Comptroller updates committee on Memphis‑Shelby County forensic audit and warns property tax relief program faces future shortfalls
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Summary
The Comptroller reported the forensic audit of Memphis‑Shelby County Schools (fiscal 2022–24) is ongoing and likely to need additional funds due to limited cooperation and poor records; he also said the state’s property tax relief program is projected to run short of appropriations beyond FY27 absent further funding or program changes.
Comptroller (office) representatives told the House Finance committee they contracted a forensic audit of the Memphis‑Shelby County School System covering fiscal years 2022–2024 after legislative direction and that the audit has been delayed by slow cooperation from the school system and poor recordkeeping. The comptroller said the competitively procured contract was awarded after an RFP and that the effort to assemble and analyze records has been labor‑intensive; an interim report could be available during the legislative session but additional money may be required to complete the audit.
The comptroller also summarized other work: payments exceeding $3.2 million to about 1,500 property owners after Hurricane Helene and a forthcoming judicial weighted caseload study covering 32 judicial districts that will be publicly released the following day.
On the state property tax relief program (for low‑income elderly and disabled households, and 100% service‑connected disabled veterans and surviving spouses), the office said appropriations of $41 million per year have been exceeded in recent actual expenditures (about $44 million in FY25 and an expected $48 million in FY26). The governor’s proposed budget includes a $10 million nonrecurring supplemental for the program that the comptroller said will postpone shortfalls through FY27 but that program expenditures would likely exceed available funding again beginning in FY28 unless eligibility or funding changes occur.
