Cities deserve to be heard on de-annexation

There might be circumstances that justify a separation between a municipality and a previously annexed area of the city.

There might have been a miscalculation along the way as a city such as Memphis or Knoxville grew into what it is today through the annexation process — perhaps a mistaken assumption that the annexation would work out to the benefit of both parties. The notion should not be ruled out unequivocally.

In fact, the Memphis City Council’s Strategic Footprint Review Task Force expects to have a few likely cases for de-annexation identified with the help of a consultant next month.

As the General Assembly lurches toward legislation that would allow de-annexation referendums in previously annexed enclaves, it will be important to keep an open mind on the issue.

While de-annexation cannot be ruled out altogether, however, logic dictates that cities should be given a voice in the matter.

The city of Memphis, for one, is “all in on the notion that we should work together to ensure that everyone who has a stake in the de-annexation game has a voice in the process,” said Doug McGowen, chief operations officer for the city of Memphis, speaking before a legislative committee this week.

McGowen asked lawmakers to use a “locally controlled, data-driven” process that includes all stakeholders.

Presentations by McGowen and others represented a step back from the approach taken previously by the mayors of Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga, all of whom tried to scuttle a bill introduced in the General Assembly last spring that would have given residents of annexed areas the right to hold referendums on whether they wanted to separate from their cities.

ThebillwouldhaveisolatedTennessee,withOhio,as one of only two states where voting on de-annexation proposals is limited to residents of the affected area.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said earlier that the legislation would be “potentially devastating” and could result in the city losing 111,000 residents and anywhere from $28 million to $79 million a year in tax revenue — testimony that no doubt helped relegate the bill to summer study status.

But the bill is expected to be back next year, and the City Council has taken a smart and balanced approach toward the issue by creating its 11-member task force to look into the feasibility of voluntary de-annexation, gather public input and crunch the numbers.

Still, support for autonomous de-annexation referendums will be strong, based largely on the compelling argument by the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, that “citizens who were put under city government with no voice in whether that occurred or not” should be given a chance to reverse the decision — on their own.

The answer to that argument hasn’t changed since cities like Memphis first began to take in areas on the geographical fringe: Residents of a community who need municipal services and infrastructure, who benefit from the jobs that community creates, prosper because of the market the community produces and enjoy its parks, entertainment and other cultural amenities should expect to pay their fair share of its upkeep.

When the de-annexation push returns to the General Assembly next year, it will be difficult to avoid allowing emotions or political considerations to dictate the legislature’s course on the matter. But a rational and fair assessment of the proposal is what the public expects.

In Orange Mound, we feel like Cinderella. We always get left out of the discussion. The city planners do whatever they want, and then later they come tell us why it’s such a good idea. From where we’re standing, it’s hardly ever a good idea.

But one day, we are going to find our glass slipper. We are going to find our voice in this city, and then we are going to become a beautiful princess and go to the ball.

I am a graduate of Melrose High School, and I’ve been active in Orange Mound for 40 years. I helped create a community policing program with the Memphis Police Department, and today I am president of the Orange Mound Parade & Action Committee.

I believe that putting a brewery in the Mid-South Coliseum is not the way forward. It may sound flashy, but it does not address urgent needs in our community. In Orange Mound, we struggle with blight. We desperately need more investment in our infrastructure. Our schools need an infusion of money and fresh ideas. We need help for our kids who don’t have anything to do after school, and support for our young men returning from prison.

In the Coliseum, we have a chance to meet those needs. But as it stands, the brewery idea doesn’t address a single one of them. Will this proposal allow the people of our community to grow into beautiful flowers? That’s the question we should be asking. We can’t allow the needs of big businesses to set the agenda for the city. We have to begin our approach with the people who live here.

Orange Mound is a proud place. We are the first community in the country that was planned

Why is the city of Memphis spending $880,147 to market the rollout of body cameras (“2 new firms to market body cams,” Aug. 26 brief)?

Is there really a need to educate citizens on or convince them of the value of body cameras? Let me suggest that a high percentage of Greater Memphis already welcomes body cameras.

Memphis is a great city with great needs. Why not spend that chunk of money in areas such as jobs (possibly police officers), youth education, health concerns, or general quality of life; or fixing the administrative bureaucracy that has stalled bodycamera implementation?

It Seems to me the only ones against body cameras are the bad guys. Marketing won’t change those minds.

On Neil Cavuto on Fox News recently, Memphis was mentioned as one of the top 10 most dangerous cities and built for AfricanAmericans. We all went to one school (Melrose) and we all grew up in the same neighborhood. We are rich in love and we are proud to stand at the center of the city, connecting East and West, North and South.

The heart of the city needs to be strong — but right now it is not strong. We have allowed businesses and private interests to set the agenda for how Memphis is developed, how it is run and where the money goes. We have been too willing to sell off and give away the best parts of ourselves. As a result, our community suffers from disinvestment and neglect.

But in Orange Mound, we haven’t given up. We are still fighting. We’re still dreaming of what this land was meant to be. For us, it is a promised land. It is a spiritual place — holy, sacred ground for the families that live there.

Like Orange Mound, the Coliseum is sacred. It brought people to Memphis. It has a history. It was to live in because of crime, along with Chicago, Detroit, Oakland, Milwaukee, St. Louis and others.

The one thing all these cities had in common was a large poor population, and local governments run by Democrats. The Democrats would rather keep poor people dependent, so they can make them promises and continue to stay in office. They prefer this to helping small businesses and bringing companies back to America that would help furnish meaningful jobs.

The war on poverty was started in 1964 by Democratic President Lyndon Johnson because the national poverty rate was around 19 percent. Fifty-two years after, the 2016 edition of Basic Facts about Low-Income Children states, 44 percent of children under the age of 18 lived in poverty, and these are the large cities with problems run by Democrats.

This is unacceptable, and we need a change. Donald Trump, even with all his bluster and foot-in-mouth comments, will make a far better president than Hillary Clinton, who is an Obama clone with more baggage than the Titanic.

The people who call themselves Republican need to vote for Donald Trump and all Republican candidates. This country is going from a can-do nation to a what can you do for me nation. a place where good memories were made — across all races, from the richest of us to the poorest of us. It doesn’t belong to one person. It belongs to all of us, and we should share it. Now the city is about to portion it off and give it to a business — and they are trying to do it without consulting with us.

I don’t think the Coliseum is the place for a brewery. I think it is a place for all of us to come together. But if our government is serious about this idea, then it needs to bring Orange Mound — and every neighborhood — to the table. All of our communities should be involved in the planning process.

One day, in Orange Mound, we will find our glass slipper and go to the ball. Here in Memphis, we all grow up together, and we die together. Let’s plant a seed in the Coliseum that is going to be good for all of us.

During the Obama era, the national debt has doubled from $10 trillion to almost $20 trillion; 95 million employees have dropped out of the labor force, and homeowner ownership is the lowest in 51 years. Hillary Clinton would bring four more years of the same decline.