Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris (D) has been trying to sell a proposal that would raise taxes to fund projects around town, but the proposed “wheel tax” failed twice in the Shelby County Commission meeting Monday night that lasted late into the evening.
The proposal would charge drivers an extra $50 in wheel taxes to build a $9.9 million new high school in Frayser and rebuild Regional One Hospital, which has a $350 million price tag.
Political contributor Jordan Carpenter talked with KWAM’s “Wake Up Memphis” about the failed vote and the bipartisan vote to reject it twice.Download the KWAM app for the latest news, traffic and weather in the Mid-South.
Shelby County Commissioner Brandon Morrison (R) voted in favor of the proposed tax increase and was the only Republican to do so.
“Thankfully we held firm, so the vote moved eight to five, and by one vote we turned back doubling of the wheel tax, which is an albatross around the neck of every Shelby County taxpayer already,” Carpenter told KWAM.
Listen to the full segment below: