POWER OF TEAM
COVID: Free Speech Obstruction Accelerated
One would think that during COVID, with limits on the public’s participation in public meetings, that the press and other institutions would step up their game. That is not the case in Memphis and includes the likes of the National Civil Rights Museum, who actually celebrates free speech and protest. Its an exercise in racially diverse elitism and the oppression of free speech.
Recently, I submitted a piece to the Tri State Defender (TSD). Prior to the purchase of TSD by a group led by Calvin Anderson, Dr. Anjanku would publish my submissions and edit them if necessary. Over the course of our relationship, Anjanaku published 3 of 4 pieces of my work. And I appreciated it.
Now after the Anderson purchase of TSD, I cannot even get a courtesy response on a TSD submission. As a note, Anderson was part of the EDGE Task Force 2 yrs ago, that accomplished nothing and also serves on the LaunchTN startup board, which has neglected Memphis from startup investments when compared to the rest of the state.
Further, under Dann Miller, the Commercial Appeal (CA) is obstructing commenting on their articles, which discriminates against Memphians, when compared to CA’s other Tennessee markets. And the Daily Memphian has never been willing to even consider my customer submissions, as Bill Dries fails to report on the recent County Commission obstruction of requested due diligence on a $62M consideration. That obstruction is discussed below in my now published rejected TSD submission.
And finally, the National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM), in all of their glory about free speech and protest, cannot take public criticism of their elitist and oppressive NCRM Board and Executive Committee. Its a board that appears to get together from time to time to masturbate about their social justice accomplishments, while exchanging business leads for further elitist oppression.
NCRM Exchange
During the NCRM 1/18/21 MLK birthday virtual celebration, the NCRM deleted my protest comment that effectively said that “MLK would puke all over the NCRM board”. NCRM is not about free speech but seems much more about controlling an elitist narrative that is focused on Civil Rights history of 50 years ago and beyond, while ignoring the elitist oppression occurring today.
Here is an email from Terri Freeman to me regarding the 1/18/21 event, where Freeman cites the NCRM mission statement. The fact is that the NCRM Board’s strategic direction of almost exclusively focusing on history of 50 yrs ago and beyond, violates their mission statement component of: educating and serving as a catalyst to inspire action and create positive social change.
Per the NCRM bylaws, a Board Executive Committee oversees daily NCRM staff operations, by individuals likely heavily influenced by the following local corporations: AutoZone, First Horizons, Baptist Hospital, FedEx and International Paper. Its effectively the same companies that are predominantly represented on all the local non-profit boards, stifling local thought diversity.
Anyway, below is a rejected piece, submitted to the TSD, that attempted to get in mainstream publication, the County Commission obstruction of requested due diligence that occurred on December 21, 2020.
Rejected TSD Column
Curtis Weathers recently wrote a compelling piece on the educational opportunities provided by the tragic events at our Nation’s Capitol on January 6, 2021. While sad, the event offers robust National civic exploratory inquiry into the Constitution, impeachment process, first amendment and social media. The only advantage to the event is that it was press covered and everyone saw it, which provides the opportunity for deeper analysis. Much harder to see, is what goes uncovered regarding local government, by the local press, while perhaps undermining the local community.
So, what about local Memphis history and government? It must be stated that the Tennessee State Civics Standards do not even mention such terms as “governmental oversight” or “quasi- governmental agencies”. Local quasi-government agencies are public board bodies, with staffs and budgets, that operate outside of traditional government. Such agencies include the likes of Memphis Light Gas and Water (MLGW), Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) and Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC).
These organizations have either direct control over local tax dollars or have significant influence over the well being of the local population. These are also agencies that operate under the auspices of local governmental oversight and involve multi-million-dollar questions impacting the local community.
While not locally reported, the Shelby County Commission made history on December 21, 2020 by neglecting their oversight function, which is arguably common, and going further to obstruct requested due diligence on a $62M funding allocation, for public parking, made by the Downtown Memphis Commission. The County Trustee, Assessor and Chief Financial Officer all made requests to perform due diligence on the matter, but were overtly obstructed by the Shelby County Commission!
