Mayor Wharton: ‘Up to the people … to tell us what they want’
| By Zack McMillin on February 23rd, 2010 | No Comments  |
Mayor Wharton could not be any more clear about his views on the Charter Commission process – now is the time to get involved in the conversation to make sure a charter is written that reflects the hopes, values and concerns of citizens throughout Shelby County. Here he is in an online-only interview with the folks at Speak To Power:
“It’s not for me to say what I would like to see or not see in a new charter – that’s why we have the Metro Commission and groups like Rebuild Government to provide an array of opinions and ideas about what the future of this region could look like. To me, this is an exhilarating time to be a resident of Memphis or Shelby County. We’re looking at a blank page of paper, so to speak, and we’re able to create a new system of government that will be as responsible, accountable, and representative as we want. It’s up to the people to get involved and tell US what THEY want.”
Thanks for the shout-out, Mayor Wharton. To read the entire interview, click this link. Nobody holds a more durable, genuine optimism about Memphis and Shelby County than Mayor Wharton, but as mayor of the county for nearly two terms and now the city, he’s convinced we must talk about an alternative to a model of governing that requires navigating not one but two antiquated bureaucracies.
“The people will decide if what the Metro Commission proposes works for them or not. But let’s be clear: we need to position ourselves so that we can compete for jobs and talent. We need to attract and retain businesses. We need one functional government instead of two duplicative bureaucracies. We need to speak with one voice in our dealings with the Governor’s office, the State Legislature, and the Federal Government. Plain and simple.”
(3 votes, average: 3.33 out of 5)
Loading ...Charter Commission Report: Creating a win-win charter
| By Zack McMillin on February 21st, 2010 | No Comments |
The other lengthy presentation at Thursday’s Memphis and Shelby County Charter Commission meeting came from Commissioner Linda Kerley, the former mayor of Collierville, who gave a report of a meeting she and Commission Chairman Julie Ellis had with suburban elected officials about what they want to see in the charter. Kerley was clear on one point – she and her fellow commissioners have a strong desire to create a charter worth voting for in the county and the city. “We want to make sure we are going in the right direction and not spinning our wheels and wasting our time,” Kerley said.
Kerley said there is “concern about the dollar issue – is this going to cost our residents money?” She said the suburban mayors want to make sure there is “fair and equal representation” and that they did not “want anyone to be made to feel inadequate.” She talked about how the charter commission should be very sensitive about making sure the suburban towns are satisfied with the annexation reserve area question.
And, Kerley said, the suburban officials want a situation where their input is sought and valued by Memphis. Because, Kerley pointed out, suburban officials realize that Memphis’s success or lack thereof has a real impact on the residents of their towns.
“We’ve always felt like we were always left out of the Memphis considerations and concerns,” Kerley said. “We would like to have some involvement because it does trickle out, what happens in Memphis.”
Kerley concluded by saying, “I’m not going to say whether or not I want it to go through. I am still open to discussion. We are trying to make it a win-win situation for all involved.”
Audio of the entire Feb. 18 meeting will eventually be posted on this link.
(3 votes, average: 3.33 out of 5) Loading ...Charter Commission Report: Comparing benchmark cities
| By Zack McMillin on February 20th, 2010 | No Comments |
The Memphis and Shelby County Metro Charter Commission meeting on Thursday featured a presentation from Memphis Chamber of Commerce director of marketing and research Scott Sigman comparing Memphis to other benchmark cities that do have metro governments – Indianapolis, Nashville, Jacksonville and Louisville.
We hope to post a link to his Power Point presentation, but one section definitely caught the attention of commissioners. By any measure, the number of municipal workers employed by Memphis and Shelby County governments greatly exceeds those peer cities:
- Memphis/Shelby County, 14,792 workers
- Metro Nashville, 6,597
- Metro Indianapolis, 6,991
- Metro Louisville, 7,453
- Metro Jacksonville, 8,019.
- * numbers do not include schools
Charter Commissioner Billy Orgel, a 2010 inductee into the prestigious Society of Entrepreneurs, pointed out the implications of those numbers.
“It seems like maybe the setup we have is not very efficient as it stands right now,” Orgel said. “It seems like they are providing more services with fewer employees.”
Audio of the entire Feb. 18 meeting will eventually be posted on this link.
(2 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5) Loading ...Charter Commission meeting agenda for Thursday, Feb. 18
| By Zack McMillin on February 18th, 2010 | No Comments |
For the general public, the highlight of Thursday’s Memphis and Shelby County Metro Charter Commission meeting will likely be the report comparing Shelby County to other “benchmark” communities, presented by Scott Sigman, director of research and marketing for the Memphis Chamber of Commerce.
