Wednesday, June 10, 2009
County Commission Offers Resistance to MSARC Transfer, Will Vote on Monday
Posted by Jackson Baker on Wed, Jun 10, 2009 at 2:05 PM
But not necessarily the Shelby County Commission, which had seemed ready to approve the transfer in principle two weeks ago, provided the two mayors could come to an agreement. The commission will insist on reviewing the matter at its regular meeting next Monday before stamping it with a final imprimatur.
That came out during a meeting of the commission's Community Services committee Wednesday, when Commissioner Mike Ritz, responding to a left-over agenda item from absent Commissioner Mike Carpenter seeking formal approval, wondered out loud: “Can this be done without our approval?” Responding to Friday's joint mayoral press conference, Ritz expressed surprise that the transfer was announced without a prior okay from the commission and said of Wharton, “If he can do this, maybe they'll merge the two governments over breakfast and announce it later on.”
Commissioner Joyce Avery followed up by suggesting the commission needed to see a full audit of the Center “before I can vote for it.” And Commissioner George Flinn agreed. “Yeah, it's kind of like buying a house without checking the plumbing permit.”
Unsurprisingly, Ritz agreed that knowing what the potential costs could be was a factor. And, once again, he expressed his disapproval of “unilateral activities going on by the mayors and the attorney general.”
By now a bandwagon was under way, and Commissioners James Harvey and Henri Brooks were next to board it. Saying that he, too, was concerned about the “fiscal impact” of the transfer, Harvey suggested further that it would be “impossible” for the commission to approve the matter without the exact functions of a county-operated version of MSARC being “adequately defined.”
Brooks was concerned about the prospect of MSARC's deviating from its earlier model and pursuing a newly proposed course of routing juvenile rape victims to Le Bonheur Hospital and adults elsewhere.
Only Commissioner Matt Kuhn wanted an immediate vote of approval, but the other commissioners present voted to send the matter to the full commission, “without recommendation,” for disposition on Monday.
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God forbid anyone in Memphis engage in "unilateral activities!" Sounds like a case for Wyatt Bunker and his merry band of ministers.
I have a tshirt that sums up local government. It says:
"The time for action is past. Now is the time for senseless bickering."
They should approve this already. Of course it will have an impact on the county, that's part of the point: to have a service which helps the entire county be paid for by the entire county instead of just the citizens of Memphis.
This a sad turn of events, but the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center will continue our phone banking efforts Thurs-Friday and will be organizing a door to door canvass on Saturday. We will be working to activate registered voters in areas with high concentrations of reported sexual assault.
Call your County Commissioners and ask them to support the Rape Crisis Center becoming a function of County Government.
If you do not know your district go to http://www.shelbyvote.com/scVote/scVote.po…
Remember that you are a constituent of all the Commissioners that serve your district.Please call each of them.
County Commission District ONE
Commissioner George Flinn
901-545-3158
Commissioner Mike Ritz
901-545-4308
County Commission District TWO
Commissioner Henri Brooks
901-545-3158
Commissioner J.W. Gibson
901-545-4312
Commissioner Deidre Malone
901-545-4307
County Commission District Three
Commissioner James Harvey
901-545-4310
Commissioner Sidney Chism 901-545-4310
Commissioner Joe Ford
901-545-4312
Call them and leave a message right now.
Brad Watkins
Organizing Coordinator
Mid-South Peace and Justice Center
901-725-4990-office
901-495-0818-cell
There's no shortage of facts and information to answer the commissioners' questions. And they should perform their due diligence between now and Monday per their roles and responsibilities. That said, they must also be mindful that this matter is extremely time-sensitive and that they are not the only qualified people representing the county's interests in this issue. Well-considered information and much expertise is being brought directly to the board of commissioners, not to mention a massive public outcry for county administration of MSARC.
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