Could Mick Wright be ninth vote for wheel tax? Sunday work session raises political realities

An exercise in politics took place Sunday afternoon on the 11th floor of a mostly empty Shelby County Government building.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, in an attempt to stave off the possibility of a drastic property tax increase, had convened a group of just four commissioners — two Republicans and two Democrats — to talk budget.

One of those was Commissioner Mick Wright, a Republican, who voiced the elephant in the room: The possibility that he could become the ninth needed vote on an increase in the wheel tax, if concessions are made.

None of the decisions made at the Sunday afternoon meeting are binding, but the four commissioners gathered could hold considerable sway over the rest of the commission, especially if Wright’s vote means the passage of an increased wheel tax.

In order for that to even be a consideration, Wright said, he would need to see several items in return for his “yes” vote: cuts to the tune of $33 million, decreasing the wheel tax increase from Harris’ proposal of $50 to $25 and an inquiry into whether Clerk Wanda Halbert is fulfilling her mandated duties.

Harris said the final item could likely be done. As for whether $33 million in cuts can be found, that remains to be seen.

But at the forefront of Wright’s mind, he said as the four-hour meeting adjourned, is that commissioners seem poised to vote on an increased property tax if the wheel tax is not ultimately successful.

“It does seem to be an either-or,” Wright said. “I need to know what it’s going to cost the average person in my district and make a decision based on that.”

More: Wheel tax increase fails, commissioners end 9+ hour meeting without alternative revenues

The three other commissioners in the Sunday working group, Chairman Mickell Lowery, Vice Chair Miska Clay Bibbs and Commissioner David Bradford, previously voted “yes” in a vote on the wheel tax that fell one vote shy of the required nine.

If the wheel tax does end up passing in some form, it will also require approval in a second regularly scheduled meeting, according to state law, a difficulty since there is only one full meeting currently scheduled before the end of the fiscal year.

At the beginning of the meeting, Harris showed the four commissioners a proposal put together by Commissioner Erika Sugarmon to increase the property tax by 30 cents, for a total of $3.69 per $100 of assessed value. Sugarmon, who was not present at the Sunday meeting, has yet to formally present the proposal to commission and could not be reached for comment.

For many Shelby County residents, a 30-cent property tax would cost more than a $50 annual wheel tax, Harris said. That’s particularly unpalatable to constituents like Wright’s who live outside the city limits and generally have higher home values.

Property tax increases can also have a detrimental impact on development, Harris said, with companies opting to stay away from places with high property taxes or requesting large amounts of incentives.

After the Sunday afternoon meeting adjourned, Wright, Bradford and Jordan Carpenter, a Shelby County resident involved in the local Republican party, hung back to discuss the implications of a wheel tax versus a property tax.

Harold Collins, chief administrative officer of the county and a former Memphis City Councilman, urged Wright to weigh a hit to the public in the wheel tax with concessions he could win by becoming the ninth “yes” vote.

By voting yes, Wright could get an inquiry into the county clerk’s office, a sunset to the wheel tax and millions in cuts, Collins said.

The alternative, Collins said, is increasing revenues by $69 million, the amount that would be raised by a 30-cent property tax increase. For the owner of a $150,000 home, that would be an increase of more than $100 annually. For the owner of a $100,000 home, that would be an increase of $75 annually.

Harris, over the course of the meeting, essentially asked: If a tax or fee increase is inevitable, which is more palatable and what do you want to get in return?

Sunday, the group gathered agreed to “Sunday afternoon cuts” to the tune of about $9 million, all from the $17 million in items commissioners had added to Harris’ budget.

The four commissioners will now have to float those cuts to their colleagues and see whether they can be officially approved.

Harris also floated other ideas, including a possible 10-year sunset clause to a wheel tax or a 2.5% cut across all county divisions, which could result in one cent being taken off the property tax.

Further complicating the situation is that the county has, for years, had a structural deficit, with more expenditures than revenues.

Qur’an Folsom, longtime administrator of the Shelby County Commission, described how past county officials have cut property taxes when there should have been increases or consistent revenues.

Recently, the county has been supplementing that hole in the budget with federal COVID-19 funds, which Audrey Tipton, the county’s chief financial officer, described as “(wiping) out what was about to be a drop off the cliff.”

In the coming fiscal year, Harris’ budget proposes using $18 million in COVID-19 funds as well as $9 million from the county’s waning fund balance, which is needed to cover monthly expenses like payroll. The county will not have COVID-19 dollars to rely on in the future, leaving an even bigger gap.

The only solution is to both “cut and tax,” Tipton said.

Clay Bibbs and Lowery expressed concern about a generalized 2.5% cut across all divisions, saying that would likely mean a decrease in services. There likely is no political will for that, they said.

“If we’re looking at each line item, though some were small in dollar amount, there were some very large in dollar amount,” Clay Bibbs said. “For me to say yes to that, I’d want to know which services were going to be affected by the cut. … Each cut represents something.”

More: Can Shelby County raise funds for new schools without a wheel tax? What we found

The commission next meets Wednesday in committee meetings. The next full commission meeting, and the last of the fiscal year, is slated for June 26.

Katherine Burgess covers government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Could Commissioner Mick Wright be ninth vote for a wheel tax increase?