The $62M request involved the use of taxpayer money, funded through a restricted fund that no one in County government seemed to know about, as expressed through on the public record testimony. On December 7, 2020, the $62M matter was correctly referred to committee for due diligence, based on a motion made by Commissioner Mark Billingsley. At the next Commission meeting, on December 21, 2020, Billingsley strangely reversed his position and moved to reconsider the $62M question, effectively obstructing, requested by County officials, due diligence. This is a stunning piece of local history.
The former does not mention that on December 21, the DMC made at least two, on the record, material misrepresentations involving 1) mistaken annual City and County tax dollar contributions to the fund and 2) the understating of parking garage fund financial liabilities by $12M. Both misrepresentations greased the skids for not performing due diligence and approving the $62M public parking allocation. The $62M approval was for public parking, that is not presently needed, based on the DMC downtown parking study.
Further, due diligence would have revealed $23M in possibly illegal taxpayer funded loans made to private developers using the fund. Given this local historical event, if it is somehow possible to be accommodated by the state standards in the local curriculum, these are questions that might arise for local curricular exploration:
- How many quasi-governmental agencies, with their own budgets and assets funded by taxpayers, operate outside of local government, where local government has oversight authority?
- How have external agencies impacted local budgets for education, public safety, infrastructure, and public health?
- How much have quasi-governmental agencies abated in local taxes and how does that compare with other municipalities in the rest of the state?
- What is the role of the free press in covering local government oversight of quasi agencies and non-profits or lack thereof?
Needless to say, these quasi-governmental agencies and corresponding local government oversight have significant impact on our local community. Are our leaders of tomorrow learning anything at all about this critical area of local public governance?
Conclusion
Not part of the original restrained TSD submission, the potentially illegal garage loans above, involve Puke Hyde, who chairs the NCRM Executive Committee. The currency in Memphis is not “Moving Memphis Forward” but instead glorifying elitist oppression…..
LOGICAL: No PILOT Moratorium but Reform
Its logical to reject a PILOT moratorium. But its both logical and fiscally responsible to reform PILOTs. After all, the data makes an overwhelming case against current payment-in-lieu of taxes (PILOT) driven economic development policy. Values supporting continual competitive decline are culturally embedded into board performance of local economic development agencies, while the small few feed on a Memphis community in need. The former is the unquestioned brainchild of such civic idiots as Puke Hyde and Blackjack Smith.
In County Commission today, as system stakeholders, both Beverly Robertson, Chamber and Reid Dulberger, EDGE signaled an openness to PILOT reform, while being against a PILOT moratorium. Both Robertson and Dulberger should be asked to present 1) their definition of economic development, 2) data supported research to support their positions on PILOT policy recommendations 3) what is meant by the term “free markets” and 4) what is meant by the term “business friendly”.
In considering the answers to the above, the Commission should understand that the Chamber is not an economic development but a business development organization whose members are financially driven by profits. Nothing wrong with profits, but profits are not in direct alignment with the financial incentives of the public sector. EDGE on the other hand, is fee incented to award large corporate/real estate PILOTs, with board members, that often professionally benefit from such awards. This fee configuration is contradictory to the financial well being of the public sector.
To that extent, abolishment of abating boards or new board appointments may be needed to carry out the work of real economic development. Real economic development is typically defined around improving the quality of life, mostly accomplished through increased wages, which is in financial alignment with County government but not the Chamber and EDGE.
Commission Discussion
While Commissioner Sawyer’s commendable PILOT moratorium lacks support for passage, it appears to have been successful at starting the PILOT reform discussion, with the aid of Commission Chairman Eddie Jones. Sawyer’s remarks around reform seemed to focus on community benefit programming. But much of that, like MWBE and affordable housing, has already been weaponized against the Memphis community in support of excessive PILOTs, that undermine the local tax base.
For example, established local businesses and affluent individuals dominate EDGE MWBE receipts. The greatest community benefit comes in the form of eliminating excessive PILOT awards, in support of taxpayer justice, that more appropriately funds education, public health, transit, roads and etc for all.
