Author: Heidi Shafer

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Opinion Viewpoint

A Policy That Stinks

After a decade of rough economic times, Tennessee is finally starting to show credible signs of recovery. But an unexpected issue has arisen that could choke off Shelby County’s being able to participate in that economic recovery.

The city of Memphis’ administration has issued a policy ceasing sewer connection to properties outside the city limits. This has dire consequences for every single taxpayer in this county.

Heidi Shafer

Most of us take our sewage system for granted. We walk over the round covers in the street stamped “Sewer” without even recognizing they are there. Sewage and sewer access aren’t the most pleasant topics. The fact is, though, that few issues are as fundamental to a society as the success, safety, and access to a reliable sewer system.   

Property without sewer availability is virtually without value. Property distant enough from residential or commercial developments can be turned back into farm ground (taxable at a much lesser rate). That means a direct loss of tax dollars flowing into the county coffers to cover the school system and teachers, the health department, Regional One, the jails, sheriff’s deputies, the courts, and even the Rape Crisis Center.

With so much at stake, and with city residents also paying county taxes, why would the city of Memphis upset the proverbial apple cart?

Part of what the city is doing makes sense to me: As Memphis seeks to become “brilliant at the basics” while reconfiguring its mission based on a reduced ability to annex surrounding areas by fiat, reexamining established systems is timely.

I agree that it likely doesn’t serve Memphis or Memphians to extend new sewer connections outside of the Memphis limits. For decades, Memphis had expanded its outreach, perhaps assuming that all the areas would one day be within its limits.

Now that areas can be annexed only if the residents petition to be annexed, and with some areas actively seeking to be de-annexed, a recalculation and adjustment is needed.

So where is the “stinky” part of this sewer proclamation? The city of Memphis has begun what I can only term as “failing to process” applications of properties where sewer lines are already run to the area, and the sewer only needs to be “tapped.”

About a month ago, I began receiving calls notifying me that properties with sewer lines already run out to them were being effectively denied: The city was contacting the owners and asking if the owners wanted their building plans returned or shredded, since the city was not authorizing new taps, effective immediately.

Here are a few basic facts:

1) The persons or businesses who are using the systems are paying for their development and upkeep.

2) The 1970s treatment plant and subsequent interceptors were built to EPA specifications in order to obtain federal grant dollars.

3) Some surrounding municipalities rely in part or wholly upon the regional sewer system run by the city of Memphis.

4) Residential fees funding the development and upkeep of the sewer are numerous and outlined in various documents.

5) The county has also been paying millions directly to the city of Memphis to help with redevelopment inside Memphis’ city limits.

6) Some property owners outside Memphis through the years had planned to treat their own waste, but were induced to be added to the Memphis treatment system and were given “sewer credits.”  

Building a new sewage treatment plant for the county is doable, but will take three to five years to complete. And Memphis does not currently have a transition plan in its policy.

The one troubling reason for this draconian sewer policy being implemented so swiftly is the mistaken belief that if development is extinguished for three to five years outside Memphis, it would force development inside Memphis’ city limits.

If only that were true! People and business tend to go the path of least resistance. If I am looking at building a business, here are my choices: I can build within the Memphis city limits with its high taxes, crime problems, and bureaucratic requirements, or outside of Shelby County in DeSoto County, Tipton County, or Fayette County, with their larger undeveloped tracts of land, lower property costs, lower taxes, and simplified codes and procedures.

We in Shelby County government hope to work with the city of Memphis to develop a plan that helps Memphis adjust to current circumstances and creates a way for everyone in the county to move forward together.
Heidi Shafer is chairman of the Shelby County Commission.

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Opinion Viewpoint

Restoring Balance Between the Shelby County Commission and the Mayor

The 2014 Shelby County election ushered in many first-time county commissioners to serve as the people’s representatives. It was the first full election under the single-member district division. Only five of the 13 commissioners had served a full previous term. So, while the changeover offers plenty of opportunity for positive change, it also creates a deficit in institutional knowledge.

Heidi Shafer

Previous large commission turnovers were somewhat mitigated by county attorneys who had years of service in the Shelby County Attorney’s offices. This time, however, a new county attorney was appointed by the mayor from outside Shelby County, creating opportunities for positive change along with a lack of practical historical knowledge.

The commission and mayor’s office are currently struggling over what powers appropriately belong to each according to the charter, and how to best serve the people who elected us.

Commissions in previous years have allowed the mayoral administration to borrow some of the commission’s powers, as it did when EDGE was created in 2010, and allowed mayoral contracting up to $100,000 during Mayor Wharton’s term. The commission is evaluating which of those powers should be taken back. 

We have been reviewing the Shelby County Charter for a clearer understanding of its mandates.

First, the charter proclaims: “The Legislature is given broad legislative powers inclusive of the rights to adopt County ordinances and is so constructed as to be truly representative of all the people of Shelby County.” And this: “The legislative power includes all lawful authority [my emphasis] to adopt ordinances and resolutions governing the operation of government or regulating the conduct and affairs of the residents of the county, to adopt the county budget, to fix the county tax rate, to make appropriations of county funds for all legal purposes, and to exercise all other authority of a legislative nature which is vested in the county by the Constitution, general statutes, or special, local or private acts of the General Assembly or this charter.”

