MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Describing it as Shelby County's 'road map forward', Mayor Lee Harris Wednesday morning unveiled his proposed $1.4 billion budget.
It calls for a 1.5% raise or a minimum wage bump to $15.29 for Shelby County employees, $8.5 million for the Pre-K program, two new Shelby County Fire Department stations in South Cordova and Southeast Shelby County.
The Shelby County property tax rate would also remain the same.
"This is not the time to raise taxes because there are too many in this community who are still on the road to recovery given the pandemic's effects," Mayor Harris said. "Once more, our property tax rate is already one of the highest in the state."
The next Shelby County budget takes effect July 1st.
It's now up to Shelby County Commissioners to make adjustments and approve a final product in the coming weeks.
Wednesday, Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dr. Joris Ray and other district leaders also released highlights to the Shelby County Commissioner from their proposed budget.
It calls for salary raises for SCS teachers, would create a Medical District school, add more after school tutoring programs, AP and honors classes and cut the K-2 teacher to student ration in half, from 1:25 to 1:13, by hiring more teachers assistants in those grades.
"Commissioners, we have this one moment in time to do more for our students," Dr. Ray said. "We understand that we cannot buy our way out of 30 years of generational poverty and persistent achievement gaps with these millions of dollars. Our children are not whole until they can read as well as peers, they are not whole until their parents can earn a living wage."
Commissioners did have some reservations about SCS' longterm capital plan to renovate, consolidate or build new schools.
District leaders are asking the county commit to $55 million each year across the next decade to cover those costs and maintenance upgrades.
"That would give the county no plausible way to get their capital needs met and so how we meet somewhere in the middle," Shelby County Commissioner Eddie Jones said.
"I want to try and support this as much as I can but I think also making sure we are accountable how to get it done, we know what the goalposts are and we can get all the help we can together," Shelby County Commissioner Michael Whaley added.