Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris presented a trim $1.6 billion FY2027 budget proposal to Shelby County Commissioners during the Wednesday, May 13 committee meetings.
Last year’s budget came in at $1.7 billion.
Like with the previous proposal, Harris unveiled a budget that calls for a reduction in the property tax. The proposed .03 cent reduction would bring the FY2027 property tax to $2.66. The current rate of $2.69 was set following the county-wide re-appraisals that were conducted in early 2025.
“This budget continues a conservative approach to expending while ensuring we make maximum impact. In other words, this budget is lean and mean,” boasted Harris. “Last year, we brought the tax rate down to under three dollars. This was the first time the property tax rate has been under $3.00 in years. We kept the tax rate low again this year.”
However, before a new rate is official, commissioners will have to approve the “recapture rate” of $2.663814. The extra decimals better represent the real value of the county homeowners’ property, a year after appraisals and the appeals process. Commissioners would have to pass another ordinance to lower the rate to the clean $2.66 mark, or they could set a different rate.
“That is one thing we need to be clear about before we do the actual rate from there,” informed Budget Committee Chairman Michael Whaley. “We have to accept the actual rate itself, and if we want to lower it … That can be done. Up down from there, we can do that. First, we need to accept the recapture rate.”
Harris agreed with the assessment.
“Everything you said is correct,” said Harris. “This commission can do whatever it wants. If it’s more important to be revenue neutral, than the recapture rate is $2.663 so forth and so on.”
The state comptroller’s office also wants to see the extra digits. Last year, Shelby County’s proposal was initially refused after an incomplete FY2026 budget was submitted. Missing detailed budgets and negative fund balances were cited in the insufficient submission. To make matters worse, the budget wasn’t submitted until June 17 — two weeks before the deadline for approval.
“I think part of that is making sure we turn in the line item representation of our budget earlier to the state and make it available for feedback. That process is ongoing,” said Harris.
The county trustee wants the “recapture rate” too. The office is currently updating its software to accept increments of a penny.
The late arrival of a copy of the budget proposal didn’t help matters. Once again, commissioners carped about the lack of a hard copy to study during Wednesday’s proposal.
“I still to this day do not understand why we don’t have a hard copy when you propose your budget to us,” said Mills. “I will just twiddle my thumbs until we get the budget in front of us to do our work,”
Budget Director Audrey Tiptons said commissioners would have a hard copy in their hands by Friday, May 15. Online availability could come sooner.
When it does finally arrive, commissioners will better be able to crunch the numbers and explore further details of the proposal. In addition to the raise, the FY2027 priorities include continued investment in MSCS schools — including a new K-8 to replace Treadwell Elementary in North East Memphis.
“When I visited Treadwell, I saw classrooms that are divided into multiple classes. That is to say, there are multiple teachers conducting class in one room. A class that is taking place in a repurposed locker room with exposed HVAC,” said Harris.
The proposal requests an initial outlay of $11.9 million to get the ball rolling on the project. Two similar projects — new high schools for Cordova and Frayser — are under construction. According to Harris, the county’s budget can handle another multi-million dollar construction project.
“We need to continue to work with our partners at Memphis-Shelby County Schools and address the needs of their dire infrastructure. Building a new Treadwell is one of the ways we can do that,” said Harris.
Further investment in a new Regional One health campus is also on the books, along with increased dollars towards indigent care. The proposed budget calls for an additional $5.4 million for a total of $29.4 million. Part of the outlay will go towards a new access point in Raleigh for Shelbycares, which provides free health care services to the disadvantaged.
Harris also plans to provide basic health insurance for the county’s temporary employees.
“This year’s budget includes a proposal to fund basic insurance for those employees that don’t currently get it. We have designated this new program “Temp Care.” The real civil rights struggle, commissioners, is the struggle for a healthy, long life. We want our people to live longer, healthier lives. We want Shelby County to be one of the healthiest places in the United States of America,”
The loaded comment came as lawsuits are being waged against the state for redrawing congressional district lines. Last week, a map was approved that split the historically Black District 9 into three parts. Area Democrats have accused Republican lawmakers of attempting to dilute the Black vote in the district.
Public safety is another concern. Harris’ budget requests $207 million to fund 2,444 positions in the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. Last year’s take was $179.9 million to pay the costs of 2018 employees. Harris is also asking for an additional $110,000 over last year for officer training.
Further investment will be made in a new mental health facility to divert jail detainees “in a mental health crisis, or in the throes of substance abuse.” Funds will be made for a new Youth and Family Resource Center too. The costs of transporting youth detainees back and forth from youth court are also in the submission.
“These increases in funding for the sheriff’s office demonstrate our unwavering commitment to our public safety. Our administration has put its money where its mouth is with respect to crime abatement and public safety,” said Harris.
