City Council passes $900M budget amid debates on city employee raises and MATA funding
Lauren Turman
The City Council approved a $900M budget, finalizing a 3% city employee raise.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The City Council approved a budget of nearly $900 million Tuesday, June 10, with several major items discussed, including raises for city employees, funding for the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) and a proposal related to xAI.
Raises for city employees were a primary topic of discussion. Initially proposed at 3%, the raise was approved. A proposal to increase the amount further was debated but ultimately failed.
Mayor Paul Young attributed the failure to a lack of additional revenue that would support such a large increase in salaries.
MATA’s budget was another significant point of debate. Public commenters argued that MATA needs a $15 million increase over the current budget allocation of $30 million. Many advocated for a total budget of $45 million, believing that additional funding would allow for more benefits and improvements to the transit system.
The meeting’s tone grew tense as emotions ran high. At one point, the session was paused for 15 minutes following a series of outbursts from a few individuals in the audience. One woman said that a portion of the meeting was a “subversion of the democratic process.”
The proposal for environmental reform, largely related to xAI, was moved from the agenda and will be discussed at a future meeting.
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