Commissioner Michael Whaley focused on reigning in PILOT extensions. But fiscally speaking, extensions are just the tip of the iceberg and have the same fiscal impact as does new PILOTs for the same property (FedEx WTC) or abating existing real property taxes (Ubiquiti), which are both commonly done.
Commissioner Edmund Ford touted successful community builder PILOTs and the need for better communication with abating boards. No one is sounding the alarm against community builder PILOTs that, for example, support grocery store construction in a food desert. And communication can be most easily improved with easy to understand, data driven web based technology to inform real time oversight, which has been professionally proposed by this blog.
Data and PILOT Policy
The data is explicitly clear that current PILOT policy is not working. This is expressed in the form of sluggish and below average job growth, average wage growth, median household income growth and deficient small business establishments to power the local economy. With an excessive 512 PILOTs, which dwarfs other TN municipalities by approximately 10x, the data clearly points to the need for PILOT reform. For an expanded view, see this comprehensive data set.
PILOT Reform
First, County government needs to see themselves as the County’s chief economic development organization while seeing the Chamber, as an influential stakeholder and not a partner.
Partner recognition of the Chamber blurs the lines of public and private accountability. Memphis needs to strengthen its public sector, as many local problems are rooted in the public sector’s weakness while mistakenly trusting in the “vision” of idiots Puke Hyde and Blackjack Smith and their public-private complex.
With clear lines, the County should then author their own defined economic development plan, with robust debate and measured stakeholder input, while reforming PILOTs. PILOT reform would, ideally, look like the following:
- Validate that current PILOT policy is a failure through data informed from authoritative sources like County Government, State Comptroller, Census and Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Local officials do not need local abating board data to validate this failed reality.
- Use a standard baseline of 10 yr term length for PILOTs, which is a common standard elsewhere with no community participation requirements like (MWBE). This effectively serves the entire community and education through taxpayer justice, by reducing overall amounts through reduced term lengths. Sham “MWBE” and “affordable housing” have been tactically used to justify excessive PILOTs and taxpayer injustice.
- Use research, such as the Upjohn sponsored research of Dr. Timothy Bartik, in guiding assumption development in projecting tax revenue
- Apply research to project tax revenues and incentive sizing, while getting off the 75% abatement for all amount and insuring a return for taxpayers. When referencing County documentation, abatements outstrip year over year (YOY) revenue gains, nearly 5 to 1. Had PILOTs worked, as promised, YOY revenue gains would have exceeded or, at least, been in line with PILOT abatements.
- Offer additional PILOT years for elective community participation in areas like properly overseen MWBE and affordable housing.
- Consolidate abatement boards, while financially aligning their financial incentives with real economic development and consolidating abatement and economic development measurement into a single web based platform to facilitate real time oversight.
Conclusion
Through a failed and sheltered narrative, FedEx and Memphis Tomorrow have had their foot on the throat of Memphis for too long. When one studies the data, its stunning the elitists actually believe that this is good for themselves, but they do. This delusion reveals their complete backwards idiocy…..
PILOT Extension Fund – City of Memphis
SHELTER IN PLACE: Been Going on a Long Time / No Verdict
No verdict is the result. The lack of a verdict on the elitist PILOT Extension Fund (PEF) sham is the product of a “Shelter in Place” discourse that has been in place for a long time in Memphis. Its a discourse that keeps the Memphis public ignorant, as sheltered Memphians believe, Memphis would be nothing without FedEx. This belief is complete bullshit and product of a blaring FedEx public relations machine, that is accommodated by the local “Shelter in Place” media.
The fact is that Blackjack is a civic idiot and FedEx would be nothing without Memphis. Meanwhile, real estate partnerships of Puke Hyde and others, are the beneficiary of potentially illegal taxpayer funded loans for private parking garages. The lacking public verdict is how the Shelter in Place discourse protects the elitists, while keeping Memphians ignorant.
Commission Chairman Eddie Jones, who has expressed concern over PILOTs and such, recently forwarded the Shelter in Place existence by disallowing read aloud public comment in Shelby County Commission proceedings. This comes after Mayor Harris, stunningly has no position on the $62M public PEF measure, as due diligence on the matter, was overtly cockblocked by the County Commission.
