Behind the Headlines Podcast

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said on “Behind The Headlines” that the estimated drop in the county property tax rate to $3.50, accounting for increases in values, should be the line to hold on the county tax rate. But county commissioners this week reviewed numbers suggesting some want to raise taxes beyond that point.

On “Behind The Headlines,” the incoming CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission says federal pandemic relief funding due the city will likely make up the loss. The drop in sales tax revenue for the TDZ comes as sales tax revenues across the city have exceeded bleak projections at the outset of the pandemic.

The Assessor said on “Behind The Headlines” home sales in  Germantown reflected an increase in values in this year’s reappraisal despite 2019 flooding in some parts of the city. Burgess also talked about a change in the valuation of commercial property and his call for a reappraisal every other year.

The co-leaders of the countywide vaccination distribution effort talked on “Behind The Headlines” about a move this week to no appointments for some and why the federal vaccination presence at the Fairgrounds is unique.

Rev. Keith Norman of Baptist Memorial Health Care and Meritan CEO Melanie Keller talked about the vaccine outreach to the homebound and homeless on “Behind The Headlines.” The more urgent local effort is moving along familiar paths used previously to reach through the isolation of poverty and need.

MLGW president and CEO J.T. Young on “Behind The Headlines” says the new contract with a consultant involves Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland as a mediator between the utility board and the council. He also says questions about deregulated power providers in the February winter storms have complicated the question for the utility of leaving or staying with TVA.

Shelby County commissioner Tami Sawyer and Memphis City Council member Martavius Jones talked on “Behind The Headlines” about their hopes for a pair of joint sessions by the two elected bodies on economic development reform. The two meetings come with a lot of advance planning.

On “Behind The Headlines,” City Council member Worth Morgan and EDGE President Reid Dulberger urge caution in the latest cycle of civic discussions about how and what kinds of economic development get tax incentives.

On “Behind The Headlines,” Memphis Tourism president Kevin Kane and Downtown Memphis Commission board chairwoman Deni Reilly assess the heavy toll the pandemic has taken on the local industry in the last year. But each says recovery will start slow and local as new, ongoing construction Downtown beckons the increasing numbers of Memphians who get vaccines.

On “Behind The Headlines,” Greater Memphis Chamber President Beverly Robertson and Economic Development Chief Ted Townsend talked about a new round of PILOT reform discussions, “resiliency” and the local economy’s comeback from the COVID pandemic.