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Downtown Memphis Commission seeks CBID assessment approval to expand clean‑green‑safe services
Summary
Shandell Ryan of the Downtown Memphis Commission presented a CBID budget and described a Block by Block contract to expand downtown cleaning, hospitality and public‑safety ambassador programs; the commission asked the subcommittee to approve a resolution authorizing the CBID assessment.
Shandell Ryan, president and CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC), presented the DMC's budget and program priorities and asked the Shelby County Budget & Finance Subcommittee to approve a CBID (central business improvement district) assessment that funds downtown clean‑green‑safe services.
Ryan said the assessment in the ordinance is $0.65 per $100 of commercial assessed value (applying to commercial property valued above $25,000) and that the DMC expects to receive about $4.7–$4.8 million based on a conservative estimate. She described several initiatives the DMC operates — ambassador programs, event support, plant and streetscape upkeep, graffiti removal and hospitality services — and said a new contract with Block by Block will move some services from in‑house staff to the vendor, with existing staff transferring to that contract.
Ryan said the DMC will also occupy space inside the downtown command center and coordinate with city 311 for operational issues, while bringing a higher level of proactive cleanup and hospitality presence. Commissioners pressed for clarification on procurement and workforce practices; Ryan said the vendor was selected after an RFP and confirmed the firm uses second‑chance hiring and will operate across the DMC's core footprint.
County staff indicated the DMC's request will appear as a resolution for the subcommittee to approve in a future action; no formal vote was taken during the presentation. "All that we're doing is, to keep downtown clean, green, and safe and welcoming and to promote downtown," Ryan said.
The subcommittee's questions focused on geography of service delivery, coordination with city 311, workforce practices and whether the assessment changes county taxes (Ryan emphasized it is an assessment on top of agreed commercial property assessments and not collected from general county tax dollars).
