:12] council member smiley.

[1:23:21] we said we would do it. I think time I've

[1:23:22] been on

[1:23:23] this counsel for a significant amount

[1:23:24] of time

[1:23:27] when it comes to issues of budget,

[1:23:30] we divert to the full-time employees.

[1:23:33] and the full-time employees are telling

[1:23:35] us today they can find the money within

[1:23:36] the budget.

[1:23:39] I'm not sure

[1:23:42] why we are spending so much time talking

[1:23:43] about this

[1:23:45] but I understand the concern. I'm

[1:23:48] going to toss it to the councilperson

[1:23:51] to close it up.

[1:23:57] >> I've been here a long time.

[1:24:33] >> you can

[1:24:36] believe me the long time I've been

[1:24:39] working on the budget the first thing on

[1:24:43] my mind make sure

[1:24:46] ratings are going to be right.

[1:24:49] you can go

[1:24:52] and call all the other mayors.

[1:24:55] I

[1:24:58] will go back to harrington.

[1:25:16] but the budget

[1:25:19] is very important.

[1:25:25] where wasting a lot of time.

[1:25:28] let

[1:25:29] me get you across the street since

[1:25:31] were talking about

[1:25:34] the comptroller.

[1:25:37] across the street

[1:25:40] with those commissioners

[1:25:43] would've done their job, a

[1:25:45] medical back to budget. My son worked

[1:25:49] on the budget.

[1:26:01] if

[1:26:03] you check around, I'm serious now.

[1:26:07] the comptroller came in

[1:26:10] because they did not turn

[1:26:13] in nothing.

[1:26:15] they did not know what to turn in.

[1:26:16] that's --

[1:26:19] now they got the call

[1:26:22] and I spend this

[1:26:25] money now. Comptroller

[1:26:28] for years. Even sent them

[1:26:31] just feel this out.

[1:26:34] that's how trifling they were

[1:26:37] . Since we want to talk

[1:26:40] about control.

[1:26:43] [ indiscernible ]

[1:26:51] I think we need to vote this on and

[1:26:52] get

[1:26:54] beyond this . The money is there.

[1:26:57] everybody keeps saying it's not or

[1:26:58] does. It

[1:27:01] is there.

[1:27:07] it's not going to affect our ratings.

[1:27:24] I don't want to give the fire department anything

[1:27:28] , but

[1:27:31] what is going on, yes.

[1:27:49] I think we will all be okay.

[1:28:31] we need to move forward.

[1:28:34] chase, I love you to death.

[1:28:44] but I've had many more budgets and

[1:28:46] I worked on

[1:28:49] --

[1:28:52] you wasn't here. We used to have --

[1:28:55] you were here. Yes.

[1:28:58] we

[1:29:00] were here working on budgets until

[1:29:04] 1:00 a.m. In the morning.

[1:29:07] I was the chair.

[1:29:10] they wanted to

[1:29:13] just, let's do this and I recessed

[1:29:16] on them. And said

[1:29:18] when you get these numbers right,

[1:29:19] we can go back

[1:29:22] into session.

[1:29:25] I ordered pizza , do you

[1:29:28] remember that? They said

[1:29:31] , well, can we do this while

[1:29:33] we were eating pizza? No. You eat

[1:29:34] the pizza

[1:29:35] and think about it first. And then

[1:29:37] come back and do what

[1:29:39] is supposed to be. You remember that,

[1:29:40] don't you?

[1:29:46] we had everything correct. We went

[1:29:49] through a lot with kobrick.

[1:29:52] okay?

[1:29:55] strickland and not just him.

[1:29:58] everyone was

[1:30:01] getting money

[1:30:04] . They didn't know

[1:30:07] it was going to come to an end sooner

[1:30:08] or later.

[1:30:10] that's what we are

[1:30:13] looking at. If you look at some of

[1:30:14] these

[1:30:15] other cities, we are doing much better.

[1:30:16] we have

[1:30:19] 2 million out there. To great people

[1:30:23] out there. They know

[1:30:26] what they're doing.

[1:30:29] I think

[1:30:32] we just need call for the vote

[1:30:35] and vote your conscience today.

[1:30:40] let's get this over and move forward. It

[1:30:41] would be okay. We are to

[1:30:44] be okay.

[1:30:47] I'm through.

[1:30:50] >> thank you.

[1:30:53] council member walker.

[1:30:56] >> thank you, mr. Chair. I

[1:30:57] will have to say this is one of my most

[1:30:59] disappointing moments

[1:31:02] since I've been on the council

[1:31:04] . I really don't understand why the

[1:31:05] lawsuit

[1:31:07] was filed. We said we would make good

[1:31:10] in january. January is less than a

[1:31:14] month away. Insider understand

[1:31:16] --I really don't understand why the

[1:31:17] lawsuit

[1:31:20] was filed . This counsel

[1:31:23] does support the race

[1:31:26] in case

[1:31:29] --you support

[1:31:32] the race. We

[1:31:34] are not clear on the money. Where

[1:31:35] the money is or

[1:31:38] is not. So

[1:31:40] how can we have the money and then

[1:31:41] not have

[1:31:44] the money simultaneously?

[1:31:50] it's kind of like faith and fear

[1:31:51] cannot occupy the same space at the

[1:31:53] same time, so how can we have

[1:31:55] the money then not have the money.

[1:32:00] in closing I want to repeat myself

[1:32:02] and say I'm not clear

[1:32:04] on why the lawsuit was filed in the

[1:32:05] first place.

[1:32:07] thank you, mr. Chair.

[1:32:08] >> thank you.

[1:32:12] please take us to the voting screen.

[1:32:14] item number 34.

[1:32:35] >> [ roll call ]

[1:33:17] >> we have

[1:33:20] eight yeses.

[1:33:23] >> the item passes.

[1:33:32] >> when you have faith, you

[1:33:35] fear nothing. Faith

[1:33:38] always overrides fear.

[1:33:41] I just want to say, you know,

[1:33:44] the lord said

[1:33:47] bring your burdens and leave

[1:33:50] them there. The problem with

[1:33:53] a lot of people is they take their

[1:33:56] burdens to him

[1:33:59] and they say ,

[1:34:01] I'm still worried about it. So you

[1:34:05] know what? It tells god

[1:34:08] that you do not believe in me. But

[1:34:10] if you take it to him and you leave

[1:34:11] it there

[1:34:14] and go on about your business, he

[1:34:17] can show up and show out and

[1:34:20] if anybody can say

[1:34:29] --20 some years ago

[1:34:32] they tried to send

[1:34:35] me to . Three years. My lawyer

[1:34:38] thought I was crazy.

[1:34:50] everything I

[1:34:52] told my attorney it happened. My attorney

[1:34:53] gave me

[1:34:56] big old bill. Let me just say

[1:34:59] this, now, after everything was

[1:35:02] over he came to me and said, you

[1:35:05] owe me not a dime.

[1:35:16] he can show up and show out all you

[1:35:17] have to do is leave

[1:35:20] it there. Thank you. I just had to

[1:35:23] say that.

[1:35:26] but thank you, councilman.

[1:35:27] >> take

[1:35:28] us

[1:35:29] to item 35.

[1:35:38] >>

[1:35:41] is an appointment planning

[1:35:44] and development director and there's

[1:35:45] a request

[1:35:47] for minutes.

[1:35:50] >>

[1:35:51] council member easter-thomas, you

[1:35:53] are recognized.

[1:35:56] >> the committee met and recommends

[1:35:57] unanimous

[1:35:59] approval and I so move .

[1:36:02] >> item number 35

[1:36:08] you beat me to it.

[1:36:12] moved by council

[1:36:13] member easter-thomas seconded by council

[1:36:15] member green.

[1:36:17] do you want to speak? But very briefly.

[1:36:18] >>

[1:36:23] I wanted to say thank you for your

[1:36:24] support for this appointment

[1:36:27] and I look forward to continuing

[1:36:30] the work of

[1:36:31] the division and a quick thanks to my family

[1:36:32] for being here as well. Thank you.

[1:36:33] >> [ applause

[1:36:36] ]

[1:36:39] >> thank you,

[1:36:41] mr. Ragsdale. We look forward to continuing

[1:36:42] to work

[1:36:45] with you and we appreciate you. Congratulations.

[1:36:51] >> don't talk yourself out

[1:36:54] of it.

[1:37:09] thank you.

[1:37:15] >> --

[1:37:18] >> [ roll call ]

[1:37:32] >> that item now passes. Congratulations, sir.

[1:37:36] >> [ applause ]

[1:37:54] >>

[1:37:57] please call

[1:38:00] item number 36.

[1:38:06] >>

[1:38:09] a reappointment of

[1:38:11] darius jones to the solid waste municipal

[1:38:12] planning board

[1:38:15] and appointments of

[1:38:16] [ indiscernible ] there's request

[1:38:23] -- these are appointments and reappointments to the

[1:38:24] solid waste municipal planning board.

[1:38:25] >>

[1:38:27] your recognized.

[1:38:30] >> the committee recommends approval

[1:38:33] and I so move.

[1:38:36] >> 36 is moved

[1:38:38] by council member easter-thomas and seconded by

[1:38:42] council member carlisle.

[1:38:45] the council wanted to hear from

[1:38:46] -- they're not coming tonight? Right.

[1:38:51] does anyone have any questions? Comments.

[1:38:57] mr. Jones.

[1:39:00] your recognized.

[1:39:03] >> I want to thank you and the city council for support

[1:39:04] on this nomination.

[1:39:06] thank you.

[1:39:09] >> yes,

[1:39:15] solid waste administrator.

[1:39:18] I want to thank you for

[1:39:21] the appointment

[1:39:23] . I've been working with the city going

[1:39:24] on 15 years now and started

[1:39:27] from the bottom as a mechanic

[1:39:30] helper and here I am now

[1:39:33] hopefully to do good things and help out

[1:39:34] the

[1:39:36] community.

[1:39:37] >> thank you.

[1:39:42] >>

[1:39:45] philip davis.

[1:39:48] solid waste director.

[1:39:50] andy the other nominee was present this

[1:39:51] morning

[1:39:54] and committee and he's the head of

[1:39:57] the development corporation

[1:39:58] very involved in the solid waste and

[1:40:00] recycling initiatives and

[1:40:03] we are happy to have them

[1:40:06] on board with the solid

[1:40:08] waste board.

[1:40:09] >> thank you, sir.>>

[1:40:11] please take us to the voting screen.

[1:40:24] >> council members, please cast your vote.

[1:40:45] >> [ roll call ]

[1:41:03] >> the item passes. Congratulations.

[1:41:12] please call item number 37.

[1:41:13] >>

[1:41:15] a resolution

[1:41:18] to outtake an appropriate

[1:41:21] $2,600,000 in

[1:41:22] city council community grant funds

[1:41:24] to nonprofit agencies

[1:41:27] for fy26.

[1:41:30] all council districts, this resolution

[1:41:32] is sponsored by the memphis city council.

[1:41:33] this request for

[1:41:36] [ indiscernible ]

[1:41:37] >>

[1:41:39] thank you, mr. Chairman.

[1:41:42] I recommend the approval and I so

[1:41:43] move.

[1:41:44] >>

[1:41:45] can I get a second?

[1:41:47] please take us to the voting screen.

[1:42:09] >> [ roll call ]

[1:42:28] >> that item passes. >>

[1:42:31] please call item 38.