The reason that due diligence was cockblocked is that the social justice elitists would have been publicly revealed ripping off a majority Black community in need. After all, they rip off small business, rip off educational opportunity and rip off the taxpayer as a matter of elitist process, all the time, in a majority Black community in need, under the guise of public relations tools like the National Civil Rights Museum.
The Capitol Insurgency vs Social Justice Elitism
The only advantage to the Nation’s Capitol event, involving a band of insane rednecks, is that everyone saw it. At the same time, the undermining of the local democracy by the social justice elitists, is much harder to see, as it has been systemically occurring for 20 years, while using such elitist public relations tools as the National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM). Puke Hyde is the Chair of the NCRM Executive Committee.
The Memphis Business Journal recently publicized the elitist public relations work of the NCRM featuring Dick Shadyac, Chairman of Memphis Tomorrow, on corporate social responsibility. Dick focused on the need of measurement in corporate social responsibility, just as his very own Memphis Tomorrow cockblocks and rips off my family, small business and community repeatedly, as I have, for years now, professionally proposed public measurement solutions of the Memphis Tomorrow public private complex. Memphis Tomorrow hates innovation coming from local small business, which is historically culturally evident in the decimation of the Memphis music business and small business sector.
For that matter, Dick is also a civic idiot for even being associated with and Board Chairman of Memphis Tomorrow. His remarks come, just as the sham $62M DMC PEF for public parking was being considered. Its a fund that currently shows an estimated $28M public debt.
If Memphis Tomorrow were serious about corporate social responsibility, they would have opposed the sham. But Memphis Tomorrow is an elitism sham into itself, while failing to measure the last 2014 FOCUS Economic Development plan, that came as a product of the Memphis Tomorrow Fast Forward initiative.
The only justice comes with Blackjack and Puke, on their hands and knees, puking up $1.5B in public chambers, and then leaving the stage. Both are civic idiots. Dick might want to join them. That’s not rhetoric. Their idiocy is a data supported fact…..
DMC / DMA PRIVATE GARAGE LOANS
PUBLIC PARKING BOONDOGGLE: Plentiful / $62M More of the Same
There is just not an immediate need for more Downtown public parking. The table above was sourced from the Downtown Memphis Parking Study. From the table, one can see the existing inventory, in each part of Downtown and the projected peak demand, based on three scenarios. There is an excess supply of parking availability.
The $62M public parking request appears to be more of the same and developer driven by Carlisle’s One Beale project. Secondarily, the request is driven by a potentially exciting and transformative Brooks Museum project. The current One Beale project has already been the recipient of approximately $41M in tax incentives and public loan awards to include the following: 1) an approximate $1M grant, 2) $10M garage / PILOT Extension Fund garage loan and 3) approximate $30M tax abatement over 20 yrs. Incentives for the yet approved Hyatt expansion, could drive tax incentives and public loans to has high as $140M.
A public expenditure of $10M, for the Brooks Art Museum project, can be deduced, by reviewing the DMC County Commission Public Parking presentation delivered on December 2, 2020. This deduction is concluded by adding up the cost of the public parking projects, that are disclosed in the presentation. These public parking projects total $52M.
The cost of the Brooks Art Museum is the only project of the five with undisclosed cost, for a total $62M request, making the cost of the non-public parking Brooks museum project $10M. The non-parking Brooks Museum project reduces public parking availability by 400 spaces in the Downtown Core.
The exciting part, is the mention of a $100M investment, presumably, an exciting art collection for the Brooks Art museum project. While the Brooks Museum project has significant merit, the $42M Mobility Center appears to be another developer driven public benefit, for a developer, that may be the recipient of up to $140M in local public incentives and loans. The $42M Mobility Center, planned just across the street from the One Beale project, would just pile public more benefits on to the Carlisle development.
