There is no simplistic solution. I sat on a Crime Commission,
and it comes down to funding. And that issue has plagued this Council
and Administration since they have started. When I left the City Council
in 2007, Mayor Herenton stated we needed a property tax increase but this
Council disagreed and used school funds to manage the budget and other
projects. The Council had $17 million more than they could spend and
instead of allowing it to grow into the Reserves, they spent it. How,
they returned it to you and me. For my house, it was about $45 dollars
that year, not a month but a year.
If you are not growing and if your businesses are not paying
taxes their fair share of taxes, and if you add new services and refuse to
increase your property taxes, how do you continue to pay for needed services
and the demands on government.
In March of this year, the according to the CA, the Memphis
Mayor said that he preferred a property tax increase to cuts in public
safety. But, in his budget, he offered neither. Instead, he
recommended health care benefits increase in cost for employees and retirees to
pay 100% of the cost. (Commercial Appeal: Daniel Connolly, March 11th).
We've reduced services, robbed employees and school funding,
and now health care from retirees. We waived taxes for the wealthy
corporations and the forced elderly homeowners to pay for ballparks,
garages they will never visit. Sad....
And unfortunately, now we have a public safety threat of
violence and we have no resources. The best thing we can do to
improve public safety and curve violence is to:
- Fund education of our children and extend the school day with free after school programs to include classes for the arts, music and non-traditional athletic leagues
- Equip our community centers and after school program across the city with meaningful programming in arts, athletics and scholarship and make them safe havens with officers who keep them free from drug and gang activity.
- Support libraries with tech centers that interest kids -- Create YouTube and Music Centers; reading and book writing circles. Our libraries are hidden treasures. I would love to see their volunteers bring books and reading sessions to schools. We should be able to support schools with great libraries by sharing services.
- Stop thinking you can change the child without addressing culture he lives in at home. Juvenile Court must be a part of that discussion. DHS Social Workers, Juvenile Court and Schools must develop a Family Network Model that work on improving parenting skills and responsibility. Surely, there are some models out there. The best program research minds in our city are Memphis Tomorrow, Smart City, and a retired principle who received national recognition for developing a high school for inner city students struggling to make the grade to enter a two-year college.
- Expand your group on this issue to include some of the best in Memphis working with youth, in program planning and development, and communications to engage this community.
- Develop a plan to deal with truancy. This has to be with PTSA, Police, Schools, Juvenile Court, and our DA's representative.
- DHS Social Workers, Juvenile Court and Schools must develop a Family Network Model that work on improving parenting skills and responsibility. Surely, there are some models out there. The best program research minds in our city are Memphis Tomorrow, Smart City, and a retired principle who received national recognition for developing a high school for inner city students struggling to make the grade to enter a two-year college.
Here is another problem. The programs for the gifted, well-adjusted children are nice. But, who in the city is having success with our lost or feel abandoned children? That would be Girls, Inc., YWCA, some inner city churches, and Loretta McNairy, Sherhunda Gentry, Stephanie Love, Penny Hardaway, Joe Hunter the Anti-Gang Specialist, Hazel Moore and Ona Johns.
Memphis Challenge's Cassandra Webster is doing a remarkable job in keeping talented youth committed to Memphis. Engage her to help develop a program that identifies youth interested in future careers in public service and get children focused on being fire fighters and peace officers in the 9th and 10th grade. When you have a dream you work toward it and step away from trouble.
And, let me go back to one name, instead of supporting Penny who has built a reputation of helping our children, our City seems to be competing with him and try to develop his program on the fairgrounds and put the City's name on it. But, hear me, it is his reputation that has built that program for children. This is not the way to build trust; it build resentment.
Who is the best professional in planning, developing, assessing, and evaluating programs for results? That would be Shante Asante from the Women's Foundation, Dr. Marie Milam (YO Memphis), and Regina Walker from United Way of Greater Memphis.
Who has the best mind in the study of policy and laws that impact children? That would be Veronica Coleman Davis, founder of Children of the Nile.
Who are entertainment promoters that could be given incentives to develop summer concert series called “Promote the Peace” for children with with good behavior, attendance, and 3.0 average? That would be Fred Jones, Telisa Franklin and Julius Lewis.