[1:42:34] 's

[1:42:38] >> item number 38 is a resolution

[1:42:40] to allocate an appropriate

[1:42:43] and transfer a sum total of

[1:42:46] $3,920,000

[1:42:49] through

[1:42:52] [ indiscernible ] award 11516

[1:42:55] to

[1:42:56] the first part of the city's pledge

[1:42:58] of funding to

[1:43:01] the clubhouse. Project to

[1:43:04] be announced and to design

[1:43:06] the jesse turner park improvements project

[1:43:12] number to be announced later. District

[1:43:13] four and

[1:43:15] five and super district 8 and nine.

[1:43:16] this resolution is

[1:43:19] sponsored by the administration and there's

[1:43:21] a request for same night minutes.

[1:43:22] >>

[1:43:25] council member carlisle.

[1:43:26] >>

[1:43:28] I recommend the

[1:43:29] approval and I so move.

[1:43:30] >> 38 was

[1:43:33] moved by council member carlisle.

[1:43:34] and seconded

[1:43:37] by council member warren.

[1:43:39] I would like the whole council to

[1:43:40] sponsor

[1:43:43] this.

[1:43:51] >> please take us to the voting screen.

[1:44:10] would you please hold the

[1:44:13] voting screen.

[1:44:14] council member easter-thomas is glasgow attorney

[1:44:16] question.

[1:44:56] >> thank you. All right. Members,

[1:45:01] if you have casted your votes for

[1:45:02] 38, and whenever you

[1:45:04] have casted your votes, you can release

[1:45:05] the voting screen.

[1:45:59] >> carlisle, yes. Cooper-sutton, yes.

[1:46:00] easter-thomas,

[1:46:01] yes. 40, yes. Green, yes. Logan, yes.

[1:46:05] smiley, yes. Logan, yes. Swearengen-washington,

[1:46:08] yes. Warren, yes. White, yes.

[1:46:13] chairman canale, yes.

[1:46:14] >> that item

[1:46:15] passes. Thank you, colleagues. Madame

[1:46:16] comptroller,

[1:46:17] please call item 39.

[1:46:18] >>

[1:46:19] item number 39 is a resolution authorizing

[1:46:20] final payment fy

[1:46:23] 2026

[1:46:26] tax equivalent payment from memphis light

[1:46:28] gas and water divisions electric system

[1:46:32] and total distribution of the fy 2026

[1:46:33] tax

[1:46:35] equivalent payment

[1:46:37] to taxing jurisdictions in shelby

[1:46:38] county, tennessee. All

[1:46:39] counsel districts. This resolution

[1:46:41] is

[1:46:44] sponsored by mlg w and

[1:46:45] there is a request for same night

[1:46:47] minutes.

[1:46:48] >>

[1:46:53] councilmember spinosa, you

[1:46:54] are recognized.

[1:46:55] >> thank you, chairman canale, chair recommends approval

[1:46:56] and I second

[1:46:57] period

[1:46:58] >> 39 was seconded by green, moved by

[1:46:59] spinosa, seeing no members in the queue, please bring the

[1:47:02] voting to the screen.

[1:47:26] >> carlisle, yes. Cooper-sutton, yes.

[1:47:28] ford, yes. Green, yes. Green, yes. Logan, yes.

[1:47:29] spinosa, yes.

[1:47:37] swearengen-washington, yes. Walker,

[1:47:38] yes. Warren, yes. White, yes. Chairman canale, yes.

[1:47:39] >>

[1:47:40] that item passes.

[1:47:41] >> madam comptroller, please call item 40.

[1:47:42] >> item

[1:47:44] number 40

[1:47:46] is a resolution authorizing the final payment

[1:47:48] of the fy 2026 tax equivalent payment

[1:47:50] from memphis light, gas, and water

[1:47:51] divisions

[1:47:53] gas system and total

[1:47:56] distribution of the fy 2026 tax equivalent payment

[1:47:59] to taxing jurisdictions in shelby county, tennessee. All

[1:48:02] counsel districts. This

[1:48:05] resolution is sponsored by

[1:48:14] mlgw.

[1:48:16] there is a request for same night minutes.

[1:48:17] >> councilmember spinosa, you are recognized.

[1:48:18] >> thank you, committee chair,

[1:48:19] committee recommends approval.

[1:48:20] >> item 40 was

[1:48:21] moved

[1:48:23] by spinosa, seconded by warren. Seeing no members in the queue, please

[1:48:27] take us to the voting screen.

[1:48:39] >> carlisle, yes.

[1:48:52] cooper-sutton, yes. Ford, yes. Logan, yes. Spinosa,

[1:48:53] yes. Swearengen-washington, yes. Walker,

[1:48:54] yes. Warren, yes.

[1:48:55] white, yes. Chairman canale, yes.

[1:48:56] >> that item passes.

[1:48:57] madam comptroller,

[1:48:58] please take us back to our mlgw fiscal

[1:49:00] consent items.

[1:49:03] numbers 12 through 24.

[1:49:18] >>

[1:49:19] item number 12 is a resolution approving contract

[1:49:21] number 12658 reliability

[1:49:22] coordination agreement, for a period

[1:49:27] of january 1st, 2026,

[1:49:33] to december 31st, 2026,

[1:49:34] stipulating that a sum of $1,147,890 will

[1:49:36] be furnished by the division for

[1:49:37] the tennessee valley authority to

[1:49:41] act as mlgw's designated reliability

[1:49:42] coordinator.

[1:49:50] item number 13, is a resolution approving ratification,

[1:49:51] renewal, scope change, and increase

[1:49:54] to

[1:49:57] contract number 12276,

[1:50:00] mobile radio replacement with leonardo

[1:50:01] u.s. Cyber and security solutions, llc, to

[1:50:03] ratify, renew,

[1:50:05] expand the scope and increase the

[1:50:06] current contract in

[1:50:09] the funded amount of

[1:50:12] $819,262. Item

[1:50:15] number 14,

[1:50:18] is

[1:50:19] a resolution awarding contracts number 12601,

[1:50:21] ips energy, to ips-energy

[1:50:24] usa, inc.

[1:50:30] in the funded not to exceed amount

[1:50:33] of $479,216. Item number 15

[1:50:36] is a resolution awarding contracts

[1:50:39] number 12661, variable frequency drive, for

[1:50:40] the

[1:50:42] lng plant to

[1:50:49] second. In the funded amount of $419,212.

[1:51:00] item 19 is a purchase order

[1:51:03] for vertical turbine,

[1:51:04] and motor assembly to wastewater solutions llc in the amount of $229,445.

[1:51:06] item number 17 is

[1:51:09] a resolution awarding contracts number

[1:51:12] 12610,

[1:51:15] allen

[1:51:17] pumping station reservoir baffling

[1:51:18] and piping installation to

[1:51:21] kajacs

[1:51:23] contractors, inc. In the amount of $12,750,000. Item

[1:51:24] number 18,

[1:51:26] is a resolution approving ratification

[1:51:27] and renewal to

[1:51:30] contract number 12435,

[1:51:33] external corrosion direct assessment

[1:51:36] with integrity solutions field services inc.

[1:51:38] to ratify and renew the current contract

[1:51:42] in

[1:51:45] the funded amount of $228,000. Item

[1:51:48] number 19 is a resolution

[1:51:50] approving increase to contract number 12244

[1:51:57] smart sheet with smart sheet inc. To increase the current

[1:51:58] contract value in the funded amount

[1:52:00] of $45,750.03.

[1:52:03] item number 20

[1:52:08] is a resolution awarding contract number 12547,

[1:52:09] enterprise synergy frames and

[1:52:17] gen11 compute modules for vdi to logicalis, inc.

[1:52:20] in the funded amount of $1,104,904.50.

[1:52:24] item number 21 is

[1:52:27] a resolution awarding

[1:52:29] purchase order for palo alto firewalls

[1:52:30] for the 5g

[1:52:33] project to unico technology, llc in the amount of

[1:52:36] $340,798.00.

[1:52:39] item number 22 is a

[1:52:47] resolution awarding purchase orders for crew cab trucks with

[1:52:48] enclosed service bodies to automation

[1:52:51] ford memphis in the amount of $163,142.00 and nashville automotive llc dba serra chevrolet buick gmc for

[1:52:54] $88,500.00.

[1:53:03] item

[1:53:06] number 23, is a resolution

[1:53:08] approving renewal to contract number 12563

[1:53:12] --

[1:53:17] mlgw flower planting, mulch maintenance, & turf area management with enlightenment

[1:53:18] inc.

[1:53:21] doing business as

[1:53:24] aps facility maintenance to renew the current contract in the funded amount of

[1:53:27] $95,517.12.

[1:53:33] and our final item, number 24,

[1:53:34] is a resolution approving an annual salary

[1:53:36] in the amount of $178,552.80

[1:53:40] for a new hire to fill

[1:53:41] the vacant position of director, central

[1:53:43] support services.

[1:53:45] there is a request for same night

[1:53:46] minutes for that

[1:53:49] item, mr. Chairman, and

[1:53:51] that concludes your mlgw consent items.

[1:53:54] >> well done, madam comptroller. >>

[1:53:58] thank you, mr. Chair.

[1:53:59] >>

[1:54:00] councilmember spinosa, you are recognized.

[1:54:01] >> thank

[1:54:02] you, chairman

[1:54:03] canale. Committee recommends approval and

[1:54:04] I so move.

[1:54:05] >> mlgw is moved by spinosa, seconded

[1:54:07] by green. Seeing no members

[1:54:10] in the queue,

[1:54:11] members, please cast your votes for

[1:54:13] the mlgw fiscal consent.

[1:54:25] >> carlisle, yes.

[1:54:28] cooper-sutton, yes.

[1:54:31] easter-thomas, yes.

[1:54:32] ford, yes. Green, yes. Logan, yes.

[1:54:34] spinosa, yes.

[1:54:38] swearengen-washington, yes. Walker,

[1:54:40] yes. Warren, yes. White, yes. Chairman

[1:54:41] canale, yes.

[1:54:42] >> that item passes.

[1:54:43] madam comptroller, please take

[1:54:45] us to the consent agenda items number 10,

[1:54:49] nine, and 10.

[1:54:52] >>

[1:54:55] we will have a display on the

[1:54:57] monitor, momentarily. On our consent

[1:54:58] agenda, we

[1:55:01] have item number nine,

[1:55:03] a referendum ordinance to amend article

[1:55:04] 34, section 250,

[1:55:07] of the home rule charter of the

[1:55:09] city of memphis, relative to the classification of

[1:55:13] officers and positions,

[1:55:16] exemptions from article,

[1:55:17] to amend the classification of employees

[1:55:19] of the

[1:55:21] memphis and shelby county public library

[1:55:22] to

[1:55:24] allow civil service status up for

[1:55:28] first reading.

[1:55:30] ordinance number 5966 is sponsored by

[1:55:31] councilmembers smiley,

[1:55:36] canale, cooper-sutton, easter-thomas, ford,

[1:55:37] green,

[1:55:40] spinosa,

[1:55:41] swearengen-washington, walker, and

[1:55:43] warren.