Observations
The PILOT Extension Fund, from which these projects are scheduled to be funded, would have $22M more in the fund, if long term garage loans were not provided to private developers. Wonder Bakery development received a $6M-45 year loan, Tennessee Brewery a $5.1M 60 year loan, One Beale a $10M loan with the term length unknown and CHISCA a $1M loan in 2014. Most of these are private garages that also receive the benefit of tax abatements.
At any rate, here are some other observations from the Downtown Parking Study:
“In most subareas, even in the Boom Growth scenario, there is no net increase in parking supply required to accommodate anticipated growth. However, since much of the existing supply is provided in less-than-optimal facilities (either they are in facilities with poor conditions, they are themselves located on future development sites, and/or they are in private facilities that cannot be used to support nearby growth without shared parking agreements) there may be the need for “replacement parking” development. (pg. 47)”
Observation: This appears to be a preparatory planning accommodation for the planned Brooks Museum parking reduction. But even with a 400 space reduction, the Downtown Core still has adequate parking based on the numbers in the above table.
“However, parking use patterns are concentrated unevenly, and all subareas still feature a considerable number of unoccupied spaces even during the midday peak. At almost any location and any time of the day, a highly-used parking facility is only a few blocks away from underutilized parking. (pg. 7)”
Observation: Walking and walkability is stressed in the report. So walking a few blocks should not be a driver for a $62M request.
“At peak occupancy (Weekdays 11am-1pm), all Downtown spaces are only one-third full, meaning there are still approximately 45,000 unused spaces across the entire study area. Most of these unused spaces are in restricted off-street facilities. Off-street publicly accessible and DPA garages average 66% occupancy.(pg. 8)”
Observation: Plenty of public parking
Page 100 of the report stresses ways in which to reduce traffic and parking demand to include ridesharing. How is ridesharing behavior going to be incented, with convenient and affordable parking options due to more than sufficient supply ?
Conclusion
There’s plenty of public parking. The $62M request is more of the same, in a boondoggle and excessive corporate/real estate developer publicly funded benefits…..
DOUBLE DIP: PILOT Extension Fund
“Double dipping” is the finding, as research into the PILOT Extension Fund (PEF) continues. Local developers in Carlisle (One Beale), Puke, Prosterman (Wonder Bakery) and Orgel (Brewery) have leveraged the PEF for long term loans to finance construction on private “public” parking garages, while then getting 20 year 80%+ property tax abatements, on the overall development, that includes tax abatements on the parking garage !
Also, just an aside on an unrelated matter, Prosterman is the beneficiary of $2M in TnInvestco state funds, for a startup called Hapten Sciences, that has only resulted in 2 employees over 10 yrs.
Anyway, approved loans for private “public” parking garages total $22M. And the term lengths of these taxpayer funded private loans are like 45 years. A low interest long term loan, using taxpayer money from abatements + another 80% abatement for the finished project = A DOUBLE DIP !! (See above table with data sourced from the DMC Database).
Further, based on a review of the DMC financials, its unclear if loans are being repaid to the Downtown Mobility Authority (DMA). And Carlisle got a garage loan, a 20 yr abatement and a $1m grant for One Beale. This does not include the new 30 yr PILOT for the Grand Hyatt or the benefit of the planned $42M mobility center across the street from the One Beale development.
The PEF is a restricted public parking fund, funded with extended corporate/real estate tax abatements. And its also true that, over the years, Downtown Memphis Commission CEOs, have asserted a false belief, that this abatement money is NOT the taxpayer’s money, but the DMCs money, based on an Attorney General’s opinion issued in 1997. The actual legality of the fund remains an open question.
Wonder why no local traditional or non-traditional publications have questioned the $62M PILOT Extension Fund expenditure? Its strange that no one is asking what would $62M do for affordable housing or public transit? Or why there is a parking plan and no economic development plan? At the same time, with no formal working definition of “economic development”, it’s clear local “visionaries” have defined economic development as corporate, real estate AND now parking development.
PEF Private “Public” Parking Garage Loan Process
Basically, these loans are publicly funded loans, for parking garage construction for private developments, that allow publicparking, whether or not there is demand for public parking in the area. Here clickable graphic and the PEF loan process:
- DMC Center City Revenue Finance Corporation (CCRFC) approves a PEF request and seeks local legislative approval.
