As city and county officials prepare to finalize their budgets, community advocates are asking for additional support in underrepresented areas.
The Moral Budget Coalition has formulated its ideal proposal after talking to different community members and partners. These ideas are proposed in hopes of making the community “thriving, healthy, and whole.”
“Each year, the largest share of city and county budgets goes to policing and fire — critical but reactive services,” the Moral Budget Coalition said. “Meanwhile, services that alleviate poverty and address the root causes of harm are consistently left underfunded or overlooked.”
The organization has asked for increased funding in housing, transit, youth services, public safety, and more. Improvements include additional funding for the Memphis Area Transit Authority to “restore pre-2024 service levels” and expansion of youth mental health services.
Officials are requesting a budget of $69.5 million from the city, and $49.5 million from the county.
“Where the city and county put their money shows what they care about,” Aerris Newton, director of government affairs for Stand Together Tennessee, said. “If our community is saying we need more mental health for youth, affordable housing, and we need to do something about violence in our city — where [the city and county] put our dollars shows if our officials are listening to us.”
The coalition explained that these are all complex issues, which require complex solutions. Many of the topics intersect and impact each other, both directly and indirectly, such as transportation, employment, and emotional wellness.
Cathy Emerson, co-executive director of the Braid Foundation, said that addressing mental health would require addressing the city’s transit as well as its stability, which she said can cause a strain on an individual’s well-being.
“All of those things are very much intertwined,” Emerson said. “When we get involved with youth what we find is we may be able to provide therapy, but you also need help finding a job and healthy after-school activities. It’s a wraparound.”
Members also emphasized that budgets are choices, and that local officials tend to fund initiatives on “the back-end of harm instead of the front-end.”
“That’s where some of the moral piece comes in,” Cathy Emerson, co-executive director of the Braid Foundation said. “We have to start making investments in things that help us on the front end to help us grow and thrive as a community. That’s the moral piece of the budget.”
K. Durrel Cowan, founder and director of Heal 901 added that crime and mental health have been a major talking point for government officials. However Cowan noted that the city and county’s investments are not always representative of these topics as priorities.
“This is the time you put your money where your mouth is,” Cowan said. “We heard you talk for a year. By not investing in these spaces, it shows that it was just political rhetoric. These were words that were being spoken that were as empty as a bucket with a hole in it.”