[1:55:52] item number 10 is also up for first reading. Ordinance

[1:55:54] amending the memphis and shelby county unified

[1:55:55] development code, as adopted

[1:55:58] by the city of memphis on august 10th,

[1:55:59] 2010,

[1:56:00] and by shelby county on august 9th,

[1:56:01] 2010,

[1:56:05] as amended, to revise the zoning and

[1:56:06] subdivision regulations within the

[1:56:07] city of memphis, pertaining

[1:56:09] to core lecture facilities specifically

[1:56:10] detention

[1:56:13] centers, jails, and prisons, up for

[1:56:14] first reading. Ordinance number 5958

[1:56:16] is sponsored by

[1:56:19] councilwoman easter-thomas.

[1:56:34] it

[1:56:35] was held from december 2nd. Mr. Chairman,

[1:56:36] that concludes our consent agenda

[1:56:37] items.

[1:56:38] >> thank you,

[1:56:39] madam comptroller. Madam vice chair,

[1:56:40] you are recognized.

[1:56:41] >> thank you,

[1:56:42] chairman. The committee met,

[1:56:43] there were favorable recommendations

[1:56:44] for both of these items, and I so

[1:56:45] move.

[1:56:46] >>

[1:56:47] consent was moved by swearengen-washington,

[1:56:48] seconded by carlisle. Councilwomen

[1:56:49] white, you are recognized,

[1:56:50] followed by

[1:56:51] councilwomen green.

[1:56:52] >> thank you,

[1:56:53] chairman, I will be recusing from

[1:56:54] this matter, specifically item 10,

[1:56:55] as I am

[1:57:04] not officially on the county commission.

[1:57:05] >> please

[1:57:06] show white as a recusal. Councilwomen green,

[1:57:07] you are recognized.

[1:57:08] >> thank you, chair.

[1:57:09] I just want to

[1:57:10] note for the record that when item

[1:57:11] number 10, the ordinance regarding the

[1:57:12] jails

[1:57:13] being held and heard in committee,

[1:57:14] I asked to be added

[1:57:15] as a cosponsor and that was approved without

[1:57:19] objection so I would just

[1:57:21] like the record to reflect that.

[1:57:22] >>

[1:57:23] all right. Thank you, councilwomen.

[1:57:25] please show

[1:57:26] green as a cosponsor, white as a recusal,

[1:57:28] and take us to the voting screen, please.

[1:57:55] >>

[1:57:56] carlisle, yes. Cooper-sutton, abstain. Easter-thomas,

[1:57:57] yes. Ford, yes. Green, yes. Logan,

[1:57:58] yes. Smiley, yes.

[1:58:00] spinosa, yes. Swearengen-washington,

[1:58:01] yes. Walker, yes. Warren,

[1:58:04] yes. White, recused.

[1:58:06] chairman canale, yes.

[1:58:07] >> that item

[1:58:08] passes.

[1:58:12] madam comptroller, please call our fiscal consent

[1:58:13] agenda.

[1:58:19] item number 11.

[1:58:21] >> thank you, mr. Chairman. Item number

[1:58:22] 11 is a resolution to accept grant

[1:58:23] funds

[1:58:25] in the amount of $634,009

[1:58:28] from the u.s. Department of justice

[1:58:29] through the united states marshals

[1:58:30] service western district of tennessee.

[1:58:31] all council

[1:58:32] districts. This resolution is sponsored

[1:58:34] by police services. There is a request

[1:58:35] for

[1:58:37] same night minutes.

[1:58:46] >> madam vice chair, you are recognized. >>

[1:58:47] thank you, chairman. The

[1:58:48] committee met, there was a favorable recommendation to

[1:58:49] accept these grant funds, and I

[1:58:52] so move.

[1:58:53] >> 11

[1:58:54] was moved by swearengen-washington,

[1:58:55] seconded by spinosa. Seeing no members

[1:58:56] in the queue, please take

[1:58:58] us to the voting screen.

[1:59:13] >> carlisle, yes. Cooper-sutton, yes.

[1:59:14] easter-thomas, yes. Ford, yes.

[1:59:15] green, yes. Logan, yes. Spinosa, yes.

[1:59:17] swearengen-washington, yes. Walker,

[1:59:19] yes. Warren, yes. White, yes. Chairman

[1:59:20] canale,

[1:59:23] yes.

[1:59:24] >> that item passes.

[1:59:25] madam comptroller, please take us

[1:59:26] back

[1:59:29] to our regular agenda,

[1:59:32] item number 25.

[1:59:38] and for the record,

[1:59:39] madam comptroller, as you read it,

[1:59:41] it was

[1:59:46] amended in executive.

[1:59:47] >> okay. Thank

[1:59:48] you, mr. Chairman. Item number

[1:59:49] 25 is an ordinance to establish with

[1:59:52] the city council meeting dates for

[1:59:53] 2026, up for

[1:59:54] third and final reading. Ordinance number

[1:59:55] 5965 is sponsored by councilmembers

[1:59:57] swearengen-washington and carlisle.

[2:00:04] >> madam vice chair, you are recognized.

[2:00:05] >> thank you,

[2:00:06] chairman. The committee met, there

[2:00:07] was a favorable recommendation to

[2:00:08] accept

[2:00:11] the schedule as amended, and I

[2:00:14] so move.

[2:00:19] >> all right, 25 was moved by swearengen-washington, seconded by

[2:00:20] carlisle.

[2:00:21] colleagues, this is your chance to

[2:00:23] make any changes, if you wish. Speak

[2:00:26] now, or forever hold your peace.

[2:00:28] can we get a --before you --before

[2:00:32] we go

[2:00:35] to the

[2:00:37] voting screen, I am going to --I want

[2:00:38] everybody to see the changes, in

[2:00:41] case you didn't see them in insect executive.

[2:01:36] >> all right, madam comptroller, I

[2:01:38] will tell you what we are going

[2:01:39] to do, we are going to ponder on 25.

[2:01:41] we are going to come back to

[2:01:43] it. If you would call item number 30?

[2:01:49] >> item number 30 is displayed on

[2:01:50] the monitor. It is a

[2:01:51] resolution to accept a donation in the amount

[2:01:53] of $2000 from

[2:02:01] funcity memphis llc to help support the operation of ridgeway station. District 3, super district 8. This resolution is sponsored by

[2:02:07] the administration.

[2:02:08] >> councilwoman

[2:02:09] white,

[2:02:10] you are recognized.

[2:02:11] >> thank you, the committee

[2:02:12] chair made

[2:02:16] recommendation for approval, and I so

[2:02:17] move.

[2:02:18] >> 30 is moved by white, seconded

[2:02:19] by carlisle. Seeing no members in the

[2:02:20] queue, please take us to the

[2:02:23] voting screen.

[2:02:32] >> carlisle, yes. Easter-thomas, yes. Ford, yes.

[2:02:38] green,

[2:02:39] yes. Logan, yes. Spinosa, yes. Walker,

[2:02:40] yes. White, yes. Chairman canale,

[2:02:41] yes.

[2:02:44] please show vice chair,

[2:02:47] swearengen-washington,

[2:02:49] voting on this item.

[2:02:50] >> all right,

[2:02:53] item 30 passes.

[2:02:54] >> cooper-sutton

[2:02:55] and vice chair swearengen-washington

[2:02:56] --yes.

[2:02:57] >> madam comptroller, please

[2:02:59] call item 31.

[2:03:02] >>

[2:03:03] item number 31 is a resolution to appropriate

[2:03:05] $11 million in

[2:03:08] fy 2026 cip funding for the

[2:03:10] axon enterprise solution, project number

[2:03:11] pd04031.

[2:03:16] all council districts. This resolution is

[2:03:17] sponsored by

[2:03:20] the administration.

[2:03:21] >>

[2:03:22] councilwoman white, you are recognized.

[2:03:23] >> the

[2:03:26] committee

[2:03:27] met and recognized approval, and I

[2:03:29] so move.

[2:03:30] >> 31 was moved by white.

[2:03:40] 31 was moved by white, seconded by smiley.

[2:03:41] seeing

[2:03:42] no members in the queue, please take

[2:03:44] us to the voting screen.

[2:03:53] >> carlisle, yes.

[2:03:59] easter-thomas, yes. Ford, yes. Green,

[2:04:02] yes. Logan, yes. Smiley, yes.

[2:04:09] spinosa, yes. Swearengen-washington,

[2:04:10] yes. Walker, yes. Warren, yes. White,

[2:04:11] yes. Chairman canale, yes.

[2:04:12] >> that

[2:04:13] item

[2:04:14] passes. Madam comptroller, please

[2:04:15] call item 32.

[2:04:20] >> item number 32

[2:04:29] --should display momentarily --it

[2:04:30] is a resolution to amend the fiscal

[2:04:31] year 2026 cip budget by allocating

[2:04:32] and appropriating $5,100,000 and

[2:04:35] $5,900,000

[2:04:40] in funds for the purchase of various vehicles and equipment through

[2:04:41] incurrence

[2:04:44] of indebtedness via the

[2:04:46] execution of a master equipment lease.

[2:04:49] all council districts. This resolution

[2:04:50] is sponsored by the administration.

[2:04:51] >>

[2:04:54] councilman smiley,

[2:04:57] you are recognized.

[2:04:58] >>

[2:04:59] committee recommends approval, and

[2:05:05] I so move --mayor gave me permission.

[2:05:09] >> 32

[2:05:12] was --I need you to

[2:05:13] move it electronically, please. 32 is

[2:05:15] moved by smiley, seconded

[2:05:16] by warren. I do have one common card,

[2:05:18] ms. Glenda hicks.

[2:05:33] >> glenda hicks, 608 gillies.

[2:05:42] I reviewed the documentation

[2:05:45] that was presented on this item,

[2:05:48] and was somewhat

[2:05:50] baffled, so I thought I would just come and

[2:05:51] ask my questions. So,

[2:05:54] understanding that the citizenry

[2:05:55] pays, just residential citizens, pay

[2:06:05] $41.96 per month on the light, and gas bill for

[2:06:06] solid waste, and if I take a mere

[2:06:09] 150,000 citizens

[2:06:12] times that,

[2:06:15] then we are looking at over $6 million a

[2:06:16] month. So, I was a bit baffled, as to why we

[2:06:18] are in a lease agreement

[2:06:21] with jpmorgan,

[2:06:24] to purchase this equipment,

[2:06:25] and why we are not just purchasing

[2:06:27] to -- to lease

[2:06:30] --excuse me --this

[2:06:31] equipment. And why are we not just

[2:06:33] purchasing it outright,

[2:06:35] given the amount of funds that are

[2:06:36] collected just on

[2:06:39] the basis of

[2:06:42] residence paying? And

[2:06:44] I know that is more than 150,000 citizens.

[2:06:51] residential, I'm

[2:06:52] not even counting the commercial,

[2:06:53] which is double that amount. So, just

[2:06:54] trying to understand

[2:06:55] why we are in some lease agreement,

[2:07:00] going

[2:07:01] back to 2013, based on the documentation that

[2:07:02] was provided.

[2:07:03] >> thank you, ms. Hicks.

[2:07:06] I think

[2:07:08] I can have director davis come up and speak

[2:07:09] to the specifics, why

[2:07:11] he chose the lease as opposed to the purchase.

[2:07:15] >> pay. Philip

[2:07:18] davis, solid waste director,

[2:07:20] 208 bullock drive memphis, 21119.

