The 13-member Memphis City Council sets the city budget, approves contracts, and confirms mayoral appointments. This beat tracks every Council vote, every committee action, and every dollar the Council moves - on the record.
Tyrin Johnson, 20, was killed by a Tennessee National Guard member. Alfonso Ivy, 47, was killed days later in a DEA-led warrant service. State records show task force shootings now match the total for MPD and the Sheriff's Office for all of 2024. The NAACP is demanding a federal investigation. Nobody has been charged, and the investigations are open.
The 901 Report
A committee advanced the FY2027 Community Grant Program on July 7. It arrives after city auditors questioned a $13,000 grant to a County Commissioner-elect, and after a former county commissioner pleaded guilty to five tax evasion counts tied to steering nonprofit grant money. The full Council still has to approve it.
The 901 Report
Young is replacing two Strickland-era holdovers, COO Antonio Adams and CFO Walter Person, as the city engineer retires. The new COO and CFO need Council confirmation.
The 901 Report
The Memphis City Council approved Mayor Paul Young's FY2027 budget 11 to 1 on June 23, holding the tax rate flat and adding $5 million for AutoZone Park, but without the transit and violence-prevention money residents pressed for over weeks of hearings.
The 901 Report
The Memphis City Council delayed its FY27 budget vote on June 9 after residents demanded more funding for violence prevention, transit, and housing. The decision is due back at the Council's next scheduled meeting.
The 901 Report
Civil liberties groups are pressing MPD to follow a decades-old court order limiting surveillance as federal agents and National Guard troops operate in the city. Supporters of the deployment say the goal is reducing violent crime.
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Janika White (Super District 8-2), chairing the budget block, stated publicly that the FY27 budget cannot meet the city's needs through cuts and named a tax increase as a topic Council needs to discuss. The 10,000 housing units math gap was confirmed. The City Attorney did not mention the Tyre Nichols civil trial. The livestream dropped during the Parks presentation.
The 901 Report
The administration confirmed on the public record that the Memphis Police Department's proposed $29.8M FY27 overtime budget is not an operational reduction. $4-5M of it comes from a state Violence Intervention grant that expires in FY28. When the grant ends, the cost lands back on the General Fund.
The 901 Report
The first FY27 Memphis budget hearing in plain English. Council got real answers on the debt cliff, pre-K, and potholes. They did not ask about police overtime, the $13M contractor cut, or the Tyre Nichols civil trial. And the 10,000 housing units promise got quietly redefined.
The 901 Report
Memphis budget season is moving from talk to math, and the missing details may matter more than the headline totals. City Hall still has to explain what residents get for the dollars it wants to lock in.
The 901 Report
Memphis is live on the FY27 budget, and the real story is what departments aren’t explaining: staffing, backlogs, response times, and what gets protected first. Residents should watch what City Hall leaves unsaid before the final numbers harden.
The 901 Report
Four Memphis residents are suing over the Memphis Safe Task Force, saying agents harassed and mistreated them for filming police. With a second death now under investigation, the question is who is policing the police in 901.
The 901 Report
Memphis is now staring at a pension bill that could shape the FY27 budget, police staffing, and city services. The real question: what happens if the numbers don’t fit, and who in City Hall owns the risk?
The 901 Report
Memphis retirees are staring at a pension question that could hit the city’s balance sheet, police/fire staffing, and future budgets. The real issue: what the FY27 budget proposal leaves unsaid about long-term obligations and who pays if the numbers wobble.
The 901 Report