- Once legislative approval occurs, the CCRFC arranges financing and provides funds to the Downtown Mobility Authority (DMA) for administration and distribution
- DMA loans the funds to private developer
- Private developer builds and manages the “public” garage on their private development
- Developer repays DMA loan over 45 years or so
- Developer benefits from Double Dip of taxpayer funded low interest loans and 20 yr 80% property tax abatement on the garage and their private development.
Now, after the above, the DMC is going to spend anther $62M on public parking, when in 2019, DMC’s DMA only generated $2M in revenue, before expenses, on 5,500 public parking spaces. At a conservative $10 per day, that is only a 10% occupancy rate. During COVID, DMA 2020 revenue was off $400K, down to $1.6M.
But based on the 2019 analysis, a bunch of folks are not paying for parking or there are a bunch of empty spaces, which negates the need for additional public parking. So much for any funding focus on needed public transit, affordable housing or education. All total, the PEF plan is to finance $111M in public parking.
PEF Analysis Update
As new information on the PEF is obtained, the above table is updated. For example, we do not know how much money has flowed into the PEF over time. The above estimates are based on public testimony and DMC public information requests that are cross referenced with the County Trustee Report. For example, as of today 12/30, based on a public information request to the City of Memphis on 12/8/20, the City has no idea how much was contributed to the PEF in 2019, much less over the last 20 years.
To that extent, the new information discerned, from the DMC financial statement and website, were the private “public” garage assets, that provided the information to adjust the unaccounted funds down by $22M, resulting in an estimated $6M surplus in 2019 and $5.6M deficit in 2020.
PEF Open Due Diligence Questions
Besides the outrageous Double Dipping and $62M priority put on downtown parking, at a huge cost to everything else, these open due diligence questions remain:
- Legal authority of the PEF ?
- Historic contributions to the PEF ?
- Valid lease agreements to support future fund inflows and corresponding debt service ?
Maybe we will find out the above…..
COMMISSION COCKBLOCK: County Due Diligence on $62M
At their last meeting (1:27:30) , The Shelby County Commission overtly COCKBLOCKED due diligence on a $62M public funding allocation, for downtown parking, to then adopt the measure in a 11-2 vote. The Commission had previously scheduled due diligence, to be conducted by County officials Chief Financial Officer Mathilde Crosby, Trustee Regina Newman and Assessor Melvin Burgess. Due diligence findings were to be presented at the January 6, 2021 Commission Economic Development Committee meeting.
Alarmingly, this COCKBLOCK, effectively obstructs County officials from doing their jobs, while such concerns go wholly unreported by the local press. This non-reporting highlights the rigged Memphis system and institutional failure of the press that keeps the public in the dark, on matters of elitist led taxpayer injustice.
The former is just an extension of the archaic and elitist Crump era culture, of days gone by, forwarded by idiots Blackjack Fred Smith and Puke Pitt Hyde. It’s commonplace for the elitists, through local legislative bodies, to dismiss the public at large. But this is a new low, with the Commission dismissing its own officials, as County officials make the public appeal to Commissioners, to allow them to do their jobs in supporting the public good.
Commissioner Mark Billingsley, who previously championed due diligence on this “important decision” matter, strangely reversed his position to champion immediate December 21, reconsideration of the $62M PILOT/Parking Extension Fund matter, without scheduled due diligence. The scheduled outstanding due diligence concerned: 1) legal authority of the PILOT Extension Fund (PEF), 2) Binding lease agreements to support $62M PEF for public parking and 3) historic PEF activity over the last 20 yrs.
While leaving the above outstanding due diligence unaddressed, Billingsley justified his position favoring the $62M request, based on having received a letter from AutoZone CEO, Bill Rhodes. And Commissioner Brandon Morrison favored the $62M measure, in honor of the work of Jennifer Oswalt, who is departing the Downtown Memphis Commission.