[2:07:27] yes,

[2:07:29] good question. So, we do enter into a

[2:07:30] five-year lease, it is a lease

[2:07:31] purchase. We finance these vehicles because we have

[2:07:32] about --to the common areas point

[2:07:34] --we do have about a $104 million

[2:07:36] operating budget.

[2:07:38] we have 181,000 customers that pay

[2:07:42] --

[2:07:51] largely 4196,

[2:07:52] give or take, the fee classification,

[2:07:53] but most of our customers pay 4196

[2:07:55] per month, that brings in about that

[2:07:56] much revenue, about $104 million.

[2:07:57] we have about a $35

[2:08:00] million payroll for personnel.

[2:08:06] we also finance these vehicles. This

[2:08:07] is

[2:08:08] about $11 million. It is going to

[2:08:09] replace about

[2:08:12] 10% of our operating fleet.

[2:08:15] and so,

[2:08:18] we finance, because of a cash flow,

[2:08:21] a cash flow

[2:08:24] for the operation. So, this is why

[2:08:26] we do this.

[2:08:27] >> thank you, director davis.

[2:08:28] madam comptroller, please take us

[2:08:30] to the voting screen for item 32.

[2:08:51] >> carlisle, yes. Cooper-sutton, yes.

[2:08:52] ford,

[2:08:54] yes. Green, yes. Logan, yes.

[2:08:57] smiley, yes. Spinosa, yes. Walker,

[2:08:58] yes.

[2:09:00] warren, yes. White, yes. Please show

[2:09:01] easter-thomas as voting

[2:09:03] yes on this item.

[2:09:06] chairman

[2:09:07] canale, yes.

[2:09:08] >> that item passes.

[2:09:09] madam comptroller, please call item

[2:09:10] 33.

[2:09:11] >> item

[2:09:12] number 33 is a resolution to

[2:09:15] allocate inappropriate

[2:09:17] $2,600,000 in city council community grant

[2:09:21] funds to

[2:09:23] nonprofit agencies for fy 26. All

[2:09:24] council districts.

[2:09:25] this resolution is sponsored by the

[2:09:27] budget committee.

[2:09:28] >>

[2:09:39] councilmember carlisle, you are recognized.

[2:09:40] >>

[2:09:41] thank you, chairman canale. Committee recommends

[2:09:42] approval and I so move.

[2:09:43] >> 33 was

[2:09:44] moved by carlisle, seconded by green.

[2:09:45] seeing no members in the queue, please take us to

[2:09:48] the voting screen.

[2:10:14] >> carlisle, yes. Cooper-sutton, yes. Easter-thomas,

[2:10:15] yes. Ford, yes. Green, yes. Logan, yes.

[2:10:16] smiley, yes.

[2:10:17] spinosa, yes. Swearengen-washington, yes.

[2:10:18] walker, yes. Warren, yes. White,

[2:10:20] yes. Chairman canale, yes.

[2:10:21] >> that item

[2:10:22] passes.

[2:10:24] >>

[2:10:25] madam comptroller come out of an abundance

[2:10:27] of clarity, we reread 25 into the record.

[2:10:39] >> item number 25

[2:10:42] is an ordinance

[2:10:45] to establish

[2:10:46] memphis city council meeting dates

[2:10:48] for 2026

[2:10:54] up for a third and final reading.

[2:10:55] ordinance number 5965

[2:10:56] is sponsored by councilmembers swearengen-washington

[2:10:58] and carlisle.

[2:11:00] >> so, I spoke incorrectly earlier, it is a substitute

[2:11:04] ordinance,

[2:11:09] with the changes --

[2:11:10] >> for the record,

[2:11:11] it is

[2:11:12] a substitute ordinance and we will archive

[2:11:13] it as that.

[2:11:14] >> thank you. Madam vice

[2:11:15] chair, you are recognized.

[2:11:16] >> thank

[2:11:17] you, chair. The committee met and

[2:11:18] received a favorable

[2:11:19] recommendation for the schedule of

[2:11:20] meeting dates

[2:11:24] --it has been a minute.

[2:11:25] >> 25 was moved

[2:11:26] by swearengen-washington, seconded by

[2:11:28] carlisle.

[2:11:30] councilman warren, you are recognized.

[2:11:34] >>

[2:11:35] thank you, mr. Chair. As you know,

[2:11:40] we have meetings on january 13th and 27th,

[2:11:43] and a week from the 27th,

[2:11:46] february 3rd.

[2:11:47] if we could avoid having those throughout

[2:11:49] the year, I think it

[2:11:52] helps us.

[2:11:55] the sixth this pretty far

[2:11:57] in from the beginning of the year,

[2:11:58] so I think

[2:12:01] most people

[2:12:07] are back from vacation

[2:12:08] after that we can, they are back from

[2:12:10] the weekend of the

[2:12:11] first. It seems that the sixth and

[2:12:12] the 20th would have eliminated that problem.

[2:12:15] we got november 2nd, I guess, or third,

[2:12:16] that is right on the

[2:12:18] voting day of --I think that is the election --

[2:12:19] so, that is

[2:12:21] why we moved in november and december back,

[2:12:28] but

[2:12:29] that keeps us from having a lot of these that

[2:12:31] are just back to back, as we go throughout

[2:12:32] the

[2:12:33] year. So, I would like to see if there

[2:12:34] are other people that

[2:12:37] will comment on why

[2:12:39] we shouldn't go back to the sixth

[2:12:40] and the

[2:12:41] 20th of january.

[2:12:42] >> all right, colleagues, if

[2:12:43] you have any thoughts or opinions

[2:12:45] on moving the 13th to the sixth and the

[2:12:46] 27th to the 20th

[2:12:47] in the month of january, please speak up.

[2:13:10] >> madam vice chair,

[2:13:11] you are recognized.

[2:13:12] >> thank you,

[2:13:13] mr. Chair. That is all I needed.

[2:13:14] >>

[2:13:15] so, everybody

[2:13:16] is okay with these dates in front

[2:13:17] of them? Love these dates. Okay. All

[2:13:18] right.

[2:13:19] 25 was moved by swearengen-washington,

[2:13:20] seconded by carlisle. Will

[2:13:21] the members of the queue please take

[2:13:22] us to the voting screen?

[2:13:33] >> carlisle, yes. Cooper-sutton, yes.

[2:13:40] ford, yes. Green, yes. Please

[2:13:41] show easter-thomas as voting yes on

[2:13:43] this item. Logan, yes. Smiley,

[2:13:44] yes. Spinosa, yes. Swearengen-washington,

[2:13:46] yes. Please show

[2:13:51] councilmember walker as voting yes

[2:13:52] on this item. Warren,

[2:13:53] yes. White, yes. Chairman canale,

[2:13:55] yes.

[2:13:56] >> that item passes.

[2:13:57] all right, colleagues, that brings us to

[2:13:58] the end of our agenda, I

[2:14:01] believe the vice chair has

[2:14:03] our same night minute items available?

[2:14:07] >> thank you, chair. Our same night

[2:14:08] minute

[2:14:10] items are

[2:14:13] items 11, 24, 25, 33, 35, 36,

[2:14:16] 37,

[2:14:19] 38, 39,

[2:14:22] and 40.

[2:14:27] and I so move.

[2:14:28] >> all right, same night minutes

[2:14:29] were moved by

[2:14:31] swearengen-washington --

[2:14:32] I need a second? Seconded by smiley,

[2:14:34] councilman smiley, you are smart recognized.

[2:14:35] >>

[2:14:36] think you, mr. Chair. I moved to the

[2:14:40] approved item 34 same night minutes.

[2:14:43] item number 34 is the item that

[2:14:46] we had much

[2:14:48] discussion about.

[2:14:49] >> all right, any

[2:14:50] objection to adding

[2:14:52] 34 to our same night minutes? All

[2:14:55] right, hearing no objection,

[2:14:58] item 34 will be added. Please note

[2:14:59] that,

[2:15:01] madam comptroller, item

[2:15:07] 34 will be added to the list

[2:15:08] of same minute items.

[2:15:09] >> thank you,

[2:15:10] mr. Chairman.

[2:15:11] >> seeing no members

[2:15:12] in the

[2:15:13] queue, please take us to the voting screen.

[2:15:30] >> cooper-sutton, yes. Easter-thomas,

[2:15:31] yes. Ford, yes. Green, yes.

[2:15:34] smiley,

[2:15:35] yes. Spinosa, yes. Swearengen-washington,

[2:15:37] yes. Walker, yes.

[2:15:39] chairman canale, yes.

[2:15:40] >> that item

[2:15:41] passes.

[2:15:44] all right, colleagues, this brings

[2:15:46] us to the public comment portion of

[2:15:49] our meeting.

[2:15:52] dr. Cornelius atwater, you are up

[2:15:53] first.

[2:15:54] name and address for the record. You

[2:15:55] have two minutes, ma'am.

[2:15:58] >> dr. Carlita atwater,

[2:16:01] 1005 firestone memphis,

[2:16:04] tennessee, 380107. I came to

[2:16:07] speak on the number,

[2:16:12] on the agenda, 10, item 10. I think

[2:16:13] it is a disservice

[2:16:14] and disrespectful to not let the public

[2:16:16] speak on a

[2:16:19] permit, a

[2:16:21] resolution, an ordinance that is going

[2:16:22] to affect the jail, the new jail,

[2:16:28] the detention center and all that.

[2:16:34] but I will

[2:16:35] address that with a legal situation because I thought

[2:16:37] that was very disrespectful.

[2:16:38] >>

[2:16:40] dr. Atwater? Can you pause her time

[2:16:41] for just

[2:16:43] a second?

[2:16:52] you would be able to speak on that item, but

[2:16:54] you can only speak on ordinances when it comes

[2:16:56] up for third reading. When it comes up

[2:16:58] for third reading, anybody who wishes to speak on that item -- which is when

[2:17:00] we will truly vote on that item --

[2:17:01] we are just letting it go through

[2:17:02] the

[2:17:03] process of consent, but when it comes up for third reading,

[2:17:05] anybody who wishes to

[2:17:06] speak will be given the option to

[2:17:08] speak at that

[2:17:09] time. Thank you, you can consider

[2:17:11] your comments.

[2:17:12] >> are you going

[2:17:13] to take time back? Okay. So, now,

[2:17:14] what I want

[2:17:17] to address is, july 27th,

[2:17:22] I gave you all the memphis black agenda and

[2:17:24] I want to read that into record, so

[2:17:25] that can be documented publicly. You

[2:17:26] never

[2:17:29] did respond to that. So, let me

[2:17:31] go to what I will say in the few minutes

[2:17:35] I have.

[2:17:43] I am reading this document into record

[2:17:44] of

[2:17:45] the memphis black agenda, presented

[2:17:46] to you july the 22nd. I am requesting

[2:17:47] a

[2:17:50] forensic investigation

[2:17:52] and accounting of all fiscal budget on

[2:17:59] the fiscal budget 2021, '22,

[2:18:02] '23, '24, and '25, regarding the

[2:18:05] funding of accelerated

[2:18:08] memphis

[2:18:09] cra, memphis chamber of commerce,

[2:18:11] memphis downtown commission, and

[2:18:17] review board, and land bank, and any other

[2:18:18] organizations who have received funding

[2:18:19] from the city of memphis, city council,

[2:18:20] in the

[2:18:23] last five years. And

[2:18:24] I am requesting that and I want to

[2:18:26] put that into the record.

