Says neighborhoods, education, jobs are key priorities

Mayor A C Wharton detailed an ambitious agenda today for his next four years in office, including plans for supporting education, wiping away blight and redeveloping neighborhoods, reducing handgun violence and attracting more jobs.

Wharton, who took office after winning a special election in 2009 to serve the remaining two years of former mayor Willie Herenton's last term, began his first full term this month. He presented his 100-day plan to improve neighborhoods and address other priorities to a crowd gathered for his State of the City address at Southwest Tennessee Community College's Verties Sails Building.

Wharton said that despite tough economic times, new jobs are on the way – from deals with Electrolux, Mitsubishi Power Products Inc., Great American Steamboat Company and City Brewing that Wharton helped to consummate – and that Memphis is turning a corner.

“If history tells us anything about Memphis, we are at our best when things are at their worst,” said Wharton. “This is not where we find ourselves today. The state of the city is strong and resilient.”

Wharton said over the next 100 days, the city would examine every city park, develop a consistent plan for park maintenance and investment, and develop plans to partner with neighborhood and community development groups.

The city also will likely launch another wave of lawsuits against negligent property owners. In 2010, the city filed 138 suits in civil court under the Neighborhood Preservation Act as part of an effort to clear deteriorating properties.

“These reinvestment strategies will be implemented by a strike force equipped to act courageously and in solidarity with the people in our neighborhoods,” said Wharton. “Neighborhoods are the connective tissue that ties together our work on jobs, education, public safety and quality of place.”

Wharton said the city will remain involved in education once the merger of Shelby County Schools and Memphis City Schools is complete. City leaders believe once the school systems are merged the city will no longer be legally responsible for providing MCS with $60 million to $70 million in additional funds it has provided over the decades.

Wharton said he is assembling a committee to determine the city’s future role in education and that the city’s support for education could come in the form of early childhood and after-school programs for children.

“In two years, city government’s role in education will change but our responsibility won’t,” said Wharton. “Research indicates that what takes place outside the classroom is just as important in determining academic success as what happens inside it.”

Wharton also spoke about a top-to-bottom review of the Memphis Police Department - the city recently signed a contract with Washington-based Police Executive Research Forum to perform the review – and a new focus on “community policing.”

“We will fight gun violence and gang activity, and we’ll do it with a carrot and a stick,” said Wharton. “We’ll punish strictly anyone who uses a gun in the commission of a crime, but we’ll also create the jobs that give youths better choices for their lives.”

Wharton will have considerable resources at his disposal to pursue some of his top priorities:

Memphis is one of five cities splitting a $24 million grant as part of the Mayors Project, a government innovation program of Bloomberg Philanthropies. The eight-member "Innovation Delivery Team," led by Doug McGowen, former head of the Naval Support Activity Mid-South base in Millington, will use the city's nearly $5 million Bloomberg grant to develop strategies to revive key portions of the inner city and reduce handgun violence, particularly among the city's youth.

An $11.5 million initiative called Family Rewards, first tested in New York City, will offer cash incentives to Memphis teenagers who show regular school attendance, get good grades and go to the doctor and dentist.

Memphis was one of six cities chosen to participate in a White House initiative called "Strong Cities, Strong Communities."

"We have in effect created our own national think tank focused only on the problems of Memphis, and for the first time in history, we are a national hub for innovative answers to tough urban issues,” said Wharton.