Second, the commission may “adopt any ordinance or resolution [again, my emphasis] which is not in conflict with the Constitution or general laws of the state of Tennessee, or charter.”

Third, “The legislative branch is vested with all other powers of the county not specifically, or by necessary implication, vested in some other official of the county by the Constitution or by statute not inconsistent with this charter”. The mayor is given no similar provision.

The charter also lays out clear responsibility for the commission to order “such special audits as deemed necessary,” to establish purchasing policies, and to be the sole power to grant franchises, borrow money, and issue bonds. No county property or interests can be sold without express validation of the commission. The commission also sets its own budget.

All resolutions and ordinances become effective with or without a signature from the executive branch, unless the mayor chooses to veto. The commission can then override an executive veto with a majority plus one vote (unless the vote originally required a two-thirds majority to pass).

The commission has the power of approval and consent of all nominations by the mayor for any board, commission, agency, authority, chief administrative officer, county attorney, public defender, or divorce referee.

What are the duties of the county mayor? The mayor is charged with seeing that all resolutions and ordinances of the board of county commissioners are faithfully executed. He or she is to present the consolidated county budget to the commission, which has full rights to modify or amend. The mayor is also compelled to “take such other executive and administrative actions as are required by this charter or may be prescribed by the board of county commissioners.”

I am a believer in the separation of powers and of intra-governmental cooperation, when it doesn’t compromise the voice of the people.

But the charter makes it clear that the commission is the legal designee and guardian of that voice. The ongoing efforts of my colleagues and me to restore and safeguard the authority of the commission vis-à-vis the mayor should be seen in that light.

Heidi Shafer is a second-term member of the Shelby County Commission.

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Opinion Viewpoint

Keep It Together

CREDIT: © Dirk Ercken | Dreamstime.com

No matter what side you took in the school merger debate, the next steps in carrying out the judge’s decree will have a huge impact on our community for years to come.

Both sides had valid arguments, but it is crucial that we now put aside that debate and form a school system that surpasses expectations. The path of least resistance will be simply to let the larger system dictate the shape and administration of the merged district, but we have an opportunity to take the best from both systems and learn valuable lessons.

Research varies on the optimum size for school districts. A merged MCS/SCS system will have about 150,000 students, presenting a challenge that will require an innovative plan.

Call it “kumbaya” or whatever, a good start would be to recognize that the city and county need each other.

Shelby County’s municipalities, by virtue of the Norris-Todd bill, can pursue their own school districts and would lay claim to their own proportionate amount of federal/state dollars — at a rate of $8,700 per student.  

Since Memphis will no longer be bound to continue its maintenance-of-effort payments to a defunct Memphis City Schools, the merged system would in any case start out nearly $80 million in the red. It is in Memphis’ best interest to make the merged system attractive enough to the outer municipalities to prevent further funding drain.  

And if students in the suburbs are chased to private schools, home school teaching, or municipal schools, what has been accomplished with the merger?

Memphis, by virtue of its population, is in the driver’s seat of the merger and will shape the new system — one that will be the Shelby County School system for Memphis, all unincorporated areas, and any municipalities that can’t afford their own systems.  

While the municipalities can form their own districts, the cost of that will surely be extremely high, and there is no guarantee at this point that the existing school buildings will follow the students. There are attendance districts that currently serve both municipalities and students from unincorporated areas, and the unincorporated students will need to have buildings in which to be educated. 

Here is a brief overview of what might work: a system of 150,000 students united under a chancellor (hired by the school board) with equal amounts of tax funding per student. The system could be subdivided into relatively autonomous districts that are as small as possible for maximum results. Purchasing economies, benchmarking, standards, food service, and transportation could be achieved through the chancellor’s office as shared services.

To achieve cultural competency that makes learning relevant to students, each district would assess the needs of students in its purview and thereby set the curriculum. In some neighborhoods, students might extend their learning day until 5:30 p.m. The additional learning time could be well-used for professionally led homework help and deeper instruction.

In some districts, in fact, entry-level children might even need to be taught basic anatomy, letters, numbers, and other bare-bones concepts. In other districts, the children come to school already knowing these, so different levels would be appropriate for their students.

Each district would be divided into zones. Your child could pick any of the elementary, middle, or high schools in their zone to attend without additional paperwork. In Winston-Salem, North Carolina, this formula has worked well to create positive competition among the schools and the kind of environments that parents want.

By dint of a little paperwork reflecting appropriate requirements, students could transfer into zones in or out of their districts.  

The system might also include “focus schools” for the upper grades. One example might be a manufacturing/business/international-studies focus school. Another could be a medical/engineering/bio-medical institution that would run the gamut of job prep for various levels in this field. Yet another might be arts-focused, teaching not only performance but also associated business and production skills. Private dollars could help with all of the above.

I want everyone in Memphis and Shelby County to help make this new school system a success. We had an “embarrassment of riches” in the caliber of applicants for the school board. This is an amazing challenge we can meet … together.

Heidi Shafer, a Republican, is one of three representatives on the Shelby County Commission from District 1, which contains both city and county precincts.