[2:18:27] >> thank you, dr. Atwater. Sammy hunter?

[2:18:56] >> yes, my name is sammy hunter.

[2:19:00] I live at 4211 park chester avenue,

[2:19:02] memphis, tennessee, 83318.

[2:19:07] bored, I just want to address you,

[2:19:08] all, about the concerns of these security

[2:19:09] guards

[2:19:10] that are down here at the north end terminal.

[2:19:16] about the bus riders, how aggressive they are

[2:19:17] being toward the bus

[2:19:19] riders and stuff. We had a lady that

[2:19:20] was thrown down by the

[2:19:22] security guards, down at the north

[2:19:26] end terminal.

[2:19:29] she was intoxicated -- yes,

[2:19:30] she was -- but, she was handcuffed, but

[2:19:32] she didn't deserve to

[2:19:33] be thrown down that aggressively by security guards.

[2:19:35] now, we have went to mr. Holmes

[2:19:38] and told mr. Holmes

[2:19:40] that he needs to put body cams on these

[2:19:41] security guards, as

[2:19:44] they are

[2:19:49] being aggressive toward the bus riders.

[2:19:50] if a

[2:19:51] bus rider is waiting on a bus, if

[2:19:52] the bus is not showing up, you can't

[2:19:53] just push

[2:19:55] them out because his bus hasn't came.

[2:19:58] so, these are things that we wish

[2:19:59] you all would

[2:20:00] look into. The bus riders don't deserve

[2:20:02] this. It's just bad, down there.

[2:20:05] with me and mr.

[2:20:07] mosier from citizen assistant services wish

[2:20:08] you

[2:20:11] would check in with this. The other

[2:20:14] thing is,

[2:20:18] the bus riders went to know, when

[2:20:20] are y'all going to assemble a

[2:20:21] board? Because they need to come to address

[2:20:23] their concerns, because they --they

[2:20:24] come

[2:20:25] to me, but they need to be able to

[2:20:26] come to a board, to address their

[2:20:28] concerns with what they are going through

[2:20:29] out here.

[2:20:31] it's --we need a board. We need a

[2:20:32] board, so we can

[2:20:34] come and tell you about the issues

[2:20:35] that are going on

[2:20:38] out here, about these buses.

[2:20:44] and another thing, we want to know, when are

[2:20:45] the

[2:20:46] buses coming? Are they coming in january?

[2:20:47] because we badly need

[2:20:49] them. It is fine that you all are

[2:20:50] doing a free-for-all, but if

[2:20:52] the buses are not showing up on time,

[2:20:53] then it's --it does no

[2:20:54] good. So, that's what we want.

[2:20:55] >>

[2:20:56] thank you, mr. Hunter. And to answer

[2:20:57] your question

[2:20:59] about --

[2:21:09] the board, those board appointees

[2:21:11] do have to come from the administration

[2:21:12] and we either vote the appointment

[2:21:14] up or down, we don't get to pick

[2:21:15] who serves on the board.

[2:21:16] >> okay,

[2:21:17] thanks.

[2:21:18] >> thank you, sir. Johnny mosley?

[2:21:29] >> johnny mosley.

[2:21:35] 1150 pebble lane memphis, tennessee, 38109.

[2:21:44] the

[2:21:45] citizens service route, I have been

[2:21:46] an advocate for citizens bus service

[2:21:47] riders

[2:21:50] since 1973.

[2:21:53] I guess mr. Hunter just about

[2:21:54] said everything I wanted to say, and of course you

[2:21:55] all know that I wrote a three-page

[2:21:56] letter to mr. Holmes,

[2:22:05] talking about some of the things that mr. Hunter talked

[2:22:06] to y'all about just

[2:22:07] a moment ago. And so, I would just

[2:22:08] like to reiterate

[2:22:11] what he says, I would like to see

[2:22:12] our

[2:22:14] city council,

[2:22:16] not only find out what is going on

[2:22:17] down at the north end terminal and

[2:22:20] the william hudson

[2:22:23] stop, but just for you all

[2:22:25] to go and take some time to go and

[2:22:26] talk to bus riders at the

[2:22:29] transit center.

[2:22:31] in 1984, I played a role in making

[2:22:32] sure that the city

[2:22:34] council at that time allocates dollar bills

[2:22:40] -- I thought that would be a dream

[2:22:41] for bus riders.

[2:22:44] bus riders are scared.

[2:22:47] telling me

[2:22:50] that

[2:22:52] security guards are losing their mind.

[2:22:59] I am sure you all know we get telephone

[2:23:00] calls 8:00, 9:00

[2:23:01] to 10:00, 11:00 at night complaining about

[2:23:02] the security guards and how they

[2:23:05] are treated, being treated like

[2:23:08] they are second-class citizens. Yes,

[2:23:09] bus fare

[2:23:11] is free today. Our bus riders do not fear

[2:23:14] --they feel that they

[2:23:17] are

[2:23:19] not treated with a sense of human dignity as

[2:23:20] respect and as I said,

[2:23:22] they are treated just as bad as my father,

[2:23:35] back in 1968 when he marched for dignity.

[2:23:36] >>

[2:23:37] what is the

[2:23:38] name of the security company? Do you know

[2:23:39] off the top of

[2:23:40] your head?

[2:23:41] >> water security --there's

[2:23:42] two security companies --yeah, water

[2:23:45] security company. We want

[2:23:46] to see the security company change,

[2:23:48] because we just don't want

[2:23:51] to see

[2:23:54] the bus

[2:23:55] riders continue to be scared while

[2:23:56] they are waiting on the buses.

[2:23:57] >>

[2:23:58] thank you,

[2:23:59] mr. Mosley.

[2:24:00] >> thank you. >> yes,

[2:24:01] sir. Alayna, a.k.a. Philly?

[2:24:13] state your name, please.

[2:24:14] >> at evening and

[2:24:15] happy holidays, my name is amita brown, 8236

[2:24:17] waverley avenue 38114. Good evening,

[2:24:21] city councilmembers,

[2:24:26] my name is amita, a.k.a. Philly, I am

[2:24:27] the civil rights advocacy

[2:24:29] director for we fed up, a community

[2:24:33] organization fighting for

[2:24:34] constitutional compliance and the

[2:24:35] protection of fundamental rights.

[2:24:36] under the memphis

[2:24:39] city charter, behold

[2:24:42] legislative authority,

[2:24:44] legislative oversight and responsibility

[2:24:45] for the city

[2:24:48] government operations,

[2:24:52] including the mayor and the memphis

[2:24:53] police department. Therefore, this

[2:24:54] body proves funding

[2:24:57] and establishes policies

[2:24:59] and betraying the duty and authority to act

[2:25:00] when

[2:25:03] city officials violated the law.

[2:25:08] the united states department of justice

[2:25:09] has formally

[2:25:10] confirmed that the city of memphis

[2:25:11] engages in a pattern and practices

[2:25:12] of unconstitutional policing, and

[2:25:15] including excessive force. These findings place

[2:25:28] this council on actual notice. When a

[2:25:30] governing body knowingly hires,

[2:25:31] retains, and pays public servants who violate

[2:25:32] federal law, that conduct that conduct, triggers

[2:25:33] municipal reliability under 42

[2:25:36] u.s. C 1983 as established in

[2:25:38] mondale the department of social service.

[2:25:39] used

[2:25:42] her correct

[2:25:45] known constitutional

[2:25:50] constitutes indifference. Under the

[2:25:51] supremacy clause of the

[2:25:52] united states constitution federal

[2:25:54] civil rights law

[2:25:56] overrides local policy and political

[2:25:57] discretion. This

[2:26:00] council is now on the record.

[2:26:07] failure to act converts knowledge

[2:26:08] into reliability, public office is

[2:26:09] a public trust, and

[2:26:10] when the trust is breached, the people

[2:26:12] retain the right to petition,

[2:26:13] demand redress, and seek accountability

[2:26:16] under constitutional federal law when rights

[2:26:18] are violated under law.

[2:26:20] you are not observers, you are employers. And

[2:26:33] continued interactions will

[2:26:34] be treated as ratification, the record is preserved, and

[2:26:36] the rights of the people are not negotiable, accountability needs

[2:26:38] to come one way or another, and I will see you

[2:26:39] soon.

[2:26:40] >> thank

[2:26:42] you. Joe kent.

[2:26:56] >> joe kent, 5111 flamingo. Since 2019, the chamber

[2:26:57] has excessive tax incentives

[2:26:59] that have brought 20,000 job losses. Since

[2:27:00] 2022, the prosper

[2:27:06] 2030 plan since august of 2023

[2:27:12] skill

[2:27:13] center announcement, 3500 job losses have occurred.

[2:27:15] all of this results in $100 million

[2:27:16] of deficient

[2:27:18] revenue growth, since 2021.

[2:27:22] so, blame the chamber of nashville

[2:27:24] for the revenue

[2:27:27] problems.

[2:27:30] bobby white, yesterday,

[2:27:33] imply that

[2:27:36] the pile is the chamber's only incentives

[2:27:39] while others

[2:27:44] resort to other incentives. This is

[2:27:45] more joke chamber propaganda and a

[2:27:46] gross

[2:27:47] misrepresentation. Here are some examples

[2:27:48] of cash incentives.

[2:27:51] 18,000,030 6 million in private garage

[2:27:52] loans

[2:27:53] can be attributed to cash grants.

[2:28:03] through the

[2:28:05] ccd see the cd mc is handing out cash

[2:28:06] grants all the time. One example is

[2:28:07] a one million-dollar

[2:28:08] carlisle storefront grant and another

[2:28:09] is a $30 million sheraton grant from the city.

[2:28:10] and

[2:28:11] there is more. Edge gave $4 million

[2:28:12] to fedex to move across town

[2:28:15] to downtown,

[2:28:18] and edge administers a

[2:28:20] whole bunch of cash grants for the

[2:28:21] state, job infrastructure, job skills training,

[2:28:22] and

[2:28:23] cash incentives. What about the low,

[2:28:24] below-market edge $10 million loan

[2:28:25] to skerritt building? And

[2:28:26] what about the $10 million grant to

[2:28:29] the snape district? And what about

[2:28:30] all the infrastructure works going

[2:28:31] on at

[2:28:33] liberty park? What about

[2:28:35] the free lease to agro center? That

[2:28:36] is again affecting a cash

[2:28:39] grant for agro recruitment

[2:28:41] and there will be even more cash grants

[2:28:42] from the obnoxious board authority

[2:28:45] cash

[2:28:47] bunker so blamed chamber, edge, and punk

[2:28:48] families of memphis for your public

[2:28:49] revenue problems. Which are significant.

[2:28:51] blame them.

[2:29:00] blame them. Start publicly blaming

[2:29:01] these baskets. They are ripping the

[2:29:02] city

[2:29:03] off.

[2:29:04] >> thank you, mr. Kent. >> thank

[2:29:05] you.

[2:29:06] >>

[2:29:07] dan snyder.

[2:29:24] >> dan snyder, 27 years old. I am

[2:29:25] here

[2:29:26] with a couple other librarians today

[2:29:27] and we would like to thank everyone

[2:29:28] who voted

[2:29:29] yes on cosponsor and we look forward

[2:29:30] to the second and third readings,

[2:29:32] as well. Have a good evening.

[2:29:33] >> thank

[2:29:34] you. Alexander farmer?

