Ordinances updating the county’s ethics oversight, including streamlining the body tasked with the responsibility, passed on first readings during the Monday, March 17, Shelby County Commission meeting.
Shelby County Ethics Commission to have fewer members
Members gave a thumbs-up to an ordinance, 7-3, that would pare the Shelby County Ethics Commission from 13 members to seven. The reduction is being sought because, over the body’s 14-year history, the group has failed to achieve a quorum. Seven members are required for a vote to take place.
“Getting them to meetings has proved difficult over and over again,” said Shelby County Attorney Megan Smith.
The proposed number isn’t outside the norm. Several cities, including Nashville and Chicago, have boards with seven or fewer members. Moreover, the Tennessee State Ethics Commission has six board members.
According to the item sponsors, the makeup of the defunct panel has likely contributed to the no-shows. Six members are required to be attorneys, including three retired judges. The rest are at-large appointments. A new member hasn’t been appointed in more than 10 years. However, those who have received an appointment to the volunteer board are considered “holdovers.”
Ethics board appointments are made by the Shelby County mayor, followed by commission approval.
Critics took issue with the timing of the ordinance. Its introduction during a March 5 General Government Committee meeting came less than a week after the arrest of Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. on Feb. 28, on federal bribery and tax evasion charges. He is currently on administrative leave without pay from his City of Memphis job in Library Services.
Ford stands accused of securing grants for area nonprofits in exchange for purchases at a business he owns. The practice allegedly dates back to his time on the Memphis City Council. Ford briefly served on both bodies after being elected to the county commission in 2018. He served 11 years on the city council.
“I don’t think this body and this mayor should address it. Let me just say what it is. It is Lee Harris versus Edmund Ford Jr. right now. I think we should save this for the next mayor and the next board of commissioners …,” said Commissioner Amber Mills.
Moreover, a board composed solely of mayoral appointees would give the administration an upper hand in any ethics dispute involving a commission member. In a worst-case scenario, it could also allow complaints against the mayor to go unresolved or even unheard.
“The timing actually has nothing to do with this. I believe we met a while back, a few months ago, to discuss the possibility of bringing these changes,” said Felisa Cox, JD, chief ethics officer for Shelby County. “This is just how it’s fallen on the calendar.”
Still, concerns about political vendettas or the balance of power weren’t enough to derail the ordinance. Voting in favor were commissioners Miska Clay Bibbs, Mick Wright, Brandon Morrison, Henri Brooks, Mickell Lowery, Shante Avant, and Chairman Michael Whaley. Voting against the proposed ordinance were Erika Sugarmon, Britney Thornton and Mills. Ford and Caswell did not vote.
Prior to its approval, Sugarmon proposed an amendment that would keep the membership of the ethics panel at 13. It was rejected on a 5-6-1 vote. Members rejected a similar proposal at the March 5 committee meeting.
Voting in favor of Sugarmon’s amendment were Charlie Caswell Jr., Sugarmon, Mills, Thornton, and Ford. Members Clay Bibbs, Wright, Morrison, Lowery, Avant and Whaley voted no. Brooks abstained.
Changes in ethics language for county charter
Members also approved an ordinance 10-0 that would incorporate the state’s definition of “conflict of interest” into the county charter. The proposed charter amendment would apply to elected county officials, officers and employees.
Its language would also reflect the state law’s definition of “indirect interest” and a “controlling interest” of a company, as well as how both are presented in a contract.
The wording ensures the commission’s ability to recall Shelby County Board of Education members in the event of a change in state law. Tennessee law currently does not allow commissioners to change the makeup of the elected board.
“The state does have language that would authorize this. Currently, the county charter does not allow for it. Neither does the state. So it would require both the state changing the law, which there are bills filed right now that would do just that. In that case, this would amend the charter to align it with state law,” explained Whaley.
In addition to granting recall authority to commissioners, Tennessee lawmakers are mulling a state takeover of the Memphis-Shelby County School District. The proposed intervention follows the school board’s 6-3 decision to terminate Superintendent Marie Feagins’ contract on Feb. 21. Feagins was fired, in part, for her decision to present an MSCS budget to the Memphis City Council and the Shelby County Commission in violation of board policy and state law.
Voting in favor were Clay Bibbs, Caswell, Sugarmon, Mills, Wright, Thornton, Morrison, Brooks, Lowery and Whaley. Commissioners Ford and Avant did not vote.