Other items on the agenda will include an update from Memphis, Light, Gas & Water division president Jerry Collins also presenting comparative data, discussion of future meetings, a report from former Collierville mayor Linda Kerley about a commission meeting with the suburban mayors and some of the first updates from the commission task forces. Those task forces have begun meeting, and you can check out the full schedule by clicking this link.
Rebuild Government will also present an update of its efforts to engage the community in a conversation about the possibility of a new government for Memphis and Shelby County.
The meeting is on the fourth floor of the Shelby County Administration Building at 160 North Main, beginning at 4 p.m. Look for a report on the meeting at this blog and on Facebook.
For audio of the meeting, go to this link here.
(1 votes, average: 1.00 out of 5) Loading ...Live at 9 conclusion: ‘You do not get to complain if you have not taken the time to give your input’
| By Zack McMillin on February 17th, 2010 | No Comments |
Thanks to News Channel 3’s Marybeth Conley and Alex Coleman for welcoming Rebuild Government’s Brian Stephens and Darrell Cobbins to “Live at 9” on Wednesday morning. Seasoned reporters as they are, Marybeth and Alex really were able to get the essence of Rebuild Government’s mission. As Marybeth concluded the segment: “You do not get to complain if you have not taken the time to give your input.” Can we get an “Amen!”?
Following is the transcript. We’ll have a link as soon as it is available.
Marybeth Conley: One organization is giving the community the opportunity to help draft this new blueprint for government – that certainly makes sense, having citizens input
Alex Coleman: We talk about change in government, we hear that so much, is this really a chance for us to kind of have more of a say in that?
Brian Stephens: It really is. I think it’s an historic opportunity because the charter commission that’s meeting right now hasn’t drafted a document yet. It’s all up in the air. We’re really working from a blank slate and the input the citizens give, the Charter Commission is going to take to draft our new constitution for our community.
Alex Coleman: Input such as what, though? What are we talking about?
Brian Stephens: Stronger ethics laws are some of the things we’re starting to hear right now, better efficiencies in government, better use of our tax dollars and even what day is my trash going to be picked up.
Marybeth Conley: Are you also hearing skepticism in your small group meetings that what they say will really make a difference. And how can you assure them that the leaders do support it and say yes we do want your opinion, we do value it?
Darrell Cobbins: What we are doing at these meetings is we are educating and we are gathering input. We are, Brian and I every two weeks, going down to the Charter Commission meetings ourselves and delivering to the Charter Commission tabulated data and anecdotal data
Marybeth Conley: They don’t put that in a shredder do they?
Darrell Cobbins: No, we deliver it directly to them and we make sure the citizens voices are heard which we think is vitally important to making sure the ultimate document they produce is something preferable for the community.
Alex Coleman: On the surface it is a monumental task to take this on and of course to see and get results. Is it?
Brian Stephens: It is a big task and any time you are trying to better yourself or your community, it is a big task and a big road to go down. But it is really needed in this community. I don’t really think the government models are working as effectively as they should and this is a real chance for us to become better than we are today, so it is always hard work.
Marybeth Conley: An interesting thing about you guys is you are not from the government. You are citizens, you are activists. And they other folks who are conducting the meetings and working with you at Rebuild Government, are they from that same, ‘I’m just a citizen and I did something in my community to change?’”
Darrell Cobbins: A lot of them have been very active in a number of different capacities, from just being parents to having helped on previous campaigns to being average everyday business people. We have over 40 co-chairs who have signed on in support of what we are doing, and those individuals run the gamut from businesses to non-profits to community-based.
Marybeth Conley: All areas of town, too?
Darrell Cobbins: All geographic areas of town, very diverse in terms of ethnicity and gender. And we felt like that was important to have representation across the board so citizens see the work we are doing as being inclusive and a big tent.
Alex Coleman: That’s great, it really is. What about getting the ear of these elected officials, those who are in government to make sure they are aware that these are our concerns and these are some of the changes we’d like addressed.
Brian Stephens: The Charter Commission members were appointed, and they’re really a lot of citizens. There are really only two politicians on that group. We hope they hear from everybody, even besides just us. They do have public meetings and we encourage people to go down there and give their input and I think they are going to listen.
Marybeth Conley: How do we find out when your meetings are so we can sign up? Or do we call you and say we have a neighborhood group and want you to come and talk.
Darrell Cobbins: At our website, www.RebuildGovernment.org, and there we have a calendar and information and contact information both on what we are doing and what the Charter Commission is doing. One thing I would like to add is the fact that we haven’t had an opportunity as a community to have this type of conversation in over 30 years, that was the last time there was a charter referendum. To say it is an historic opportunity is not an exaggeration. It is a unique opportunity for us to see if we can reshape government and make it work better.
Alex Coleman: If you attend one of these meetings, is the dialogue easily digestible for most people?