Billingsley further asserted that the corporate beneficiaries of publicly incented downtown parking in AutoZone and FedEx, cannot be taken for granted, as they can leave Shelby County anytime. Billingsley seemed ignorant to the fact that both downtown projects for FedEx and AutoZone have already received excessive local incentives, that total an estimated $64M. And that is $64M in local incentives, prior to any consideration of additional local incentives for downtown parking, all while not including $12.3M in state incentives for these corporate downtown developments.
Analysis – Parking Plan but No Economic Development Plan
Anyone find it weird that there is a Memphis downtown parking plan but no economic development plan ? Its because elitists, like Puke, have proven they don’t know what “economic development” is. Prior to COVID, when parking demand was higher, I never had a problem finding a parking place downtown. In fact, the DMC County Commission parking presentation documents this as fact, with the admission of available parking in both photographs (Orpheum Lot) and in written testimony (Front Street garage). So, there is no parking crisis, as was asserted by some County Commissioners at their December 21, 2020 meeting.
Enabled by a lack of governmental oversight and an non-investigative press, Memphians live in a bubble. Remember, the elitist Poplar TIF was approved, based in part, to relieve traffic congestion. Has anyone advocating for this stuff ever been to Nashville, Atlanta or Washington DC ? Trust me. There is no downtown parking crisis or East Poplar traffic congestion problem. Both of the former illusions come from an unchecked elitist narrative, designed to exploit, through taxpayer injustice, a majority Black Memphis community in need.
Further, review of the DMC parking presentation reveals clues to the the drivers behind downtown parking reconfiguration. Both of those drivers point to Puke’s pet projects in the Brooks Art Museum and the Riverfront. This $62M for the downtown “parking crisis” is actually more money for already previously funded projects, in the Riverfront and additional corporate incentives for downtown parking, to accommodate for the reduction in parking, for the Brooks Art Museum project. And then there there is also the Carlisle One Beale project beneficiary.
The $62M measure includes immediate access to $16M in funds that have piled up, over a number of years, largely out of public view, at the Downtown Memphis Commission. The mystery surrounding the existence of the fund, is a product of historically failed governmental oversight, that has persisted for years, in not reviewing annual industrial development board (IDB) financial reports. Besides DMC, funds seemed to have also piled up at other IDBs, such as EDGE, where EDGE has $22M in unrestricted cash assets.
When Blackjack was pursuing his FedEx Downtown incentive package, he recognized all of the public funds piling on IDB balance sheets and went after them getting $2M from EDGE and $1M from DMC’s Center City Development Corporation. Mayor Strickland has said, that local incentive awards do not include cash grants. But that is not the case for local companies, like FedEx, moving across town.
At any rate, in the end, there are too many open questions, related to the PEF, for this matter to be over. The public deserves answers.
Unfinished Business and Good News
With so much unfinished business regarding the PEF, local legislative bodies owe the public answers. The due diligence scheduled for January 6, 2021, on the PEF, should occur in Commission Economic Development committee as scheduled. If not that committee, some other committee.
Originally, the PEF matter was rightly referred back to Commission committee, because there was no available public documentation to support a quantitatively informed discussion around a $62M public funding request. But when Commissioners reconsidered the matter, on December 21, 2020, the dollar amounts discussed, were pulled out of thin air and based on nothing.
The fact is, there was never any hurry for the County Commission to approve the $62M public parking measure. In fact, Commissioner Tami Sawyer exposed this by asking Jennifer Oswalt, what the hurry was on the Union Row consideration when the project has yet to start 2 years after being approved. What the hurry was on this $62M parking project, involved local elitists wanting to control the agenda and narrative, while getting immediate access to $16M (based on Oswalt testimony), in DMC cash assets, without needed due diligence.
Due diligence of the PEF will likely reveal significant problems, and perhaps, even fund insolvency, based on the fund’s historical performance liabilities to the public. And that’s not to mention, to begin with, the implementation of the fund may never have been legal.
The good news is that, Chairman Eddie Jones and Commissioner Tami Sawyer voted against the $62M PEF, with support from County officials Crosby, Burgess and Newman. Lets hope, these public stewards, demand answers regarding the PEF, on January 6, 2021 and beyond…..