City needs fund flexibility for thriving downtown
http://tri-statedefenderonline.com/articlelive/articles/4704/1/City-needs-fund-flexibility-for-thriving-downtown/Page1.html
By Tri-State Defender Newsroom
Published on 03/11/2010
Take a walk down the streets of downtown Memphis, and you might need to watch your step. Our beautiful city is suffering from broken sidewalks, dimly lit areas and blighted thoroughfares.
City needs fund flexibility for thriving downtown
by Sen. Ophelia Ford
Special to the Tri-State Defender
Take a walk down the streets of downtown Memphis, and you might need to watch your step. Our beautiful city is suffering from broken sidewalks, dimly lit areas and blighted thoroughfares. Private companies have invested nearly $5 billion in downtown Memphis over the last 15 years, but public spending hasn’t kept up.
We have the funds to start fixing these problems, but we can’t get to them. The city receives these funds in lieu of property taxes, but their use is restricted to specific, individual projects like public parking garages. We can’t use them for the sort of basic infrastructure improvements we so desperately need.
I’m sponsoring a bill to make the laws governing those funds more flexible. Under my bill, about $20 million in tax-replacement revenues through the Center City Revenue Finance Corporation would be allowed for improvements such as sidewalks, curbs, gutters, lighting and landscaping. These improvements would improve the quality of life for the 22,000 people living downtown, the more than 60,000 commuters who work there and the four million tourists who visit us every year.
If we make downtown more beautiful and safer for residents and visitors, the area will prosper and our investment will see a healthy return.
To be clear, these funds would be only the start for this project. Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. and Shelby County Interim Mayor Joe Ford have a list of $43.5 million in priority projects within 80 blocks of the downtown core, and the total list of improvements would cost about $75 million. The CCRFC has a plan to complete the repairs and upgrades we need, but these funds are a big first step.
If my bill becomes law, the decision on how to use the money will rest in the hands of our city leaders. The CCRFC Board of Directors, Memphis City Council, Shelby County Commission and Mayors Ford and Wharton would have to approve the use of the tax-replacement revenues for streetscape improvements. I simply want to give them the opportunity to make that choice.
Downtown Memphis is a cornerstone of our city, and we must do everything we can to make it even greater. We can start by making sure our roadways, sidewalks and avenues become paths to a successful, thriving downtown.
(Sen. Ophelia Ford represents portions of Shelby County. Contact her at sen.ophelia.ford@capitol.tn.gov or (615) 741-1767 or 318 War Memorial Building, Nashville, TN 37243-0029. )
Special to the Tri-State Defender
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Ophelia Ford |
We have the funds to start fixing these problems, but we can’t get to them. The city receives these funds in lieu of property taxes, but their use is restricted to specific, individual projects like public parking garages. We can’t use them for the sort of basic infrastructure improvements we so desperately need.
I’m sponsoring a bill to make the laws governing those funds more flexible. Under my bill, about $20 million in tax-replacement revenues through the Center City Revenue Finance Corporation would be allowed for improvements such as sidewalks, curbs, gutters, lighting and landscaping. These improvements would improve the quality of life for the 22,000 people living downtown, the more than 60,000 commuters who work there and the four million tourists who visit us every year.
If we make downtown more beautiful and safer for residents and visitors, the area will prosper and our investment will see a healthy return.
To be clear, these funds would be only the start for this project. Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. and Shelby County Interim Mayor Joe Ford have a list of $43.5 million in priority projects within 80 blocks of the downtown core, and the total list of improvements would cost about $75 million. The CCRFC has a plan to complete the repairs and upgrades we need, but these funds are a big first step.
If my bill becomes law, the decision on how to use the money will rest in the hands of our city leaders. The CCRFC Board of Directors, Memphis City Council, Shelby County Commission and Mayors Ford and Wharton would have to approve the use of the tax-replacement revenues for streetscape improvements. I simply want to give them the opportunity to make that choice.
Downtown Memphis is a cornerstone of our city, and we must do everything we can to make it even greater. We can start by making sure our roadways, sidewalks and avenues become paths to a successful, thriving downtown.
(Sen. Ophelia Ford represents portions of Shelby County. Contact her at sen.ophelia.ford@capitol.tn.gov or (615) 741-1767 or 318 War Memorial Building, Nashville, TN 37243-0029. )