[2:29:54] >> alexandra farmer, 1044 bruce street.

[2:29:56] yeah, thank you, all, so much. We are so grateful

[2:29:58] and excited that this is

[2:29:59] moving forward. We will see you at the second and

[2:30:00] third readings, and we really hope

[2:30:01] that all

[2:30:02] of you will cosponsor, as well. We

[2:30:03] know we still have three of you that

[2:30:04] have

[2:30:05] yet to cosponsor, we would love to

[2:30:07] have you on board, as well. So, thank

[2:30:08] you, all. We are all very grateful.

[2:30:10] >> thank you,

[2:30:13] ms. Farmer. Laura?

[2:30:16] >> hi, laura, 84942

[2:30:19] east askers and, 30108. I just

[2:30:22] want to say thank you

[2:30:24] for giving us the encouragement of

[2:30:25] your cosponsorship, your sponsorship

[2:30:28] of this resolution,

[2:30:29] collaborating with workers. We appreciate

[2:30:31] the work you do for us. Happy holidays.

[2:30:34] >> thank you. G wayne downey?

[2:30:43] >> g

[2:30:44] wayne downey, 3574 marriott avenue

[2:30:46] memphis 38 0101

[2:30:52] --I wish to

[2:30:53] provide the council with information

[2:30:54] that I respectfully believe should

[2:30:55] be considered in drafting the

[2:30:58] referendum ordinance

[2:31:04] referencing article 34

[2:31:05] 250. In 1949, the tennessee general assembly passed

[2:31:07] a private act and

[2:31:08] the memphis board of commissioners passed

[2:31:09] an ordinance creating a comprehensive

[2:31:10] civil service commission for

[2:31:11] memphis. The ordinance states all

[2:31:12] employees holding positions covered

[2:31:13] by the provisions of this act for

[2:31:16] a period

[2:31:19] of six months or more

[2:31:20] immediately prior to the adoption

[2:31:22] of this law shall be continued in the

[2:31:23] respective positions without the necessity

[2:31:25] of a qualifying test.

[2:31:27] in 2000, ordinance number 4763 was passed,

[2:31:31] which abolished

[2:31:40] the park commission and replaced it

[2:31:41] with the commission of parks services. These

[2:31:42] services will meet of city workers,

[2:31:43] but were

[2:31:44] not included on the list of city employees

[2:31:45] exacted from civil service protection.

[2:31:47] in 2005, ordinance 5093 was passed,

[2:31:49] which added library employees

[2:31:52] to

[2:31:53] the list of city workers exempt from

[2:31:55] civil service protection.

[2:32:01] it is my professional opinion that

[2:32:03] the 1949 municipal code and city ordinance 4763

[2:32:04] suggests that

[2:32:06] no city employees have ever been dismissed

[2:32:12] and compelled to repeat the hiring process

[2:32:13] to join the ranks of civil

[2:32:16] service. Therefore,

[2:32:18] I respectfully suggest that the library

[2:32:19] division workers are not required

[2:32:22] to be rehired

[2:32:24] in order to be classified as civil service.

[2:32:25] thank you.

[2:32:28] sir?

[2:32:31] what?

[2:32:37] >> they just wanted a copy of

[2:32:39] what --

[2:32:40] >> yeah, I got it. Yeah, I

[2:32:41] will give it to

[2:32:42] you.

[2:32:43] >> thank you, sir. Judge sink?

[2:32:44] is he gone? Okay.

[2:32:52] madeline rogers?

[2:33:01] >>

[2:33:06] 670 west drive 38112. I've got copies,

[2:33:07] if y'all

[2:33:10] want them. I just want to

[2:33:13] say --thank you all so much

[2:33:19] for getting us through the first reading

[2:33:20] today, and I

[2:33:21] am really excited for the second and

[2:33:22] third --

[2:33:23] happy holidays.

[2:33:24] >> thank you, ms. Rogers.

[2:33:25] lisa peterson?

[2:33:34] >> hello, my name

[2:33:37] is lisa peterson. 5012

[2:33:40] newcastle road.

[2:33:46] I wanted to join my coworkers from

[2:33:47] the new memphis public libraries and

[2:33:48] thank you for getting us through the first

[2:33:49] reading, and

[2:33:50] hopefully, as we move through the

[2:33:51] second and third readings and onto

[2:33:52] the referendum, we are

[2:33:54] able to find a way to make what wayne

[2:33:55] is saying is true,

[2:34:01] where library staff are

[2:34:02] able to maintain their positions and

[2:34:03] gain civil-service status. Thank you

[2:34:04] and happy holidays.

[2:34:05] >>

[2:34:06] thank you, ms. Peterson. Councilman

[2:34:07] warren, you are recognized.

[2:34:13] >> thank you,

[2:34:16] mr. Chair. I was just looking

[2:34:18] at the calendar bill we passed, and realized that

[2:34:19] today, is the 15th of

[2:34:22] december and january 13th is 28 days

[2:34:23] away. So,

[2:34:25] that is four

[2:34:28] weeks that we would not be here. And although

[2:34:33] the 19th is, you know, a time that

[2:34:34] would be hard for staff, I

[2:34:36] am wondering, do we really not want to be

[2:34:37] here for four weeks? Will that be

[2:34:40] acceptable? And I am thinking

[2:34:45] if this might not --we might not want

[2:34:46] a four

[2:34:49] week vacation. At least have us

[2:34:52] reconsider,

[2:34:58] having four weeks off and come back

[2:34:59] to three

[2:35:00] weeks. I think it will make our meeting

[2:35:01] when we come back ridiculously long and hard to do.

[2:35:03] >> stop talking. >> thank you, councilman.

[2:35:04] I will let

[2:35:10] council member carlisle respond to

[2:35:11] that.

[2:35:12] >>

[2:35:13] you have main meetings and committee meetings.

[2:35:14] if there is business

[2:35:15] that doesn't have to be composed of

[2:35:16] the official act, call your committee, right?

[2:35:29] chairman ford wants to

[2:35:30] call the transportation committee on

[2:35:32] a tuesday, he feels like he has

[2:35:33] a right to do that. Chairman spinosa can call mlgw

[2:35:35] --

[2:35:36] >> sounds like a good idea.

[2:35:37] I'm with you.

[2:35:38] >> okay. >> thank you,

[2:35:39] thank you. Thank you. All

[2:35:41] right. Bennan al-shamari?

[2:35:47] >> hello,

[2:35:50] my name is

[2:35:52] bennan al-shamari and I live in for 840

[2:35:56] lynn road.

[2:35:57] I am a sophomore at west asian high

[2:35:59] school and ever since I was a

[2:36:02] sixth-grader at

[2:36:03] last station middle school I have

[2:36:04] been going to jeffrey red library.

[2:36:05] as a student

[2:36:06] growing up in a working-class family,

[2:36:10] I loved going to this library and

[2:36:11] reading

[2:36:12] comments until my mom had to shout

[2:36:14] at me to run home. Now,

[2:36:16] jeffrey renton wasn't always called

[2:36:17] jeffrey renton. It

[2:36:18] was honored after the heroic officer

[2:36:24] who lost his life after being shot

[2:36:25] outside of the library while responding

[2:36:26] to a

[2:36:29] call on february 2nd, 2023.

[2:36:34] after three years of this tragic event,

[2:36:35] my family

[2:36:36] still has concerns over me going to

[2:36:38] this beautiful area. This is why we

[2:36:39] need more protection and security

[2:36:41] for library workers --for library

[2:36:42] workers. Another challenge, I have

[2:36:43] learned that memphis library workers

[2:36:44] face, is the

[2:36:46] livable wage that they have. The same

[2:36:47] people who helped me

[2:36:48] pick out my books to achieve the education

[2:36:50] I have today,

[2:36:54] and who have provided a safe space

[2:36:56] for me

[2:36:59] struggled to

[2:37:00] provide for their children. According to

[2:37:02] the commercial appeal,

[2:37:05] laura that works in the

[2:37:07] science department at the benjamin library

[2:37:14] stated that many library workers make

[2:37:17] less than $44,000 and that is

[2:37:25] the living wage for a single person with

[2:37:26] no children living

[2:37:27] in memphis, but that doesn't have

[2:37:29] to be that way, like how my favorite

[2:37:30] author, cs lewis, stated, "you are

[2:37:31] never too old to set another goal

[2:37:32] or

[2:37:35] to dream a new dream." let this

[2:37:42] letdown of memphis library and lead

[2:37:44] us to a new day that helps us resolve

[2:37:46] so I urge you to pass this ordinance

[2:37:47] to alleviate the struggles of library

[2:37:48] and workers. Thank you.

[2:37:49] >> thank you.

[2:37:50] paul williams?

[2:38:05] >> paul williams. 711.

[2:38:08] I am

[2:38:11] here today

[2:38:15] to talk about the vms that runs the

[2:38:17] city of memphis impound lot. So, back

[2:38:18] in 2023,

[2:38:19] y'all signed a contract with them

[2:38:20] for them

[2:38:23] to run the impound lot.

[2:38:24] after doing some research on it, it

[2:38:26] comes to my

[2:38:28] attention that they do the same thing

[2:38:29] we do for

[2:38:32] free. So,

[2:38:38] but the system is exactly how this

[2:38:41] is. So

[2:38:47] --

[2:38:53] vms

[2:38:57] is an out-of-state company, out of

[2:38:59] chicago. There is no

[2:39:01] --well, this is my thing --can anybody

[2:39:02] tell me

[2:39:10] how much did the city of memphis make

[2:39:11] off of the impound lot

[2:39:13] last year or since they have been in

[2:39:14] control, really?

[2:39:15] >> no, sir, we

[2:39:16] don't have contracting authority,

[2:39:17] that rests solely with the administration.

[2:39:23] >>

[2:39:25] with that being said, we are talking about the

[2:39:26] city of memphis being broke,

[2:39:28] when these people are making over

[2:39:29] $5 million on something that we do

[2:39:31] for free. So, tell me, why is that?

[2:39:32] >> so, actually, sir,

[2:39:41] we actually redid the structure of that

[2:39:42] lot in the

[2:39:43] last 12 months and one of the things

[2:39:44] we talked about today was

[2:39:45] getting the update on the new contract,

[2:39:47] how well it was performing, because

[2:39:48] a couple of years

[2:39:50] ago, as you know,

[2:39:58] it was a disaster. So, I appreciate

[2:39:59] you coming down and making your

[2:40:01] comments, and at the january meeting,

[2:40:02] if the chairman of the public's work

[2:40:03] and

[2:40:04] solid waste will allow it, I would

[2:40:05] like the administration to come and

[2:40:06] talk about

[2:40:07] where we are since we made those changes

[2:40:08] at the lot and we will get

[2:40:10] into it.

[2:40:11] >> so, I understand the changes

[2:40:12] that were made, but the --these

[2:40:13] are the same citizens that they hired

[2:40:14] from the city of memphis, so why

[2:40:17] couldn't y'all just hire with them and get

[2:40:18] new management instead of just letting

[2:40:19] them

[2:40:20] keep that whole $5 million? And y'all

[2:40:21] won't even give $2.5 million for

[2:40:22] the fire department? That could have give

[2:40:29] raises and added the police department

[2:40:30] a raise, too. And we do the

[2:40:32] job for free. So, why would y'all

[2:40:33] pay them for that?

