Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. promised in his state of the city address Monday, Jan. 23, to push the traditional parameters of city government and address long-term problems like the number of Memphians living in poverty.

Mayor A C Wharton Jr. delivers his annual State of the City Address at the Downtown campus of Southwest Tennessee Community College. 
(Photo: Lance Murphey)

He described the city’s historic problem with intractable poverty as “the ice on our economic wings.”

Wharton delivered his 100-day plan for the city to a crowd of 400 at Southwest Tennessee Community College’s Union Avenue campus.

During the speech he gave his first extended remarks on the future of city funding for public education after the merger of Shelby County’s two public school systems.

The city will probably have some role in funding education, he said in his remarks.

“Research indicates that what takes place outside of the classroom is just as important in determining academic success as what happens inside it,” he said. “That’s why city government should take its work to the neighborhoods and to the youngest children in Memphis.”

He specifically suggested an expansion of Early Head Start programs in the city.

After his speech, he addressed the $70 million in city funding that he believes the city will no longer be required to provide once the school systems merge in August 2013.

Without that required funding, the Shelby County property tax rate may increase to retain the total amount of local funding for local education.

“It will be absolutely essential to adjust downward the city tax rate if as expected the county tax rate is increased,” Wharton said after his speech when asked about the tax rate. “When we mention new programs, that comes as a net after we adjust the tax rate to account for any increase on the county side. The other priority will be restoring the employees pay cut.”

The capital projects to watch for as outlined in Wharton’s speech include a seven-acre park on the south side of The Pyramid where the Lone Star concrete plant now stands.

City officials listen to Mayor A C Wharton Jr.’s State of the City Address on Monday. Among other things, Wharton discussed schools funding.
(Photo: Lance Murphey)

He also said the administration is working to return baseball into neighborhood parks, a move foreshadowed by a recent contract with a private contractor to restore the baseball field at Bellevue-Jesse Turner Park in South Memphis.

Wharton also said he hopes to end simmering debates about a plan for developing the city’s riverfront by moving toward a consensus.

“Our purpose is not to create a master plan, but to set a general direction for the riverfront that we can all support so it can once again be a force for harmony rather than conflict,” he said.

Wharton also recommitted his administration to the revitalization of Elvis Presley Boulevard in and beyond the Graceland area as a key to revitalizing the entire Whitehaven area.

He also said the city’s neighborhoods must become denser – a goal not normally cited as a goal of past administrations.

“The density of many of our neighborhoods is half of what it was only a few decades ago,” Wharton said. “And this aggravates the problem of blight and crime and increases the costs of city services. There are too many vacant houses and too many families struggling to keep their homes.”

Wharton said the city will increase the partnerships it has with private foundations, nonprofits and philanthropies as it also develops a “Blueprint for Prosperity” and rolls out “MORE” – the “Mayor’s Office of Resources and Enterprises” to assist small, local and minority-owned businesses compete for city contracts as well as private business.

Part of Wharton’s 100-day plan is an inventory of city parks aimed at consistent standards for their maintenance and the city will look for partnerships with neighborhood groups. Maintenance of the parks as well as other similar functions including a more vigilant effort aimed at reducing blight will mean a more visible Public Works Division.

“That’s where the equipment is,” Wharton said. “They are responsible for the entire city. There will be a revamped and an enhanced role for public works.”