The six-hour special meeting Monday sets the stage for a final budget vote in a week. But there are questions about the dollar figures approved by the Commission and how much red ink there is to be dealt with after the moves. Two social media posts during the meeting by County Mayor Lee Harris also complained that there would be layoffs and cutbacks in critical county programs.

The sheriff's appearance comes a week after a clash on the commission over two attempts to cut funding in his budget and reallocate it. The commission appears to be about $5 million away from balancing the budget. But there are lots of questions about whether the movement of line items can be applied to the red ink.

Following an increase in new cases over the past two weeks, the Shelby County Health Department announced Monday plans to delay a move into Phase 3 until at least June 15.

We start an ongoing scorecard of Shelby County Commission votes with a pair of budget season amendments and the latest incursion into a seven-year controversy about who gets the health insurance contract for 5,000 county employees.

The plan to balance the county budget came apart when the commission put too much weight on the idea that federal reimbursements for county dollars spent on the pandemic freed up about $4.8 million. It didn't. Then a move to cut the sheriff's department budget brought two weeks of protest over the George Floyd incident into the discussion.

Shelby County commissioners got within $11 million of rebuilding County Mayor Lee Harris’s consolidated county budget proposal before calling it a day and leaving the rest for a Monday commission meeting.

Mask distribution has been halted until results of an independent test of the Renfro mask and chemicals used in its manufacturing are confirmed.

The "last seven days" mark long-standing issues in Memphis and a renewed public interest in them as a global pandemic and nationwide protests intertwine. 

The fallout from COVID-19 means some young Shelby County residents will miss out on summer jobs programs.

The county's $1.4 billion budget is a work in progress, but officials say they're close.

The County Commission approved CARES Act spending, including a hazard pay stipend for some workers and money for the municipal cities.

The County Commission has until June 30 to approve a balanced operating budget for the county.

Memorial Day Weekend is normally one of the busiest times of the year at the 153-year-old Memphis National Cemetery off Jackson Avenue, and 28-year-old West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery on Forest Hill-Irene Road. But like most aspects of current American life, the COVID-19 pandemic made other plans. 

The director of the Shelby County Health Department started her career with a two-year nursing degree. Now she has initiated a partnership with Southwest Tennessee Community College to provide paid Health Department residencies for associate-degree nurses.

The County Commission isn't likely to approve another contract with the health care provider.

The commission calculated cuts and additions to the $1.4 billion budget, which must be approved by June 30.

The resolution urges Health Department officials to require Shelby County residents and visitors to wear masks when out and about.

The Shelby County Election Commission picked new voting machines earlier this month without the public knowing the name of the company or the price. But it has done little to settle the ongoing debate about changes to how Memphis voters exercise their right.

Deer and social distancing are no discouragement for toilers at the Shelby County Community Gardens. The distances don’t impact the sense of community, either.

Budget committee Chairman Eddie Jones and Vice Chairman Edmund Ford Jr. presented the proposal. Work on the budget resumes in a special committee meeting Monday before the full Shelby County Commission session.

County commissioners discussed, but didn’t vote, on extending the contract with the county's contracted inmate health care provider.

Weekly trash collection services for Northaven residents could begin as early as July 1.

Health Department officials said Shelby County has had a total of 391 suspected overdoses and 58 fatalities between April 7 and May 7, but they don't know why.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris' administration officials answered questions as county commissioners prepare for another review of the fiscal 2021 budget.

Now that Mayor Lee Harris' budget has been rejected, County Commission must craft another one.