Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris proposes $1.7 billion budget with property tax cut, employee raises and new school funding
Entering his final year, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris presented the broad strokes of his proposed $1.7 billion fiscal year 2026 budget, with a 66 cent property tax reduction as a central focus.
“If approved, this will be the lowest property tax rate in Shelby County for more than 30 years,” Harris said.
The proposed reduction would represent a 20% decrease in the county’s property tax rate of $3.39 per $1,000 of assessed value. Harris has maintained that rate during his seven years in office.
However, the tax cut is accompanied by a proposal to raise the county’s wheel tax by $5. The increase to $80 would “align” the county’s fee with that of Memphis. Harris explained that the increase would help make up for a drop in the number of registered vehicles in the county over the past year.
“Right now, there are just over 600,000 registered vehicles in Shelby County, which is about a 100,000 drop from 12 months ago,” Harris said. “We need to make up that difference in revenue this budget cycle.”
The budget also includes a pay raise for the county’s lowest-paid employees, setting a new minimum salary at $40,000 per year. Currently, some workers earn as little as $32,000 annually.
“If adopted, the budget means many thousands of working families struggling in Memphis and Shelby County will pay less in property taxes than they paid last year,” Harris said.
The claim of a “tax cut” was contested by Commissioner Amber Mills, who pointed out that the proposed decrease matched the state’s certified tax rate, which was set earlier this year. She also argued that it would be problematic for the county to accumulate a “windfall” by keeping the rate higher than necessary.
“We have the option to set the tax rate at whatever level we want,” Harris responded.
Mills chose not to continue the debate and deferred to the next commissioner.
“I’ll leave that there. I think everybody heard,” Mills said.
The proposed increase in the wheel tax drew criticism for potentially impacting lower-income families disproportionately. Some also noted that the wheel tax might have a significant effect on homeownership rates in the county’s Black community.
“Only 38% of Black people own homes in Shelby County,” said Commissioner Erika Sugarmon.
Despite concerns, Sugarmon expressed support for most of the proposed budget and highlighted her collaboration with Harris to address employee pay.
Other major priorities in the budget include $500 million for the construction of a new Regional One Health hospital campus, new high schools in Frayser and Cordova, and a $100 million contribution to the county’s pension fund to maintain its AAA credit rating.
One notable omission from the budget is funding for a new Shelby County Jail, which is part of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office’s proposed $1.4 billion budget.
“There’s no question we need a new jail,” said Commissioner Charlie Caswell Jr. “We’re looking at a murder a day.”
Harris explained the decision to prioritize new schools over the jail by citing the age of county facilities.
“I realize the jail was built in 1980, but you’ve got to realize, of all our facilities in Shelby County, we have many that are much older,” Harris said. “The school buildings, on average, were built in the 1950s.”
The budget proposal also includes funding to offset anticipated federal cuts, preserving money for critical nonprofits such as the Mid-South Food Bank and ShelbyCares health centers, which could be affected by reductions from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“We have several critical weeks ahead, and the pressure to increase spending is likely going to be substantial,” Harris said.
The discussion also included considerations about affordable housing funding before the meeting concluded.
Commissioners have until the end of June to approve the budget. The new fiscal year begins on July 1.