[2:40:34] >> I appreciate

[2:40:35] you

[2:40:36] coming down and I want to be respectful

[2:40:37] of the

[2:40:38] chair at your time but basically out of

[2:40:39] respect for you coming down here,

[2:40:40] at the first year

[2:40:41] --meeting of the year, we will get into

[2:40:42] it, we will get into how

[2:40:43] that process is going and get into

[2:40:45] it. Thank you, sir.

[2:40:46] >> okay. >>

[2:40:48] thank you, sir. Lisa bennett?

[2:40:56] >> good evening. My name is lisa d

[2:40:57] bennett. My

[2:40:59] address is 4321 royal palace cove

[2:41:03] memphis 38128.

[2:41:11] it is my understanding, from previous

[2:41:12] council meetings, that sitting councilmembers

[2:41:13] are

[2:41:14] not to be named during citizen comments, and

[2:41:15] so, I

[2:41:16] won't name the councilperson in the

[2:41:18] email thread that

[2:41:21] I have. However,

[2:41:24] I can name

[2:41:27] the person who is cced

[2:41:36] in that

[2:41:37] email thread and that person is mlgw

[2:41:38] president, doug mcgowan. I would like

[2:41:40] to read this thread, this three emails,

[2:41:41] into public record. "dear councilperson,

[2:41:42] the last

[2:41:43] time I attended a council meeting

[2:41:45] regarding the water issue on

[2:41:46] my street, I asked if there were specific

[2:41:49] protocols that were used to determine

[2:41:51] how and when the emergencies

[2:41:53] are addressed." that question was never

[2:41:54] answered, so I am

[2:41:57] asking again.

[2:42:06] how does mlgw

[2:42:07] leadership determine which emergencies are addressed and

[2:42:09] in what manner? This includes both

[2:42:10] the residential and commercial customers

[2:42:11] and areas. Is there software, or a

[2:42:12] protocol system used

[2:42:13] to make determinations? I would like

[2:42:15] to think that

[2:42:18] the

[2:42:19] councilmembers will also have this

[2:42:20] specific information about our public utility,

[2:42:23] so that they could inform constituents.

[2:42:27] I look

[2:42:29] forward to a response that is thorough and

[2:42:30] timely.

[2:42:33] best regards, lisa d bennett,

[2:42:48] lisa constituent.

[2:42:49] the email response from mr. Mcgowan

[2:42:50] and I will read through directly what

[2:42:51] he wrote. I am

[2:42:52] an english teacher, retired english

[2:42:53] teacher, and I will read exactly what

[2:42:54] he wrote because

[2:42:55] this is public record. "ms. Bennett, if

[2:42:56] you could please provide an address

[2:42:57] and date when

[2:42:58] the water leak occurred, I would be

[2:42:59] better equipped for answering the

[2:43:00] question.

[2:43:02] I apologize that I do not recall the

[2:43:03] discussion you referenced.

[2:43:06] respectfully, doug." my response --

[2:43:07] "dear

[2:43:09] mr. Mcgowan, respectfully,

[2:43:15] I don't understand how information about

[2:43:16] my specific situation is necessary

[2:43:17] for answering questions regarding

[2:43:18] mlgw's

[2:43:32] emergency response protocols or procedures,

[2:43:33] in general. If there is something

[2:43:34] I

[2:43:35] am missing, please let me know. However,

[2:43:36] my questions are about emergency response,

[2:43:37] procedures, and protocols, in the

[2:43:38] entire mlgw service area, and are

[2:43:39] not specific to my

[2:43:40] residence or neighborhood. Sincerely,

[2:43:42] lisa d bennett,

[2:43:45] district

[2:43:46] 1 constituent." there were no more

[2:43:48] emails. I did not hear from mr.

[2:43:51] mcgowan. I am very frustrated

[2:43:53] that this seems not to be something

[2:43:54] that is important to y'all,

[2:43:57] when we spend

[2:44:00] millions and millions of dollars

[2:44:02] for our public utility. I am particularly disturbed

[2:44:06] that I turned in a comment card to

[2:44:09] be able to speak on items

[2:44:12] 12 and 34, but I

[2:44:14] was not called for either one. Now,

[2:44:33] someone told me that I couldn't speak on

[2:44:34] a fiscal consent item. I don't recall

[2:44:36] that happening before.

[2:44:37] >> that is

[2:44:38] correct.

[2:44:39] >> okay, that is correct. >> if the

[2:44:40] card was turned in before --

[2:44:41] >> however

[2:44:42] --however, item 34 was not physical

[2:44:43] consent, in my understanding that

[2:44:44] correctly?

[2:44:45] >>

[2:44:46] yes, ma'am, I called on everybody

[2:44:47] who submitted a card.

[2:44:48] >> I did not

[2:44:49] speak

[2:44:50] on that particular item. I would have

[2:44:51] liked the opportunity to

[2:44:54] speak what I am sharing now, before you all voted

[2:44:55] on

[2:44:56] both the mlgw resolutions 14 through 21,

[2:44:57] and before you voted on fiscal year

[2:44:58] '26 budget. Now, it is unfair, it

[2:45:00] is disrespectful,

[2:45:18] and

[2:45:20] I believe there is some dissembling going on.

[2:45:21] >> thank you, ms. Bennett. I need

[2:45:23] you to hold your comments.

[2:45:24] >> I need

[2:45:25] you to understand what you are saying.

[2:45:26] >>

[2:45:27] we will afford you two more minutes.

[2:45:28] yes, ma'am.

[2:45:29] >> I believe there is

[2:45:30] the

[2:45:31] simply going on that I turn in a card

[2:45:32] and I am not allowed to

[2:45:33] speak to items that speak to a significant

[2:45:34] portion of our city's budget. I

[2:45:35] also heard from people behind me,

[2:45:36] how disappointed they were, that they were not

[2:45:37] allowed

[2:45:38] to speak to specific items. So, in

[2:45:39] addition to asking, what are the procedures

[2:45:40] and protocols for emergency response

[2:45:42] for mlgw,

[2:45:50] especially considering it will have a significant

[2:45:52] burden on our utilities with xai

[2:45:53] and other businesses and corporations

[2:45:54] coming in, and considering that we are experiencing rate

[2:45:57] increase next year, I think it is more than fair that we

[2:45:58] know

[2:46:07] --

[2:46:08] that you know --what the policies and

[2:46:09] procedures are.

[2:46:10] >> thank you, ms. Bennett. >> nope,

[2:46:12] I'm not finished.

[2:46:13] >> well, yes, you are, because you

[2:46:14] have already spoken

[2:46:15] two minutes.

[2:46:16] >> no, I'm not. I'm not finished.

[2:46:17] and so, I am asking you all --

[2:46:18] I am asking --I am asking that question

[2:46:19] about mlgw --

[2:46:22] [ inaudible - low

[2:46:25] volume ]

[2:46:34] >> amber sherman?

[2:47:04] >> my name is amber sherman, my

[2:47:07] address is 6070

[2:47:16] north

[2:47:18] bilbo cove. I want to talk about the

[2:47:19] situation

[2:47:20] in the jail, especially as y'all, as

[2:47:21] city councilmembers, and the power that you

[2:47:22] have, currently

[2:47:23] from the data transparency that we

[2:47:24] actually asked the mayor to put up, there

[2:47:25] have been 569

[2:47:53] misdemeanor citations given out by

[2:47:54] 3600 physical arrests, 2400 misdemeanors,

[2:47:55] at 2600 that are nonviolent.

[2:47:57] I asked the mayor, can we have a list

[2:47:58] of the actual charges? Because nobody

[2:47:59] actually knows what the charges are,

[2:48:01] but the folks that we are bailing

[2:48:02] out

[2:48:03] of jail from the official memphis

[2:48:04] chapter going to jail for suspended

[2:48:05] license or not

[2:48:06] paying the registration, or not having

[2:48:07] insurance, which are all financial

[2:48:08] responsibility's, not things

[2:48:09] you should actually be going to jail

[2:48:10] for, so I think this body needs to

[2:48:12] use the public safety committee to

[2:48:13] ask for a list of those

[2:48:14] things, what are the charges folks are being

[2:48:15] taken in for? Because people who are

[2:48:16] going to

[2:48:18] jail have also been seeing a higher

[2:48:19] rate of suicide watch, from the november

[2:48:20] report

[2:48:21] card from the jail --are y'all going

[2:48:22] to listen? We are queuing away? Rude.

[2:48:25] yeah. So,

[2:48:37] from the november report card

[2:48:38] from the jail, there has been an increase

[2:48:40] of 133% of attempts for suicide.

[2:48:42] there is a longer processing time

[2:48:43] of up to six days, and people are

[2:48:44] attempting

[2:48:45] to kill themselves before that's the jail is so

[2:48:46] disgusting. The folks we are bailing

[2:48:47] out

[2:48:48] is talking about how there are pods that are being

[2:48:49] covered by one person, so

[2:48:51] up to 500 people and there is one

[2:48:52] deputy covering them and when they

[2:48:53] are

[2:48:54] calling for medical attention, they

[2:48:55] don't hear someone for

[2:48:56] hours because there's only one person

[2:48:57] covering five to up to 600 people. So, I think

[2:48:58] that this

[2:48:59] body, because you represent memphians

[2:49:00] and shelby county is 70% memphis,

[2:49:01] so the folks who are going

[2:49:03] to the jail, to the shelby county jail,

[2:49:04] are memphians, you need to hold them

[2:49:06] accountable, get a list of the charges

[2:49:07] of what folks are going to jail

[2:49:08] for and hold them accountable for

[2:49:10] siding people. There is very clear

[2:49:12] law about citations and there is a

[2:49:13] clear law, listing out what you should

[2:49:14] be cited for,

[2:49:15] at the things folks are being arrested

[2:49:16] for, I think

[2:49:17] they should be cited for, so I am

[2:49:18] asking this body to do your job, because

[2:49:19] we

[2:49:20] also emailed y'all two weeks ago asking

[2:49:22] all to ask the mayor to do his job

[2:49:23] and y'all don't hold him accountable.

[2:49:24] >> thank you, ms. Sherman. Councilwoman

[2:49:25] green, you are recognized.

[2:49:28] >> thank you,

[2:49:33] mr. Chair. Ms. Sherman? Ms. Sherman, I just wanted

[2:49:34] to

[2:49:35] let you know, this is definitely a concern

[2:49:37] for me, it is something I am working on,

[2:49:39] on this side of the street, and on

[2:49:40] the county side. As you know,

[2:49:41] sheriff bonner is in charge of 201

[2:49:43] and that limits a lot of

[2:49:44] what we can do. As it relates to who

[2:49:46] end up staying there, I am on an

[2:49:47] interagency justice workforce, that

[2:49:48] involves the sheriff's office, and

[2:49:49] the chief jailer, it involves

[2:49:50] pretrial, it involves the clerk's

[2:49:51] office, the mayor's administration,

[2:49:52] csa.

[2:49:58] we are meeting

[2:50:00] together regularly and looking at

[2:50:01] who is being arrested and what the

[2:50:02] charges are, and

[2:50:03] who we can get out. We have started a

[2:50:04] system to speed up

[2:50:07] low-level offenders that

[2:50:10] we can get out quicker. We are also

[2:50:11] putting overflow

[2:50:12] people in our department of corrections

[2:50:13] so that they are not staying in those

[2:50:14] conditions

[2:50:15] because the department of corrections is

[2:50:19] run

[2:50:20] by the mayor's administration is better.

