Strapped for Cash
Governor tightens budgets of state hospitals.
By Janel Davis
Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen’s Monday night
budget proposal addressed cuts and expenditures in K-12 education, TennCare, and
even highway construction; but no mention was given to funds for hospitals in
desperate need of financing.
At issue are Essential Access funds, monies paid to state hospitals
serving TennCare patients. Shelby County hospitals affected include The Med and
Methodist Le Bonheur, both deemed “safety net” hospitals by TennCare for serving
a substantial number of indigent patients. Other Shelby County “essential
hospitals” serving some TennCare patients are Delta Medical Center, Saint
Francis Hospital, UT-Bowld Hospital, and the central, south, and north locations of
Methodist Healthcare.
TennCare spokesperson Lola Potter said $25 million of the $100 million
fund was distributed in December 2002. The remaining $75 million is still being
held. Any decision on whether to distribute the money to the hospitals has not yet
been determined. Fiscal year 2003 reports estimate annual payments for The Med
at $12 million and $2 million for Le Bonheur.
If Bredesen decides not to release the funds, the Shelby County legislative
delegation will make another plea for additional state funding.
“If that happens, The Med has to have some alternative revenue
enhancement or they’re going to have some serious financial problems. They have told me
that without the payment they can only survive until July,” said Representative
Carol Chumney. “I think we have to make one more effort for funds.” Chumney
had heard that not only would funds not be released before the end of the fiscal
year on June 30th but that next year’s funds would be held as well.
“I don’t want to be negative about it, but these are very serious times,” she
said. “I’m really curious how the governor plans to revise TennCare in the next few
months. The reality is that without some huge recovery next year, it won’t be any better.”
n
Trouble with Tinseltown
Resident disgruntled about film’s interference.
By Janel Davis
Chickasaw Gardens resident David Cole may
complain to the Memphis City Council after film crews from
21 Grams supposedly interfered with his pool-installation project.
According to Cole, the production company 21 Films began filming next
door during the second week of January, making it difficult for the pool workers to
gain access to his property. “I’m thankful that the movie came here,” said Cole. “But
I think people should know the downside. The fact remains that our little
world and our little construction project were a casualty to the production of
21 Grams.“
Len Murach, location manager for 21 Films, agreed that filming
inconvenienced some of the neighbors. Cole’s crew was told to cease work during certain scenes and access
to streets was at times limited. Residents received two flyers informing them of the
situation, one during the scouting stage for locations and another before filming
began.
Murach said his company asked Cole to postpone the pool project until
filming was complete, but he refused. 21 Films then hired a local firm to build a
cedar fence in Cole’s yard, blocking the pool work during the filming. Cole said
the fence was delivered along with a contract from 21 Films giving them full access
to his property. He refused to sign the contract and said the fence was built anyway.
Cole has demanded $11,000 in compensation for the work, time, and
revenue lost by the pool company due to the inconvenience of 27 days of filming. “It’s
not about the money,” he said. “It’s a moral issue. Hopefully the next film that
comes here will have some accountability [to residents].”
Cole first took his grievance to the Memphis/Shelby County Film
Commission. “We try to act as a liaison to the production company. We’ve been trying to
work out the situation between both parties for weeks,” said executive director Linn
Sitler. “But Cole didn’t express his concerns until the last two weeks of filming.”
According to Murach, 21 Films has refused to pay what he calls the
“absurd amount” of compensation to Cole. “He was a nice guy when we met him the
first time and he probably still is,” said Murach. “What really happened and how
much was he really set back? Who knows? We did the best we could.”
21 Grams, starring Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, and Benicio del
Toro is scheduled for release later this year. n
Minority Report
Consultant to increase arena participation.
By Mary Cashiola
Trying to stem concerns over minority participation, the new Memphis
Arena Public Building Authority is hiring another
consultant and has announced it will release
weekly minority-participation reports.
Though the deal is still in the works, PBA
executive director David Bennett said the new minority consultant — Luke Yancy of the
Mid-South Minority Business Council — will help
minority- and women-owned businesses create joint
ventures. The PBA already employs two minority consultants.
“The other two consultants don’t have the
assignment of putting joint ventures together,”
said Bennett. One of the minority-participation
consultant firms helps with certification and making
sure those companies who claim to be minorities
actually are. The other firm handles complaint resolution.
“One of the difficulties with a job this big
is that minority firms are simply not big enough. [Let’s] say you do painting. There is no
minority contractor big enough to do all the painting,”
said Bennett. If two or three smaller companies
could operate as a joint venture, however, he says
that might be a solution.
“The good part with a job this big is that
there are lots of opportunities,” he said. “The bad part
is that it’s still a large job and they have to have
the ability to do large jobs.”
Minority- and women-owned businesses currently account for $23 million in contracts on
the project, and Bennett said about $5 million has
already been paid out to them.
The PBA has been releasing monthly reports
of minority participation and Bennett said it
won’t change much week to week, especially as the
job progresses: “All the contracts will have been given
out. What will change then is how much each has been paid.”
Currently, about 80 minority- and women-owned businesses are involved in the project,
putting minority participation at about 24 percent.
“Their contracts range from a few hundred
dollars to the biggest two, which are $6.7 million
and $7.5 million,” said Bennett. n
Sign Off
City council member attempts to tackle illegal sign posting.
By Bianca Phillips
“We Buy Ugly Houses.” “Home Security — Only $14.95 a month.” “We Do
Vehicle Interior Shampoos.”
These are just a few of the signs
illegally posted on utility poles, traffic-control
boxes, and various other pieces of public property all over the city. A city ordinance
restricts posting any type of sign, including
political campaign posters, on public property.
However, several city officials say no one knows who is supposed to enforce it. City
council member TaJuan Stout-Mitchell plans to address the issue at a Division of Public
Works committee meeting on March 18th.
“It’s distressing because citizens say
they’ve tried to take the signs down and they’ve
been attacked. They’ve gotten angry phone calls. They’ve had their tires slashed,” she said. “I
can’t get anyone to own the problem. MLGW and Public Works say it’s not their job. I asked
the police why they can’t just call the number on the sign and issue a citation, but they say
they can’t prove who put them up.”
Jerry Collins, director of public works,
said MLGW should handle enforcement of posting on utility poles, while code enforcement and
the police department should handle posting on other types of public property. He said the
signs are not only an eyesore but can be a safety
hazard when they block the view at an intersection.
According to Nicole Ritchie, supervisor of corporate communication for MLGW, the
utility company does not have the authority or resources to enforce the ordinance, but when
the signs pose a safety hazard to workers, they are
removed. She said MLGW also inserts notices in utility bills that ask customers to refrain
from posting signs on utility poles.
Larry Jenkins, chief sign/zone/complaint inspector for county code enforcement,
said that although his department handles signs, it only deals with business signs and
billboards. However, Jenkins did say he has tried to take the problem into his own hands
by calling the phone numbers on the signs.
“You always get [an answering]
machine,” he said. “You never get a contact person
where you can say, I’m going to send you to court. First you’ve got to catch these people, and
that’s very rare. They put these signs up so
discreetly, you almost never see them,” said Jenkins.
The police department would not comment.
Also at issue is how the ordinance should
be enforced. Since people posting signs are rarely caught in the act, there is some speculation
about who should be held responsible. City law
prohibits making the assumption that the phone number on the sign belongs to the party responsible.
“The city council might want to consider
a change in the law so that company is held responsible,” said Environmental Court Judge
Larry Potter. “What most people do when they
come in the courtroom is say, ‘The sign is up and
it does advertise our business, but we didn’t put
it up.’ I think if there was a change in the law,
it might put that issue to rest.”
