by SCM (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Taxation | December 7th, 2012 3:00pm CDT | 1 Comment
From Atlantic Cities: In a nation with more than 19,492 incorporated municipalities, all with varying degrees of autonomy and authority when it comes to designing their fiscal systems, policymakers have fabricated a crazy quilt of local revenue. Travel to Boston and you will find a municipal government that depends primarily on property tax to fund [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization, Neighborhoods | December 6th, 2012 12:11am CDT | 7 Comments
In the midst of public policy debates, nothing is as astonishing as how little people really know about government budgets and taxation. We were reminded of again this week with the police union reflexively opposing any discussion about public salaries and benefits while some downtown leaders opposed a proposal for a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) [...]
by SCM (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Livability | November 28th, 2012 3:00pm CDT | 1 Comment
From Green Lane Project blog: By Anthony Siracusa Memphis blogger November 09, 2012  Even Kyle Wagenschutz, Memphis’ Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, manages to crack a smile from the helm of a tandem where Memphis City Councilman Bill Morrison rides in tow. And don’t let his half smile fool you – City Engineer John [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Economic Development, Neighborhoods, Parks and Greening, Talent, Taxation | November 26th, 2012 12:59am CDT | 1 Comment
After years of lethargy and self-doubt, Memphis is getting its rhetoric right and activities taking place below the radar and away from the usual suspects are the best reasons for optimism. The challenge now is to back up the words and the momentum with a major infusion of investment in Memphis and its neighborhoods. For [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development, Taxation | November 19th, 2012 12:52am CDT | 3 Comments
Shelby County Government is coming face-to-face with the difficult realities of adequately funding a new countywide school district, and it’s likely that there are no painless solutions for the future. City of Memphis faces serious financial decisions for the future, ranging from how to fund post-employment benefits to how to do more than fund fire [...]
by SCM (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Shelby County government | November 16th, 2012 3:16pm CDT | 1 Comment
From Governing: We’ve grown weary of debates about privatization, especially those where commentators tell us that it is always good or that it is never good. This simplistic argument is troubling as it leaves out an alternative: managed competition. Instead of simply preselecting private- or public-sector employees, projects can be put out for bid with [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Education, Taxation | November 8th, 2012 12:47am CDT | 1 Comment
Thankfully, we’ve finally arrived on the other side of an election cycle that was beginning to feel interminable. In the end, after all the sound and fury, it signified nothing when it came to upsets in local voting. As expected, the referenda on increasing the local option sales tax and the gas tax went down [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Education, Taxation | November 5th, 2012 12:25am CDT | 1 Comment
It may be hard right now to imagine that an increase in the county sales tax is approved today, but it’s harder still to imagine that Memphians will believe that those who aided and abetted creation of the town school districts are now deeply concerned about the tax burden on Memphis residents. And yet, many [...]
by SCM (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Taxation | November 2nd, 2012 3:00pm CDT | Comments Off
From Governing: Johns Hopkins Hospital anchors an expanding network of medical facilities on Baltimore’s east side. To the north, the Johns Hopkins University campus covers some 140 acres. Nearby, the grounds of Loyola University Maryland stretch out over 80 acres. In all directions of the city, a large roster of governments, universities and nonprofits own [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) City of Memphis Government | November 2nd, 2012 12:44am CDT | Comments Off
Well, we think we’ve been proven right. This week, bankruptcy court ruled in favor of Beale Street manager John Elkington and essentially apologized to him on behalf of Memphis. We had two posts in 2010 predicting the collapse of any lawsuit against Elkington, perhaps the most maligned manager ever hired by city government to develop a largely defunct district – [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Economic Development, Planning and Urban Design, Transportation | November 1st, 2012 12:51am CDT | 3 Comments
This is the second half of our summary of Memphis’ Strong Towns’ report by Chuck Marohn. The first part of this summary was published Tuesday. The 17 pages of the report provide a contextual framework for anyone who cares about Memphis’ economic success, about smart and better investments that pay the best dividends, and about [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Economic Development, Shelby County government | October 18th, 2012 12:37am CDT | 11 Comments
The verdict is out on EDGE. The new Memphis and Shelby County economic development umbrella agency has been in the organizational phase for the past year, so maybe it’s too soon to get a complete sense of its ultimate effectiveness. That said, some of its work so far have created concern about its focus, [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Transportation | October 12th, 2012 12:20am CDT | Comments Off
City of Memphis budget deliberations have become déjà vu all over again. Because of declining revenues and climbing public safety costs, the tug-of-war more and more becomes an exercise in accounting rather than a discussion about what Memphis should be and what it takes to get there. Because of it, budget deliberations are politics at [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Livability | October 10th, 2012 12:17am CDT | 4 Comments
An executive with the Memphis Area Transit Authority says that the public transit agency is moving from the Pony Express to the Space Age. His comments were of course hyperbole, but only barely. After years of serving as punch lines and with a reputation for delivering the most basic level of bus service, MATA [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Economic Development | October 8th, 2012 12:13am CDT | Comments Off
It’s been said that when the economy sneezes, poor people catch pneumonia. It’s the same diagnosis for a city with a high poverty rate. Memphis may be doing its best to cope with a bad case of walking pneumonia but the long-term cure will take a lot of time and medicine, not to mention [...]
