Chairman Conrad's Recap from August 23rd - Revised

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Good evening,

I always say this, but we had a truly action-packed day here at City Council (as always, the full picture is here). I believe today speaks to the devotion, passion, commitment, and engagement of your City Council, and I’m honored to serve as its Chairman.

Wiseacre and the Coliseum: Tonight, the Council passed a resolution sponsored by Councilwoman Jamita Swearengen and myself to empower Mayor Strickland to negotiate a lease with Wiseacre for the Mid-South Coliseum. The terms required by the Council’s resolution include no City funds, a 30 year lease with renewal options, and an estimated $12 million dollar investment by Wiseacre. This Council believes this to be a truly transformative possibility for the Coliseum, for the Fairgrounds, and for the City. We hope to see it move forward.

Should I call 211, 311, or 911? The Council today accepted a sponsorship which will help fund a public awareness campaign to educate the public on calling the right agencies for assistance, from new health and human services at 211 to the City’s Customer Service Center at 311 to the Public Safety emergency line, 911. You can learn more here. Know that, no matter what, we and all are partners are here to provide you the best service possible.

Supporting our Police Complement by Battling False Alarms: As another important step towards impacting safety in our communities, the Council began a conversation about the problem of false alarms in our City. In 2015 alone, MPD was forced to respond to over 60,000 false alarms, translating to 61,206 hours of police time and more than $1.5 million in officer pay alone. This drain on our public safety resources, at a time when we are struggling to create our full complement of officers, must stop, and this Council—with the full backing of the Mayor’s Administration—will be moving forward on solutions in the near future.

Disparities in City Contracting: The important work continues with a presentation from the Office of Business Diversity and Compliance on the soon-to-be-released 2016 Disparity Study, highlighting the data around contracting disparities with minority and women-owned businesses in the City of Memphis and setting the stage for the corrective actions to come. Though this data only runs up to 2014, we know that today there is a lot of work to be done. The administration has shown positive signs in this first year, and the Council is committed to giving them the tools and legislation they need to move the needle on this critical issue for spreading equality and opportunity throughout our city’s economy.

Marijuana Decriminalization: On top of all this, the Council’s Public Safety Committee voted 6-3 to move towards a first of three readings on an ordinance to give MPD officers the discretion to fine citizens found in possession of less than one-half ounce of marijuana rather than charging them with a misdemeanor that would carry up to one year in prison and a fine of $2500. This will be at least a 6 week process, with a lot of important conversation still to take place.

One last thing – Residency Requirements: Today, the Council voted down a proposal to put up for referendum a change to the City Charter to require all City employees to live within the Memphis City limits going forward. This was a heavily debated issue with good arguments on both sides, but for my part, I believe we did the right thing in assuring we have as many tools as possible to increase our complement of police officers. Let’s all move forward with the common mission of making Memphis the most desirable city to live in nationwide.

Finally, a big thanks to the FedEx Forum team for our lunch and tour today, keeping the Council informed about one of the City’s largest assets.

FedEx Forum

#GritGrind,

Kemp