WKNO TRANSCRIPT
CHRISTOPHER BLANK (Host): As the Shelby County Commission nears the end of its budget negotiations, officials are now counting pennies and what they might be used for in the future. With us to talk about that is political analyst Otis Sanford. Welcome back.
OTIS SANFORD: Thank you for having me, Chris. Good to be here.
BLANK: Otis, County Mayor Lee Harris has gone back and forth on raising property taxes. Mainly, it's a question of whether to stick with the state's new certified tax rate, which accounts for the reassessment of property values. Or to add a few cents to that rate for some other projects.
One of the things on the table is funding for a new crime lab. Now, typically the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation handles evidence testing, but as many Memphians know, the West Tennessee crime lab in Jackson is understaffed and overburdened. And if you are, say, the the victim of a crime, you might be furious that it takes months for DNA to be tested. State lawmakers recently promised to add two technicians to the crime lab specifically for Memphis cases.
But I think, Otis, one question people might have: Why should Shelby County residents fund their own crime lab if state taxes are supposed to do this job? And along those lines, shouldn't the state naturally have faster evidence testing here in a city with the most crime?
SANFORD: Well, the answer to the first part of your question is we should not be forced to have our own crime lab. We pay state sales taxes and some other taxes. And so we contribute to the state having these crime labs. So, this is something that the state needs to work with the city and county on. You mentioned those two new scientists that are going to be dedicated to Memphis cases. It's my understanding that the City of Memphis is going to pay for that. The city and the county and the state need to work together and come up with a solution that puts a crime lab here that is staffed and not just have us paying the burden for it.
BLANK: So you would say no to this crime lab, even if it is to help deal with the crime problem here, at least in the short term.
SANFORD: Well, I would say no to raising property taxes for it. But if the county can find some money, if the city -- which has already agreed to pay for those two scientists -- if they can come up with something, let's have a collaboration here. But I am opposed to raising taxes in order to pay for this with just county-only money.
BLANK: Well, another budget debate is over the funding for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Floyd Bonner wants to keep funding for a bunch of unfilled jobs. And by a bunch, I mean about 700, which would basically earmark $48 million dollars. Otis, it has taken me personally months to hire just one employee. It is hard to imagine that if this budget passes, 700 people are going to stream right into county positions. So, what are commissioners saying about this money being essentially frozen?
SANFORD: Christopher, this is a losing proposition for Sheriff Floyd Bonner. There is no way he can justify keeping that amount of money in the budget for people who don't exist. And I'm predicting they are going to tell him, respectfully, that this is a loser. You are not going to be able to keep $48 million in your budget for vacant positions at a time when we just got through talking about some other needs here that impacts criminal justice in this community. Sheriff Bonner needs to give this one up.
BLANK: One last thing about county funding. Many nonprofits in the area rely on grants that commissioners have the ability to dole out.
And this will become increasingly important in a tighter economy, at least I think so. No doubt that also means folks are going to keep a much closer eye on which organizations get funded by elected officials. So it was -- interesting is a diplomatic word -- when Edmund Ford Jr. proposed to grant for more than $170,000 to one organization. And, apparently, Mayor Harris has problems with it as well, because he vetoed it. Why should this process as a whole concern citizens?
SANFORD: Because this is taxpayer money, plain and simple. Plus, we know that Commissioner Ford is already under indictment for how he has mishandled these kinds of grants in the past by skimming off the grants for his own personal use.
BLANK: Right. He has a federal trial coming up for bribery and tax evasion. And I guess there is some question, should he even be able to give out this money while awaiting that?
SANFORD: And I say he should not be allowed to do so. This is not the time to be doling out that kind of money without some stringent oversight. Edmund Ford Jr. should not be sponsoring any of these things. This county commission does not seem to be taking seriously taxpayer money being issued out by someone who, at the very least, is under indictment. And I'm siding with Mayor Harris on vetoing this one until until we can make sure that everything is above board.
