MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County commissioners have voted and approved a $25-dollar wheel tax hike as part of its approval of County Mayor Lee Harris’ fiscal year 2024 budget.
That fee increase is half of what County Mayor Lee Harris had proposed to cover funding for three major projects, including rebuilding Regional One Health and new high schools in Cordova and Frayser.
It passed by a vote of nine to three.
In a statement, Harris said, “Just now, the Commission took the final vote on the first phase of our plan to rebuild Regional One Health, break ground on the new Frayser High School, and keep on track for another new high school in the Cordova area. Total spending for Regional One’s Phase 1 is $350 million, making this project alone one of the largest public infrastructure investments in our community’s history. The campaign for a new Regional One campus, “One Campus,” will mean expanded access to healthcare, particularly for the most vulnerable. It means that one of the oldest hospitals in the region will be around for the next generation, and the one after that. Thank you, Chairman Lowery, Budget Chair Whaley, and Commissioners.”
The Elvis Presley Trauma Center at Regional One Health is the only level-one trauma center in a 150-mile radius of Memphis, and it cares for more than 4,500 patients every year.
The hospital primarily serves three states, which include parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas, and has a campus comprised of several buildings providing inpatient and outpatient health services.