Council reassigns $2.4 million within Solid Waste budget to cover Q3 shortfalls; director says fund remains solvent

The Memphis City Council approved a May 20 resolution transferring $2.4 million within the FY2025 Solid Waste budget to cover third-quarter needs including employee benefits, shop charges, claims and utilities.

Solid Waste Director Philip Davis told the council the transfer involves reallocating vacancy savings — he said there are 49 current vacancies whose unspent full-time salary dollars total roughly $2.4 million — into line items forecasted to run short before the fiscal year ends. "If it's not transferred, we won't have sufficient funds in there to cover those items," Davis said. He emphasized the action is budget-neutral to the Solid Waste Fund and would not require general-fund support.

Councilmembers asked for context about remaining personnel money after the transfer. Davis said that after the reallocation the department will still have approximately $12.6 million in full-time salary and related personnel funding (holiday pay, sick leave and similar items) available for the fiscal year. Councilwoman Green noted that the overall municipal impasse settlements have budgetary implications across departments but that this solid-waste transfer comes from a special revenue fund and would extend the fund's longevity before additional fee adjustments might be needed.

The item did not draw contested debate in open session and passed on the consent of the council. Staff said the transfer is intended to keep Solid Waste operations funded through the fiscal year without tapping external support and that the fund balance planning will factor the change into future rate and budget deliberations.