Brian Stephens: I think so and we actually have some moms that have agreed to come on to give the discussion groups. It is everyday people that are giving the talks and then really it’s about hearing what you want and what you don’t like. And we get them to fill out a really quick little card. That’s what we take back to the Charter Commission. It’s a really good, quick one-hour experience.
Marybeth Conley: You do not get to complain if you have not taken the time to give your input.
(1 votes, average: 1.00 out of 5) Loading ...Focus on substance, values from The Daily News
| By Zack McMillin on February 15th, 2010 | No Comments |
The Memphis Daily News joins the conversation about the values it wants to see in a new government for our community, and brings up many points we’ve heard in meetings we’re having with people throughout the county. Here is an excerpt that rings especially true to those of us involved in Rebuild Government:
To insist that nothing should change denies the ample evidence that our separate city and county governments no longer work in the economic interest of taxpayers on either side of the city limits.
Go read it, with the stipulation that the views of Daily News are not necessarily those of Rebuild Government. As we do at the many small group sessions, we will note their concerns and make sure the Charter Commission takes them into consideration — alongside the concerns of many thousands of others we’ll have gathered by the time the commisison approves the final document.
The Daily News’s Bill Dries, one of the hardest-working public-policy journalists in this or any city, also gave a long and detailed writeup on Friday of the most recent Charter Commission meeting, which featured a presentation from Jacksonville lead legal counsel Rick Mullaney.
Dries dwelled on one of Mullaney’s points about “what he termed a ‘Bridge Over the River Kwai syndrome,’ referring to the movie about British prisoners of war who become consumed with building a bridge for their Japanese captors.”
“You’re consumed with your mission. You believe it’s right,” Mullaney explained. “You’re building your bridge, but it may or may not be in the best interest of the community overall. And it’s not that anybody has ill will. And it’s not that they are not well-intended.”
Kudos to The Daily News for focusing on the substance of the process. We look forward to hearing other voices weigh in with the hopes, values and concerns they want to see the Charter Commission considering.
(1 votes, average: 1.00 out of 5) Loading ...Blazing trails toward unity
| By Zack McMillin on February 12th, 2010 | No Comments |
At the frigid groundbreaking for the Memphis section of the Wolf River Greenway, The Commercial Appeal’s Don Wade found three women who sound like they exemplify the spirit helping Rebuild Government build momentum. Joyce Hudak of Memphis, Brenda Ross of Bartlett and Cathy Distretti of Germantown were among the 250 or so people there to celebrate the beginning of construction for a vital 1.3-mile segment of of a greenway that will eventually stretch 22 miles, from Mud Island on the Mississippi River out to the easternmost areas of the county on Houston Levee.
Wade’s lead described perfectly the unity that is possible among people in Shelby County, no matter the neighborhood they call home:
On a chilly morning better suited to riding a stationary bike or walking on a treadmill inside a health club, three cycling friends with homes in Downtown, Bartlett and Germantown stood in the cold to watch the symbolic ground-breaking of the Wolf River Greenway.
Getting the trail approved and constructed has not been the smoothest of processes, in part because it required the approvals and cooperations from all the various entities inside and outside of city and county government. Memphis mayor A C Wharton predicted it would be completed in six or seven years, but other estimates have pushed it well into the next decade. That sort of uncertainty on intra-county amenities has unfortunately been a hallmark of Memphis and Shelby County, where our convuluted government structures contribute to a “not-my-fault” ethic that makes it hard to complete even the most popular of projects.
Still, it was a step. And the morning and the three friends from different areas of the county stood as symbols of what is possible in our community.
Together, the three middle-aged women represented how the eventual 22-mile greenway, which will run along the north side of the Wolf River from Mud Island to Houston Levee Road, will sew the community together with so many green threads. “We’re building trails to connect our people,” Wharton said before about 250 onlookers. “That makes it one Memphis.”
(1 votes, average: 1.00 out of 5) Loading ...Sheriff Luttrell is ’supportive of the process’
| By Zack McMillin on February 10th, 2010 | No Comments |
Statemenship.
It’s something we’ve been hearing a lot about lately, in too many instances as a complaint about the lack thereof but in a few circumstances, in a context that makes the case for optimism. Most prominently, we noticed Shelby County Sheriff Mark Luttrell’s statements in Otis Sanford’s Commercial Appeal column on Sunday.
Having moved from a seemingly safe position as candidate for re-election as sheriff onto a more risky path as candidate for Shelby County mayor, Luttrell stuck to his position when it comes to the Charter Commisson process — he is keeping an open mind. Like so many across Shelby County who recognize broken government, Luttrell said he believes it is not only appropriate but responsible for citizens to engage in the conversation about what kind of government we want guiding the future.
Sanford, whose political insights are very keen, explained that the most popular Republican in Shelby County had no plans to “torpedo the idea during his campaign.”
