There are 1027 article(s) tagged Memphis City Council:
Memphis City Council members heard about the difficulty of getting financing for hotel projects before approving the financing of a third hotel for One Beale. The set of parking projects nearby had a more complex path to approval.
A set of three proposed ordinances aren’t due for a vote by the full council until the new year. But several council members are concerned about how police will carry out the ordinances if they are passed.
The council also talks about limits on mufflers, a cleanup of the city’s code of ordinances and could take a final vote on a sidewalk change that would require a sidewalk inspection as part of the closing process in real estate sales.
Monday’s delay by the Shelby County Commission follows a similar delay in approval by the Memphis City Council.
Drag racing would still be a misdemeanor under the legislation proposed by two Shelby County legislators. But it would be a higher grade misdemeanor. The City Council will also see some resolutions on its agenda supporting the bill.
The next-to-last council meeting of the year saw some votes change, the simple become complex and the obvious spelled out. There was also a rare slip that saw an item that appeared to fail win approval after all.
A voting miscue Tuesday was reversed Wednesday with the passage of the resolution that directs the mayor to draw up a plan to end the use of any city money to buy bottled water.
The council voted unanimously Tuesday to urge a statewide mask mandate, and several council members said their earlier vote against the city’s mask ordinance was wrong.
The measure by council member Chase Carlisle was one vote short of the seven needed. It failed after a council debate that included one council member remembering his own brush with corruption charges. Others argued the proposal was arbitrary and cumbersome.
Council Chairwoman Patrice Robinson said council members who behave badly, as council member Edmund Ford Sr. did two weeks ago, can’t be removed or suspended. And restoring order is “a question of judgment” by the chairperson.
The number is smaller than the ranks of 2,800 previously pushed by Mayor Jim Strickland and Police Director Michael Rallings. Related story: Survey seeks community input on next Memphis police director
The outburst by City Council member Edmund Ford Sr. two weeks ago still raises questions about how to apply rules of conduct to elected council members. And it’s a discussion past councils have had about Ford and others on the body.
Council member JB Smiley is also seeking a change in council rules that would allow the chairman of the body to bar a council member who does what Ford did twice during Tuesday’s council meetings.
The Council Scorecard dives deeper into the political winds blowing in what turned into a race for council chairman and the mixed results in a set of proposed convenience stores with gas pumps.
The task force is among the recommendations in a violent crime blueprint touted by council member Jeff Warren for the past year. Meanwhile, the city should have a new police director by the spring and the head of the MPD is a key player in such a task force.
Frank Colvett won election as City Council chairman Tuesday over Martavius Jones. But Colvett’s selection did not come without some controversy.
Council members set votes for Dec. 1 after getting answers to questions about both proposals.
The Memphis City Council agenda Tuesday also includes a new violent crime task force, a ban on bottled water at all city facilities post pandemic and the election of a new chairman for 2021.
The City Council-appointed citizens panel decided Thursday its priority will be eliminating Confederacy-related names from city street and finding problematic street names for first responders. The group is to make recommendations to the Memphis City Council.
Memphis City Council members met briefly Tuesday, Nov. 3, in their regularly schedule online session.
Lots of items are pushed to the Nov. 17 council session, including changes to the city pension system to start carrying out the intent of a half-cent sales tax approved by Memphis voters in 2019.
Rides will be free all day on Nov. 3 for all MATA modes of transportation.
The mayor says taking bids from possible rivals to TVA should include transmission costs to get the cost estimates needed to make a decision about MLGW leaving the federal agency.
The Tuesday city council session will also include a call for more information about the percentage of city contracts that minority-owned businesses get.