Other than the term limits ordinance which was promptly voted down, there wasn't much to report... other than the walking around money each commissioner gets to dole out to the non-profit charity of their choice. I don't doubt there are some worthy causes below...I just don't think we need to be robbing Peter and redistributing his wealth to the whims of commissioners that will certainly sway those voters in their districts to vote for them in the next election because of course they will hope to get rewarded in the next term.
If there's a million dollar surplus in the budget, why not return it to the tax payers who earned it and let them determine what they want to do with their hard earned money?
$8,500 Bar-Kays Foundation Melvin Burgess & Justin Ford
$2,000 Binghampton Development Corporation Melvin Burgess
$8,500 Koinonia Baptist Church Justin Ford , Eddie Jones & Van Turner
$3,000 JDRF Inc. George Chism & Mark Billingsly
$3,000 T. Ross Love Foundation Melvin Burgess
$3,000 Don't Just Stop Inc. Justin Ford
$5,000 Evergreen Historic District Association Inc. Melvin Burgess
$8,500 Broad Ave Community & Economic Development Melvin Burgess
$15,000 JES Community Development Inc. Willie Brooks
$7,500 Victims to Victory Inc. Justin Ford & Melvin Burgess
$5,000 William R. Moore College of Technology Walter Bailey
$10,000 Bobby Lanier Farm Park Inc Mark Billingsly
$5,000 AME Church Inc Reginald Milton
$5,000 Memphis Child Advocacy Center Inc Walter Bailey
$13,000 Germantown Community Theatre Inc Mark Billingsly
A couple of citizens spoke out against term limits. The commission didn't even discuss it. You would think the supporters for removing term limits would address the citizens concerns that spoke out but they don't have to...so they didn't. Word is that Van Turner is going to offer an amendment at the nest committee meeting that would exempt this current commission from being effected by the ordinance which would put the ordinance on the ballot for the election in November which would promptly be quashed by republicans and democrats because this issue crosses party lines. There is no yearning out here to remove term limits...quite the opposite. We'd like to have term limits for all. But, in the event it did pass, this current commission would be exempt and would still be term limited.
Do they think this some how lifts this effort to a noble effort since none of these guys would benefit? I'm sure that's what they'd like you to think. However, we know that several people on the commission plan to run for Mayor, Trustee, and Clerk which would benefit because those future offices wouldn't be term limited. How quaint.
Fortunately, there doesn't seem to be a lot of momentum for this and since they would need 9 votes for it to pass, it most likely won't pass. However...this is politics and stranger things have happened. Perhaps it passes and goes to a vote to the people in which case it will be quashed like the poisonous bug that it is...a win win for us I think either way...we shall see...