Open the Books Now that the dust has begun to settle on the Center City Commission’s recent problems, the time is ripe for hindsight. One of the CCC’s principal problems was a lack of oversight of the financial dealings of former chairman Ed Armentrout. By the time an audit brought the problems to light, more than half a million dollars had passed through Armentrout’s hands, some of it public money. Conflict-of-interest charges were raised, the IRS entered the scene, and several reputations were besmirched, some fairly, some not so fairly. How can we avoid such a scenario again? The fact is, Memphis has a number of quasi-public organizations which rely on some measure of public funding, including the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Film and Tape Commission, Memphis in May, the Orpheum, and of course, the Center City Commission, to name a few. While we have no reason to doubt the ethics of the leaders or staffs of any of these groups, the Center City Commission fiasco provides a cautionary lesson. The boards of these groups tend to be insular and overlapping, composed of the same civic-minded, influential, and well-connected citizens year after year. There is, of course, nothing nefarious about this, either. But the leaders of these organizations are often paid quite well, with such perks as cars and travel, and there needs to be a watchdog for the public’s money beyond the various appointed boards. Some organizations, such as the CVB, release a public audit each year; others issue only a bare-bones annual report. In our opinion, the financial books of any group receiving public money should be open to the public and to the media – down to the penny. We urge our elected officials to come up with a plan to make it happen. Build the Library Now Memphis and Shelby County Public Library officials have been talking about building a new central library for more than two decades. When the former AutoZone headquarters at 3030 Poplar was demolished recently, it gave library users reason to hope that, at last, the city was about to finish this long-planned project. Last week that hope was dashed, or at least put on hold. Again. The city opened four bids for construction last week and found that the low bid was $2.7 million higher than officials had hoped. Now there is talk of downsizing the project before reopening the bidding process. Not only is this important municipal project being delayed once more, but the finished project may be less than we had hoped for. City and county governments have agreed to pay approximately $40 million for the new library (with the city footing 75 percent). A private development foundation headed by Dr. E. Charles Leonard is currently raising another $20 million. But now we’re told the project is in danger because of a $2.7 million overrun. Since the library administration first began planning the new central library, the city has built Mud Island, The Pyramid, the downtown trolley line, and added a $19.5 million addition to the Liberty Bowl. Mayor Willie Herenton’s top priority today is a $43 million riverfront development. We think the city’s priorities are misplaced. A strong public library system, anchored by a modern central library, should, after police and fire protection and public education, be the city’s top priority. The citizens of Memphis and Shelby County deserve nothing less. The additional money to start construction should be allocated now. We’ve waited long enough.