Issues and Positions
County
Financial Condition.Since election to my first term I have concentrated most of my time and attention on budget matters, seeking operating budget cuts and reductions in capital expenditures. The County’s General Obligation bond debt was $1.753 billion when I was first elected in August 2006. It was $1.628 billion on 7/1/2009, the end of our last fiscal year, and is scheduled to be at $1.528 billion on 7/1/2010. The $225 million debt reduction over my first 4 year term is a result of the County mayor and fiscally conservative County Commissioners keeping our eye and public conversation on the subject matter. The property tax rate has increased since I was elected, but I voted against the 2 cent increase effective July 1, 2009. I believe it is necessary is for the County to use zero base budgeting, not base line budgeting. I hope the new County Mayor elected in August will adopt this method of presenting the annual budget to the County Commission. I continue to support the County Mayor’s School Needs Assessment Committee whereby the Committee specifically identifies school capital needs and schedules them over a reasonable time frame. I was appointed by mayor Wharton to fill Commissioner David Lillard’s term on that Committee.
Public
Education. Public education has been and remains a top priority. Early in my first term I researched and brought to the County Commission’s attention the fact that our two school systems had been short changed by the state’s Basic Education Program’s funding formulas for years. While the state revenue is meant to supply monies for 60% of our public school operational expenditures, the BEP formula did not even allocate to our children the average state dollars per school child. While it was only an annual per student shortage of about $170 (for 150,000 public school children), the total annual BEP shortage was about $25 million, which the County had to make up. It now appears that BEP II may have corrected this inequity. If not, and as soon as the legal dispute between Memphis City Council and the Memphis City Schools is resolved, I expect the County Commission, the City Schools and the County Schools will file suit in U.S. District Court to correct this problem. It is my hope that such a suit can force the State to do the right thing for our school children and public financial resources. My involvement in the school funding challenges of the County allowed me to serve as one of the County Commissioners on the Public Education Funding Solutions Committee composed of Commissioners, City Council, both School Boards, state legislators, and citizens.
Economic
Development. The County’s economic base must grow. This starts with supporting, retaining and recruiting employers whose pay scales raise our family incomes. Economic development includes new industrial and office developments and accompanying retail and residential developments and encouraging our critical health care and secondary education facilities to grow and prosper. The newest economic activity that is able to create immediate and long term significant economic benefits is the Bio-Works zone in the medical center area. The airport remains the most important public/private facility that produces economic benefits for the community and deserves County support. The community’s major economic marketing and recruiting vehicle is the Chamber of Commerce and it has my support.
Smart
Growth. I know the County can have new developments, urban infill and redevelopments that will make our neighborhoods more livable. Neighborhoods that are more walkable and connected with mixed housing values and local shopping and services must be encouraged. These characteristics will stabilize our neighborhoods and support growth of property values. I support the new unified development code that will combine the current 25 year old City and County zoning and subdivision ordinances, as long as the new code supports long term economic development in every part of the County. Because of my city planning education and experience as Director of the Office of Planning and Development, I have served as a great resource to the County Commission to manage the various interests advocating new development rules and guidelines for the development of the County. I support the development and adoption of plans for certain areas like Grey’s Creek in Cordova.
Public
Health. The County budget is greatly impacted by the MED. I will support those State changes to Tenn Care which can best assist the MED’s budget needs. The March 2005 Commercial Appeal articles on the very high infant mortality rates in the County, and the lack of apparent solutions, show a need for a working committee of health, social and religious leaders to address the problem and find a comprehensive solution. I look forward to facilitating the formation of that committee if it is not already in place by the time I am reelected.
The MED
The MED, Shelby County’s trauma hospital, burn and wound center, and neonatal /early childbirth care center, suffers multiple financial challenges. Clearly related to the expert care available at the MED is the fact that the MED is the principal teaching hospital for UTCHS. Most of the MED’s care is paid for by Tenn Care. The Med receives about $33 million in supplemental payments thru the state of Tennessee and about $27 million annually from Shelby County. Much is made about the care given Arkansas and Mississippi residents for which the MED is uncompensated and which care, by federal law, cannot be denied based on the patient’s residency. In the $350 million annual budget of the MED, that uncompensated out-of-sate care cost approximately $25 million. I consider what our neighboring states owe us as the last two ornaments on a Christmas tree.
