Friends:  It has been about five months since I was elected to the Memphis City Council and I wanted to give you a quick update on the initiatives that I have been focused on.  The time has flown by and I offer my apologies for not writing sooner – but I have been inundated getting up to speed on the council while balancing family and work and the occasional hobby.

I will soon be updating my website and Facebook page and starting a blog so that I can better keep you informed of the progress we are making at the City Council to move Memphis forward.  

As you know I ran on a platform of Public-Personal Safety and Prosperity-Unity, and also Property Tax Reductions.  I have found quickly that on the Council you have to really focus on the big things you want to accomplish.  Unfortunately every little battle cannot be fought and won.  So below are some of the major initiatives I have been championing and working on – the PILOT Reform and statewide crime initiative were both major objectives I wanted to achieve when I ran for office – so it feels good to have some early “wins”. 

1)       Public Safety:

 **One of my ideas when running was to pass a joint city-county resolution that we would then send to the other “Big 4” urban areas in TN that also have crime challenges – that clearly illustrates that the crime challenge we face in Memphis is truly a Tennessee challenge and that we need help at the state level – through tougher sentencing legislation.

I am happy to report that the attached resolution passed unanimously at the City Council and County Commission (Vice Chairman Harold Collins was the co-sponsor on the Council and Commissioner Mike Carpenter and Chairwoman Deidre Malone co-sponsored on the County side) in March and I have worked with my municipal legislative colleagues across the state to gain passage of a similar resolution in Nashville, and almost identical ones in Knoxville and Jackson.  I am now working with Chattanooga.   The Governor and opposing legislators need to hear our voices loud and clear that keeping the bad guys behind bars is a priority.  Be on the lookout for more announcements – because we may need to load up the busses and head to Nashville if we truly want safety in Memphis and Tennessee.

Also attached is my letter to Governor Bredesen

**I was also pleased to serve on the Ad hoc committee that came up with a plethora of initiatives to accelerate police hiring – including expanding the “halo” of hiring boundaries outside of the county.  While I did not agree with all of the stipulations in the compromise – it was clear no halo would be passed without some compromise.   I am happy to report that we now have over 2,000 applicants to the MPD, and I feel confident that we will reach our full complement by 2011 as Operation Safe Community calls for.

**And – for an update on crime, YTD Part 1 crimes are down 10.63% YTD and the three year trend is down 15.61%.  Director Godwin and the MPD are doing a fabulous job with less than a full complement – and I am convinced we will see major annual double digit decreases in crime with the passage of tougher state laws and continue to support MPD’s creative crime fighting programs.

Of course these are short term solutions, and long term we must fix the socio-economic issues that give rise to crime when people have no hope.  I look forward to this challenge as well and will be writing more about this in my next update.

2)       Prosperity:

**PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) Reform:  Last week the Council followed in the County Commission’s steps and unanimously passed the changes to the PILOT that the Chamber off Commerce supported.   I was happy to work with the Chamber on this initiative as I know first hand how many companies have A) by-passed our region all together or B) located in Desoto County because of the well intended yet disastrous PILOT restrictions put in place in 2007 that has stifled economic development.  While I am generally opposed to targeted tax breaks (I believe we need to lower rates across the board), the PILOT program is the only incentive program in our Chamber’s toolbox for large projects and we are fighting other cities and states that have many more incentives to offer.

With these PILOT changes I believe we will once again see an upward trend in job creation and capital investment as companies want to capitalize on our incredible location, multi-modal supply chain infrastructure and our air, rail, river, and road access.  We are very well positioned to compete in the ultra competitive global economy and have a ready and willing workforce.

**Property Tax Reductions/Budget:  Stay tuned for my next update when I will address this in more detail.  The budget season is upon us and Mayor Herenton will unveil his budget at our next meeting on April 21st.  As the council enters budget hearings, it will be an opportunity to make sure our government is transparent and delivering excellent service at the lowest possible cost.

 

3)       Unity:

**Dr. King said the most divided hours in America is noon on Sunday.  The evening I was sworn in we announced a plan that the Council would be worshipping together over the next year – one Sunday a month at each others church.  To date we have been to MS Blvd (Harold Collins), Second Pres (my church), Hope Pres (Bill Boyd), and this month we will be attending Councilwoman Barbara Ware’s church.  These have been very well attended and it has allowed us to gain a better understanding of our various backgrounds and “where we are coming from” on various issues and has allowed us to build deeper and meaningful relationships with one another.

Finally, I hope it has shown the congregations we have attended that we are not divided as the media would have you believe.

The council votes on about 50 items at each bi monthly meetings – about 1200 items per year – and on most issues there is fair and responsible debate and folks vote their conscious.  Unfortunately the media, for the most part, chooses to focus on the few votes per year that are contentious.  Please know that your city council is unified and focused on making Memphis the very best city of choice in America.

Finally, it has been a pleasure helping many of you with various issues – from getting ditches unclogged, helping CDC’s get started and funded, street lights erected, graffiti removed, trash picked up, worn out trash cans replaced, etc.  City government is really where “the rubber hits the road” and I have enjoyed working with folks to help them solve everyday problems and make their government work for them.

I could not do this without our research analyst Danielle Spears and administrative asst Ann Gallaway.  And nothing would get done if it were not for the partnership we enjoy with the Administration.  I have found the Division Directors to be incredibly responsive and customer focused.

Please let me know if there is ever anything that I can do for you to better serve you on the Council, and I look forward to seeing you very soon.  This update was longer than I wanted – but we have been busy and I wanted you to know what we have been doing and that I am hard at work for you.

Best Regards

Kemp 

Kemp.conrad@memphistn.gov

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