MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Anyone who owns a home, rental property, or any business knows that from time to time, you have to spend money on repairs. The same is true for the people elected to oversee local government, which is why the Memphis city council wisely approved nearly $5 million in capital spending on the marble facade of City Hall.
The repairs will be done to the upper floors of the 55-year-old building, where pieces of marble are crumbling, and some are falling to the ground. The familiar city seal on the front of the building will also be taken down and refurbished. It’s what you have do with any aging structure.
But instead of pouring millions in tax dollars into repairs, is it time to seriously consider a new City Hall? Councilman Chase Carlisle thinks so. At Tuesday’s council meeting, Carlisle implied that recent repairs inside and outside of City Hall amount to throwing good money after bad. He even called the building functionally obsolete, and said it makes us look like a third world country. That comment is a bit of a stretch – even for Carlisle, who is sometimes prone to hyperbole.
Personally, I think city hall has held up well over the years. But go ahead. Let’s have a conversation about a new home for city government. I believe we will discover that taxpayers are just fine with the building we have.