by SCM (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Politics and Government | September 26th, 2012 3:00pm CDT | Comments Off
From Governing: By Stephen Goldsmith: Public officials face constant and daunting challenges in solving everyday problems as the crisis of the day crowds out the time to tackle larger issues. Moving forward on these broader issues requires a process and an operation separate from those responsible for day-to-day responsibilities. Good leadership requires that the success [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Economic Development, Shelby County government | September 24th, 2012 12:09am CDT | 1 Comment
Four months ago, we created a new Facebook group called Delta Does Memphis. Back at the creation of Delta Does Memphis, we envisioned three phases to the campaign: 1) it would give voice to our frustrations and complaints and bring us together to call for change; [...]
by SCM (RSS) City of Memphis Government | September 21st, 2012 3:00pm CDT | Comments Off
From Next American City: Urban Nation is an occasional column by Harry Moroz, NAC’s federal correspondent, on the latest urban-related policy issues in Washington. Politicians always pay the same compliment to mayors: That mayors know how to get things done. In his speech to the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, former President Bill [...]
by SCM (RSS) City of Memphis Government | September 20th, 2012 3:00pm CDT | Comments Off
From Atlantic Cities: You probably know about a couple of ways to log formal gripes with your city about things like downed tree limbs, crummy garbage service, or graffiti. You could call up your councilmember, or file a 3-1-1 ticket, or even turn up for a public meeting. Many cities have long been trying to [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Civil Rights | September 20th, 2012 12:45am CDT | 2 Comments
City Hall attorneys threw a monkey wrench in a night for celebration with the 7-5 passage of an amendment to city government’s anti-discrimination ordinance when they raised questions in the bottom of the ninth inning. It pointed out how difficult it is to get some things done in government because [...]
by Smart City Memphis (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Civil Rights, Economic Development | September 17th, 2012 12:20am CDT | 2 Comments
Memphis, through its elected City Council, has an opportunity Tuesday to demonstrate our maturity as a city. It is an opportunity to prove that Memphis is a fair and just city. It is an opportunity to demonstrate that we are welcoming community. It is an opportunity to affirm that [...]
by Jimmie Covington (RSS) City of Memphis Government, Education, Shelby County government | August 15th, 2012 3:16pm CDT | Comments Off
In response to a question from us about the battle about sales tax increases, our favorite authority on school funding, Jimmie Covington, former Commercial Appeal reporter and now freelance journalist, offered his view of the taxes, the strategies, the law, and the possibility that Memphis children will have less spent on them. Here’s what he [...]
by Bill Day. Memphian Bill Day is two-time winner of the RFK Journalism Award in Cartooning. His cartoons are syndicated internationally by Cagle Cartoons. Cartoons Archive →
Photograph by Amie Vanderford
This ongoing series of photographs is intended to show the daily lives of these single mothers in order to invoke recognition of their similarities to all mothers, along with understanding and empathy from the viewer of the strengths that these single mothers possess within the challenging situations they face. My hope is that newfound empathy with these mothers’ lives will give people some pause before they condemn single mothers when discussing issues such as welfare and other politically charged hot buttons.
