MEMPHIS, August 18, 2026 - The Memphis City Council voted to move $512,000 in general obligation bond allocations into the city's public art line after the Chairwoman told colleagues the adopted capital budget did not comply with the city's own Public Art Program ordinance.

The resolution, sponsored by Chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington with Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-Thomas added as a co-sponsor, states the terms plainly. The Public Art Program ordinance contains a capital funding requirement of one percent of the total general obligation amount included in the Capital Improvement Program budget, not to exceed $1 million per fiscal year. The adopted FY2027 capital plan contains a general obligation bond allocation of $109,225,008. The Percent-For-Art Program received a $400,000 general obligation allocation, which the resolution states does not comply with the ordinance.

One percent of $109,225,008 is $1,092,250. The ordinance caps the requirement at $1 million. The program was budgeted $400,000.

Where the money came from

The transfer does not add money to the capital plan. It moves an existing allocation. The resolution recites that the Council previously approved a $1 million general obligation bond allocation for Memphis-Shelby County Schools upgrades in the FY2025 capital plan, and that $512,000 of that allocation currently remains unremitted to the district "as it stabilizes operations and governance."

The resolution transfers that $512,000 from project GA07010, FY25 MSCS Upgrades, Contract Construction, to project EN27105, Urban Arts, Contract Construction.

Added to the $400,000 already budgeted, the public art line reaches $912,000. That is $88,000 below the ordinance's $1 million cap and $180,250 below one percent of the actual general obligation total.

What the Chairwoman told the committee

Speaking to the Public Services, Arts and Youth Initiatives Committee earlier on August 18, 2026, the Chairwoman said the FY2027 capital budget was over $110 million and that the public art allocation should have been $1 million. The figure in the resolution is $109,225,008. She said the former engineering administration would historically allocate only $400,000 to the program, and that the $512,000 came from allocations that had not been used and could be distributed across the districts.

The item was taken up again in Executive Session on the afternoon of August 18, 2026, where the Chairwoman read the resolution caption and the operative transfer language into the record. There were no questions. The committee approved it with a request for same night minutes. It passed the full Council later on August 18, 2026, as item 24 with ten members recorded voting yes.

What happens next

The resolution as adopted amends the FY2027 Capital Improvement Plan and appropriates the $512,000 to the Urban Arts contract construction line. It was approved with same night minutes, which means it takes effect without waiting for the next meeting. No reporting requirement back to the Council was attached.

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