Votes at a glance: key Shelby County commission actions, March 17, 2025

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners handled a mix of financial, program and policy items March 17. The following summarizes motions, votes and next steps recorded on the transcript.

Key outcomes - Consent agenda: Passed (8–0 recorded on the electronic screen vote listed in the transcript). The consent package included multiple grant awards, contracts and routine actions described on the agenda. - Item 6 (monthly financial reports): Passed (12–0 recorded). The committee report was favorable; staff said the county audit for FY2024 was expected by month-end pending a component-unit submission from Memphis-Shelby County Schools. - Item 10 (state grant $62,500 for THEMIS impact study): Referred to committee (motion to refer approved) after Commissioners requested additional vendor/implementation detail. - Item 11 (Cleveland Street Corridor community redevelopment plan/TIF findings): Passed (10–0 recorded). Commissioners approved findings required for TIF planning. - Item 13 (180-day moratorium on new or extended pilot lease agreements): Motion to refer to pilot ad hoc committee prevailed (10 ayes, 2 no, 1 abstain). Concerns and a subsequent motion led to referral to the Pilot Ad Hoc Committee for further review with city stakeholders and interested parties. - Item 16 (Milton grant to Libertas School of Memphis): Amended and passed (amendments raised the grant and then passed; final recorded vote was 10 ayes). The commission adjusted Milton program allocations during debate. - Item 21 (Milton grant to Memphis Teacher Residency): Amended and passed (final recorded vote 11 ayes). Commissioners increased the award by $5,000 from their discretionary allocations. - Item 22 (ordinance to raise minimum wage for county employees to living-wage level): Passed second reading (9 ayes, 3 no); the ordinance will go to a third reading. Sponsors substituted language to remove a specific external living-wage calculator from the ordinance text and signaled a subsequent fiscal note or implementation resolution would follow. - Item 23 (joint ordinance to continue and expand pre-K program and select a fiscal agent): Passed first reading (12 ayes, 1 abstain); ordinance will return for a second reading after cross-jurisdictional work between county and city. - Item 24 (Cleveland Street Quarter Redevelopment Trust Fund ordinance): Passed first reading (10 ayes); will return for a second reading. - Item 25 (charter amendments: conflicts of interest, recall, county board of education): Passed first reading (10 ayes); will return for a second reading; county attorney noted state law may be required to authorize recall processes and sponsors indicated coordination with the state legislature. - Item 26 (Code of Ethics revisions): Passed first reading (7 ayes, 3 no); the commission debated whether the ethics commission membership should remain 13 members or be reduced; an amendment to restore 13 failed (5 ayes, 6 no, 1 abstain). The item will return for at least one more reading. - Item 27 (board of county commissioners salary adjustment for 2026–2030 term): Passed first reading (2 ayes, 6 no, 1 abstain); will return for a second reading. - Item 28 (land-bank administrative fee for advertising/processing offers to purchase surplus county property): Passed on third reading (10 ayes). The ordinance establishes a $70 administrative fee for certain land-bank transactions and requires a two-thirds vote per code; the administration recommended approval. - Item 29 (resolution supporting state legislation to allocate half of real-estate transfer tax to Shelby County): Passed (9 ayes recorded); commission approved transmittal in support of bills referenced in the agenda. - Item 30 (trustee budget increase for property-tax relief program for seniors/disabled veterans): Passed (10 ayes recorded); trustees’ budget increased by $215,000 for the FY2025 matching program. - Item 31 (contract: Porter Leath – Nurturing Parenting Program): Passed (9 ayes and 1 recorded abstention). The juvenile court will use opioid-settlement funding reallocated in FY2025 to contract with Porter Leath for parenting services. - Item 32 (contract: Pure Academy residential placements): Passed (8 ayes; 1 abstention recorded). A substitute resolution matched the contract language; the county will authorize up to $400,000 from juvenile court funds reallocated from FY2024 sheriff reassignments to place up to 10 male justice-involved youth in Pure Academy for up to one year (contract substitute removed a renewal clause). - Item 33 (30-day moratorium on Milton Community Enhancement Grants): Failed (5 ayes, 6 no). The proposal to impose a temporary halt on Milton grant awards did not carry. - Item 34 (Milton grant for Lair Skaters Memphis): Passed (11 ayes). The community grant award was approved.

What’s next Several items will return for further readings (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27) or committee review (Item 35 on CLERB staffing, Item 10 on the THEMIS grant). The transcript includes votes or recorded electronic tallies where available; items that were referred to committee have follow-up hearings scheduled or pending.