“I am supportive of the process we’re going through,” Luttrell told Sanford. To be clear, he also added: “I don’t support consolidation without looking at the plan. I want to see what the commission comes up with.”
It should certainly be noted that Luttrell’s Democratic counterpart in the county mayor’s race, Shelby County Commissioner Deidre Malone, got out front last year on initiating the conversation about how Memphis and Shelby County might investigate a better, more modern government model.
This is what Luttrell says in our Rebuild Government video (take 12 minutes and watch it, preferably with one or two or 15 of your friends … or call us and we will bring it to you on a big screen):
“I think anytime we have an opportunity to look at efficiencies in government, we shouldn’t pass up that opportunity. As good as we think we might be, I think a transparent government and innovative-thinking people are always looking for ways to do better. I don’t know what direction this study is going to go. I am looking forward to the opportunity to look into it and see, to do a little studying myself, to see if we can make some improvements. If we can’t, we can walk away from the table satisfied we at least gave it a good honest look.”
Whenever Jacksonville general counsel Rick Mullaney talks to other muncipalities about the benefits of metro government, he always stresses that for a community to reject the status quo that has delivered insufficient results and embrace a new, more modern government model, great statesmen and responsible citizens must emerge: “It takes extraordinary statesmenship and great unselfishness,” Mullaney told the Charter Commission last week. And a big reason for that, he said, is that “entrenched interests” and the well-connected often are relunctant to change — even if they know the status quo is making things worse for everyone in a community.
(1 votes, average: 1.00 out of 5) Loading ...Jacksonville’s Republican legal counsel ‘unabashed’ advocating for metro government model
| By Zack McMillin on February 5th, 2010 | No Comments |
You may wonder why it was such a big deal for the legal counsel of Jacksonville, Richard Mullaney, to bring his unabashed advocacy of metro government (“the best form of local government in the country”) to Memphis on Thursday, but as he told many people, including those at the Charter Commission meeting, his metro government invests unique powers to the legal counsel. Jacksonville’s charter sets up essentially a checks-and-balances modern local government modeled after the James Madison tenets used to frame the U.S. Constitution — a government with an executive branch, a judicial branch and a legislative branch. Mullaney, a Republican, has been the legal counsel for more than a decade and previously served as chief of staff for the mayor.
To hear Mullaney’s appearance, go to this page and an audio window should appear at the top left — go to the 22:00 mark and hear Mullaney’s captivating presentation.
Here are some links to articles about his appearance, from Clay Bailey of The Commercial Appeal, from Mary Cashiola’s In The Bluff blog at The Memphis Flyer and from civic-minded Eyewitness News reporter Kevin Holmes. The Channel 24 piece has good video, as well.
From Mary:
Jacksonville, Florida, consolidated in 1968 after a period of widespread public corruption, problems with the school system, and an inferiority complex. Sound familiar?
And in the 40 plus years since then, Jacksonville has thrived. They now have an NFL team; their citizens have fewer taxes than in other large Florida cities; and they’re not dependent on tourism.
“Our darkest hour became our finest,” Richard Mullaney, Jacksonville’s general counsel, told the metro charter commission Thursday afternoon. “In my opinion, some forms are local government are better than others. Some provide a competitive structural advantage over others.”
With charter commission members in attendance, as well as sheriff Mark Luttrell, County Commissioner Mike Carpenter, MLGW head Jerry Collins, and Memphis City Council member Shea Flinn, Mullaney gave an overview of Jacksonville before the merger and after. “What we’ve seen … is a remarkable change in Jacksonville over the past 40 years, and that change has been consolidated government,” he said.
We will have video of Mullaney’s appearance on the Web site by early next week.
(2 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5) Loading ...Millington Eagle Scout gives back to Memphis institution
| By Zack McMillin on February 3rd, 2010 | No Comments |
Check out this really nice story from The Millington Star about 15-year-old Nicky Villarreal, who credits Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center with saving his life after a nasty bout with pneumonia.
As Thomas Sellers Jr. relates the story, Nicky discovered a need for teenage-appropriate entertainment while he was recuperating from surgery at Le Bonheur. So the member of Troop 389 out of Shelby Forest decided to devote his Eagle Scout project to helping one of Memphis’s most cherished and important institutions — by building boxes he has placed in different locations to collect video games, movies, coloring books and crayons for Le Bonheur.
One of the boxes is at his father’s work — FedEx. Another is at the Millington Public Library, and the third one is at First United Methodist Church in Millington.
“The work they do is very important,” Nicky told the newspaper.
That sounds like the Rebuild Government spirit to us — a city-suburban combination that demonstrates the possibility of working together to make the future better for those who follow.
(1 votes, average: 1.00 out of 5) Loading ...