Below are suggestions from "We, Who Love Memphis", citizens.
Les Smith, Writer, Commentator, Reporter and Memphian
" I read in Saturday's C-A the Wharton administration is calling for an emergency meeting about youth violence on Monday. I did not see one name that's an outside "voice" other than administration people. This is bigger than a group of "yes men" surrounding the Mayor and telling him how past fruitless initiatives are working. Obviously, they are not. Because if you don't get to the root of the problem of changing the "culture" of "babies having babies" without the morals and ethics to be parents themselves everything else becomes a patchwork solution. No matter how many more cops you put on the street. No matter how much more government assistance is doled out. None of it changes until we attack the grassroots of what poisons the streams of young lives years before they become adults. Life is too precious to lose and yet we've already lost generations of black youth...how long can we afford to lose more?
Mary Maclin, Retired Teacher, Whitehaven Resident
One solution: the no pass no play rule for school needs to be revisited and changed. Why? This is the quickest way to provide a mentor to our young men. Ask those ole cool men, they always admonish how "coach" helped them. So many homes are missing the male role model. Plus by the time the young man runs 10 blocks and exercise daily/ he's too TIRED to ride around with nothing to do but get in trouble. He has to keep his body healthy to play sports. Plus the magic reward or incentive is there/ the same reward for each player is there: shoot the ball / get the point win the game. What better gang to hang out with... And then the test scores will get better and everyone can benefit from the free 2 years of college. Now the coach is gonna have to beat that###...lol-) but that's better than all these drive bys and shooting, and being killed and stealing from others. Ask your deacons at church or just check out your own families...how many played sports and were in the band.'
Dr. Ivory Taylor
Black Own Local Business can help out a lots....if we as a people were to get behind them and support in big numbers...and then asked of them to give back in helping with our problems in our community. Studies showed when we have healthily small business in a community...the community win..after school win..the elderly win...so on and so on...we all win..just my view...Taylor...I love myself some Memphis....This can work, because are a lots of children programs that needs help.......
Small businesses are key to making our economy turn. During this economic depression, you didn't get tax waivers or subsidies but kept your doors opened, trained and hired some neighborhood citizens. Love to see them working with Junior Achievement to identify programming that develop business savvy projects for teens and make it competitive to get summer internships.
Tiawo Stanback, Consultant
One addition: fund and support the Industrial Readiness Training Program (IRT) at Southwest Community College and Mid -South Community College. This program is training residents for jobs (that actually EXIST) at companies in Memphis, TN. And these are good paying logistics and warehousing jobs with the potential of upward mobility and movement at companies like Medtronic and Smith & Nephew. The IRT program currently holds a 93 % job hire rate and like 88 % of their trainees still have jobs after 3 months. They train future workers to work in a "co-hort" like team similar to a family unit or team in business school. They bring the dignity of work back to the worker and bring the owners of the company and upper management to the IRT training classes to foster relationships with the potential employees. Most of the companies have a college tuition repayment program and other progressive benefits even for the factory worker. They also, now, have a commitment to hiring "local" and Memphis residents. Lastly, IRT encourages companies to "adopt-a-school" in an effort to give back to the Greater Memphis community AND start training and exposing high school students to jobs and professions in Memphis. One of the solutions is: jobs, jobs, jobs! And jobs that pay a livable wage, offer a respectable work environment, offer the opportunity for company loyalty and upward mobility, and non-hostile and safe working environments. People in Memphis are flexible and entrepreneurial - they want to work and we can train them (including myself) for the logistics and technology type jobs of the 21st Century.
Back to my Commentary:
But, we need some courage to ask for an increase in taxes from the citizens or businesses. We need some brains to use the money on community priorities and not play pretties. We need a heart to do right by people and know when you rob them of taxes that should be paid by corporate it shifts the burden on struggling homeowners. We need a heart that understands when you take 4.5% pay from employees it impacts their families and places stress on families that could lead to unhealthy behaviors. We need funding to work on meaningful programs for youth and cultivate a more positive attitude about Memphis. Surely, the homeowners cannot do this alone, business must pitch in, too.
Want Memphis to be a city of choice to live, work, worship, learn, play and call "home"? Visit the Wizard.
I'm just saying...
Good luck with that Mayor and thanks for trying.
