WKNO TRANSCRIPT
CHRISTOPHER BLANK (HOST): President Donald Trump campaigned on promises of a flowering economy, but few in government seem to think his policies will be good for business. With us to talk about how local leaders are hitting the woodshed for budget season is political analyst Otis Sanford. Welcome back.
OTIS SANFORD: Thank you, Chris. Good to be back.
BLANK: To start with, Otis, both Memphis and Shelby County governments are nervous about the next 24 to 36 months. Why is that? And what does the federal government have to do with it.
SANFORD: Well, they should be nervous because the revenues are not where they need to be and there's a lot of reasons for that. A lot of it has to do with the fact that, you know, we have fewer people who live in this in this city and county. People have moved. And you mentioned the federal government. We had been relying on some money through the American Rescue Plan that is COVID-related that basically is going away. So there are just a lot lot of things that have made the city and the county very nervous about putting together a workable budget for the next year.
BLANK: The city of Memphis is facing a $14 million budget hole. Council member Chase Carlisle says the city needs to look at some of those "sacred cows." What does he mean by that?
SANFORD: Well, I think he's talking about anything that is not related to public safety, maybe, or layoffs. Those are the real sacred cows, maybe. Chase Carlisle is saying as the budget chairman for the city council that some of your pet projects may not make it this year. So you better be looking at what you're willing to sacrifice.
BLANK: There's also been some criticism of the stewards of our taxes. Is there room for improvement there?
SANFORD: Well, of course. (Laughs.) The chief steward or stewardess, however you want to call her, is the County Clerk Wanda Halbert. Everybody knows that her failure to efficiently run her office, especially last year, after both the county and the city approved increases in the wheel tax. Well, Halbert's office did not start collecting that money for months later. Well, that cost millions of dollars, really, Chris. And so, yes, when you look at could things have been done better? Absolutely they could have done better, and you start with the County Clerk's office.
BLANK: Well, on the county level, Mayor Lee Harris has announced a property tax cut. But as some on the commission pointed out, the state has already recalibrated the tax rate to account for recent property reappraisals. It is complicated math, but there does seem to be a sense that with the shape of local schools, the need for a new jail, rebuilding Regional One, the county's going to need more money. Where do you see the commission going with these budget decisions?
SANFORD: The commission is in a real sticky situation here, Chris. And they are right: Mayor Harris was doing political spin here when he was boasting that it was a tax cut. It's really not a tax cut for the average person because of the increase in the property reappraisal. But the county commission is in a tough spot because next year is an election year. And when you start to factor in imposing some tax increases on the population, they're not going to be happy. And some of the folks who are up for re-election may have to face that brunt next year. I think it's even tougher for the county than it is for the city. I mean, there are a lot of things that this county sorely needs that may have to be put on the back burner for another year.
BLANK: Finally, let's talk about some of the political impact. This week it hit the news that Tennessee governments will no longer be able to consider minority status in hiring or contracts. And the argument is this is giving preferential treatment to certain groups of people. But here, as we know, it's not about that. It's not about preferential treatment. It's about helping business grow in a minority-majority community so that in time these small companies can compete with the big legacy companies. It's about more competition. So with the end of DEI considerations, what kind of impact could this have in Memphis?
SANFORD: Well, I think it's going to have a disastrous impact because already you see government agencies, even quasi-government agencies are trying to figure out what this new dismantling DEI law means and they are maybe taking some actions that they, maybe, being a little bit too hasty in in doing. But even with that, there is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to ensure some equity, especially in a city and a county like Memphis where if you're intentionally saying we're not going to do anything to ensure that minority firms get at least some piece of the pie. It's overreach and it comes all the way down from the President of the United States. And now we're trying to figure out what happens locally because of it. It is a disaster.