[2:50:21] all that to say that I appreciate

[2:50:22] what you are saying,

[2:50:25] and I agree with you,

[2:50:29] I think the conditions over there are

[2:50:31] inhumane and what is happening to

[2:50:32] people is unacceptable. But,

[2:50:33] the person we need to be holding responsible

[2:50:34] is sheriff bonner.

[2:50:37] and everyone who is running for sheriff right

[2:50:38] now. So, I

[2:50:39] don't -- and I will also say this,

[2:50:55] mpd was invited to be a part of that task force,

[2:50:57] that working group, and they were

[2:50:58] a part of it for one meeting and now they are not

[2:51:00] anymore, it is all just county officials,

[2:51:01] now. The sheriff is at the table.

[2:51:02] tennessee highway patrol is at the

[2:51:04] table. So, we have done everything

[2:51:05] we

[2:51:06] can, to be able to limit the number

[2:51:07] of people that are going in for low-level

[2:51:09] offenses. And even when they get in,

[2:51:10] we are having d.a.s reviewed the cases

[2:51:11] quicker

[2:51:12] to get them out. I don't know what else

[2:51:13] we can do, we

[2:51:15] can't tell -- but, we can't tell the

[2:51:16] administration how to run the police department.

[2:51:19] so --

[2:51:23] it's janicka.

[2:51:24] >>

[2:51:26] [ inaudible - low volume ]

[2:51:32] >> you can come to the mic. I agree. And

[2:51:33] there is a public dashboard available, now,

[2:51:35] I believe

[2:52:11] clerk

[2:52:12] sawyer has posted it online.

[2:52:13] >> and

[2:52:14] I asked

[2:52:15] her to also add more details because that dashboard

[2:52:16] doesn't have any details just like the city

[2:52:18] link and I do want to say we requested multiple times

[2:52:19] for the intergovernmental body you

[2:52:20] are talking about

[2:52:21] to have a community representative

[2:52:22] and they denied it both times, so

[2:52:23] I think

[2:52:24] as a city council, you can request

[2:52:25] mpd come back, if not, you should

[2:52:26] say

[2:52:27] something to the public knows what

[2:52:28] is happening and also, you should

[2:52:29] recommend that

[2:52:30] you have a community partner or community representative

[2:52:31] in those meetings because we have

[2:52:32] requested

[2:52:33] it multiple times.

[2:52:34] >> I don't disagree with

[2:52:35] you. I didn't set up the meeting,

[2:52:36] I

[2:52:37] didn't pick up the partners, I just

[2:52:38] agreed to participate because I think

[2:52:39] it

[2:52:40] is such an important issue. In the

[2:52:41] public defender is also there, in

[2:52:42] addition to

[2:52:44] the d.a.

[2:53:02] so, I just want you to

[2:53:03] know that there are people working

[2:53:05] on this issue and trying to get it,

[2:53:06] and if you look at the trend, we are

[2:53:07] down, in the numbers, we are still

[2:53:08] way overcrowded.

[2:53:09] we were close to 3000 people, at one

[2:53:11] time. We are getting closer to

[2:53:12] the max capacity, which is 2400.

[2:53:13] >>

[2:53:14] and the suicide rate has gone up about

[2:53:16] 40% in the last month, even though y'all

[2:53:17] are doing all those changes, there

[2:53:19] is still a lot of people in there and people

[2:53:20] are attempting to

[2:53:21] kill themselves because they would

[2:53:22] rather die in jail for

[2:53:23] >> okay, I don't want

[2:53:24] to interrupt, but this could probably be

[2:53:26] handled in a private meeting, I don't

[2:53:27] know if

[2:53:28] we can keep doing the back and forth.

[2:53:29] >> I actually want this in public

[2:53:31] record because I have seen jerry say

[2:53:32] this in text message and it is great

[2:53:33] that she is advocating but actually

[2:53:35] the public should know what is happening,

[2:53:36] here.

[2:53:37] >> I agree and that is why I want

[2:53:38] to put it on

[2:53:39] the record. Thank you, chair. Thank

[2:53:40] you, ms. Sherman. We will continue

[2:53:41] to work on

[2:53:42] it.

[2:53:43] >> thank you. Any further comments?

[2:53:44] >> hello, everybody hey, hi, how you doing? My

[2:53:45] name is brady price, she/we. 316 summer

[2:53:47] sage. I was summoned here tonight

[2:53:48] to

[2:53:49] address a comment that was most horrendous.

[2:53:50] I came here to address the disrespect

[2:53:51] that

[2:53:52] has been thrown on our public servants

[2:53:53] of the fire department, and also for

[2:53:54] the rest of the citizens, here in

[2:53:55] memphis, tennessee. I was summoned

[2:53:56] here because someone

[2:53:57] on this council said the fire department

[2:53:59] was "raping" the city of memphis,

[2:54:00] knowing full

[2:54:01] well, the amount of untested held

[2:54:02] by memphis

[2:54:03] police department that goes untested

[2:54:05] every day,

[2:54:08] every day, that is a slap

[2:54:11] and a spit to our faces

[2:54:14] in each one of the citizens faces. A

[2:54:15] lot of

[2:54:17] you, council people,

[2:54:23] are living high

[2:54:25] on the hog, while the rest of us are in hell. We live

[2:54:26] in

[2:54:27] hell by the policies that y'all push, that y'all push

[2:54:29] and enforce upon us. Meanwhile, y'all

[2:54:30] allow elon

[2:54:31] musk to take 3 million gallons of our drinking

[2:54:32] water,

[2:54:33] per day, with a promise of a great

[2:54:35] water facility, with a

[2:54:41] --with 5 million

[2:54:43] gallons at their peak. When the water

[2:54:44] level drops to a certain

[2:54:45] level, arsenic gets into the water,

[2:54:46] and the whole greater memphis area

[2:54:47] will not have a single drop to

[2:54:49] drink. Not a single drop to drink.

[2:54:50] not a single

[2:54:53] drop to drink, we won't have anything

[2:54:54] to

[2:54:56] spare. Now,

[2:55:01] people say, things are bad, crime

[2:55:02] is bad,

[2:55:03] but y'all have unleashed, truly, hell on

[2:55:05] earth.

[2:55:10] and when y'all come join us, when

[2:55:11] the a.I. Replace

[2:55:12] your job security, I am going to laugh

[2:55:14] at you. I am going to laugh at you,

[2:55:17] just like this. [

[2:55:20] laughter ]

[2:55:26] you need to step down from your position,

[2:55:27] because you disrespected the people.

[2:55:28] >>

[2:55:29] thank you.

[2:55:30] >> you disrespected the

[2:55:31] people.

[2:55:32] >> thank you. >>

[2:55:33] step down.

[2:55:34] >>

[2:55:41] councilwoman cooper-sutton, you are

[2:55:42] recognized.

[2:55:50] all right.

[2:55:55] colleagues, that brings us to the end of

[2:55:56] our public comment.

[2:55:59] if you would indulge me for

[2:56:02] just one minute --

[2:56:05] this is --where am I going?

[2:56:08] going to be coming down there? All right.

[2:56:17] to each of you, it has been an honor

[2:56:18] of a lifetime to serve

[2:56:19] the minute the citizens of memphis

[2:56:22] since 2018 and most importantly, as

[2:56:23] your chairman for the

[2:56:25] last 12 months. I couldn't have done

[2:56:26] it without each of use confidence

[2:56:34] and trust. I know the toll it takes

[2:56:35] on each of you and I

[2:56:38] know the toll it takes on your families. And

[2:56:39] I want to assure

[2:56:40] you that each day, I woke up with a

[2:56:41] clear vision in my mind,

[2:56:44] and some days were easier than others,

[2:56:45] and that was to

[2:56:46] lead this body to the best of my ability,

[2:56:47] and I hope that I

[2:56:49] served you well, and I want you to

[2:56:50] know that I

[2:56:53] believe in each one of you and I believe in this institution, and I

[2:56:54] want

[2:56:56] you and all of the staff to know that

[2:56:58] I love you, and I care for you, and

[2:57:11] I know that this is not the end, I

[2:57:12] have two years left, and I look forward

[2:57:14] to working alongside you, these next

[2:57:15] two years, but I want to take this

[2:57:16] opportunity now, while I have the

[2:57:18] chance, because I am truly

[2:57:19] grateful, from the bottom of my heart,

[2:57:21] to be able to serve you. To my

[2:57:22] advice, chair, and your next chairwoman,

[2:57:23] it has been an absolute pleasure to

[2:57:24] work

[2:57:25] alongside you. You have been a true

[2:57:26] committed adviser and a trusted friend,

[2:57:27] and I

[2:57:28] wish you and vice chair elect carlisle

[2:57:29] nothing but the very best. And with

[2:57:30] that,

[2:57:32] I will pass this gavel to you.

[2:57:33] >>

[2:57:39] [ applause ]

[2:57:42] [ cheers and applause ]

[2:57:48] >> I appreciate you.

[2:57:49] >> hold on, one second. There is a

[2:57:50] gentleman behind you, trying to show

[2:57:51] you some love.

[2:57:54] >> ain't that so sweet! [ laughter ]

[2:58:00] >> [ applause ]

[2:58:02] >> we have one more person coming

[2:58:03] to show

[2:58:06] you some love.

[2:58:07] >> come on up! >>

[2:58:17] well chairwoman emirites is coming,

[2:58:18] I just wanted to say, I appreciate

[2:58:19] your dedication, your consistency

[2:58:20] in touring me, and all of the things,

[2:58:21] I have

[2:58:24] appreciated having not only a friend

[2:58:25] and a colleague, but a brother.

[2:58:26] >>

[2:58:27] thank you.

[2:58:28] >> brother! >>

[2:58:30] [ applause ]

[2:58:31] >> thank you so much.

[2:58:36] >> congratulations.

[2:58:41] I just wanted to be the first to decorate my

[2:58:42] old office.

[2:58:45] [

[2:58:46] laughter ] and your new office. Please,

[2:58:48] open it.

[2:58:49] >> all right,

[2:58:51] let's see.

[2:58:54] >> what is it? >>

[2:58:57] aw!

[2:59:00] that's beautiful! Thank you!

[2:59:03] represent memphis. I love it.

[2:59:09] >> it was

[2:59:11] personally drawn for you.

[2:59:12] >> aw, it's

[2:59:13] beautiful!

[2:59:15] >>

[2:59:17] that's my grandson, my knees -- my daughter

[2:59:18] is somewhere.

[2:59:30] >> this is a councilwoman --

[2:59:33] [ inaudible - low volume ]

[2:59:36] [ laughter ]

[2:59:39] group picture.

[2:59:42] group picture.

[3:01:41] >> I couldn't have done any of this,

[3:01:42] I couldn't have

[3:01:45] woken up

[3:01:47] every day and done this without god's

[3:01:48] grace and god's mercy.

[3:01:50] so, with that, I will entertain a

[3:01:51] motion to adjourn.

[3:01:52] >> mr. Chairman,

[3:01:54] I move to adjourn.

[3:01:55] >> we are

[3:01:56] adjourned. For one last time. God

[3:01:57] bless you.

City Council Full Meeting

Agenda

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