Year in and year out, the State of Tennessee has collected funds from the federal government for uncompensated care at the State’s 22 public care hospitals. The MED is by far the largest care provider and has the largest amount of uncompensated care. For the latest fiscal year of the MED, Tennessee collected about $85 million for uncompensated care at the MED but sent the MED only $33 million. The federal rules allow the state governors to reimburse the public care hospitals as they see fit. Governor Bredesen and prior Tennessee governors have used the extra money ($53 million last year) to finance Tenn Care and other needs of the state. Their excuse is the state needs to use our money to fund Tenn Care and that the Tenn Care does pay for a lot of MED patient expenses. If the State would give us just 2/3 of what they collect from the feds on our billings, we would not have the financial crises we now have at the MED. If we were to get 100% of the MED billings reimbursed by the feds, we would have the funds to pay for the debt service on a new public hospital. It is not fair to ask Shelby County taxpayers to pay for what the State is doing to the MED.
I do not see a political solution to this problem. Nor do I see this governor or any other governor alienating the legislators from outside Shelby by taking other monies to do what is right at the MED. I do see a civil rights/equal protection argument being made in a lawsuit filed on the MED’s behalf in US District Court, causing the state to correct their long term misuse of the MED’s billing to fund care outside of Big Shelby.
Another potential big financial assist could be made with a tax or fee on the billings or beds at the private care hospitals in Shelby County. Reportedly the state could earn even more federal money on this tax/fee which could be used to fund uncompensated care at the MED. The Tennessee Hospital Association may propose such a fee or tax state wide because of the threats by Governor Bredesen to cut Tenn Care. It would be bittersweet to get such a tax or fee Shelby County wide or statewide and still see the MED not get the federal funds the Governor keeps from our uncompensated care.
Ethics of
Public Officials. I chaired the ethics task force which wrote and led the passage of a County Ethics Ordinance and the creation of the Ethics Board. I also authored and saw the passage of a Term Limits Ordinance applicable to the Boards and Commissions appointed by the County Mayor and confirmed by the County Commission. We have seen a considerable increase in new citizens serving on our Boards and Commissions due to the term limits. I supported a reduction in the compensation of the Commissioners. I do not support hiring or appointing relatives of elected officials to County positions.
Adult Oriented Businesses. When I was first elected then County Commission Chairman Joe Ford appointed me to chair the County Commission’s Adult Oriented Business Task Force. We produced an ordinance adopting verbatim a state law that only counties can adopt which applies to unincorporated areas of the county and those cities and towns in the county which do not regulate those businesses. Because the City of Memphis’ sex business ordinance was declared unconstitutional years ago, our county ordinance applies within Memphis city limits. Immediately after our ordinance adoption, the clubs sued the City and County in US Federal District Court. In late 2009 the 6th Circuit US Court of Appeals upheld our ordinance as constitutional. When our ordinance goes into effect, the clubs in Memphis will no longer be able to serve alcohol (beer, wine or mixed drinks) nor allow brown bagging. The owners, employees and entertainers will each be required to have a personal license or permit granted by our Adult Oriented Business Commission, a citizen panel appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the County Commission. The Sheriff and the County Clerk will be involved in this business and personal licensing and permitting operation. Because I was the Task Force Chairman and the most visible and vocal spokesman on behalf of this county ordinance, one of the clubs and three of the entertainers sued me for slander. The local court found no basis for their lawsuit but the cash money rich club owner appealed to the Western Division State Court of Civil Appeals. The Appeals Court affirmed the lower court’s findings in a December, 2009 ruling. I am 95% certain the club owner will ask the Tennessee Supreme Court to hear an appeal of the December 2009 ruling. They want to shut me up!
