Vote Required to Sell MLGW

From today's Commercial Appeal.

Vote on any sale of MLGW urged
Charter Commission would bar action without referendum

By Jacinthia Jones

Friday, March 7, 2008

Memphians could soon have a charter-granted right to have a say about the sale of Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division.

The Memphis Charter Commission decided Thursday to put a provision on the ballot this fall that would bar the sale of the utility without a voter referendum first. The unanimous vote generated little discussion.

"MLGW is a public entity and I think that the public should have a say," said commissioner Sharon Webb.

Memphis voters will consider the MLGW measure, along with term limits and other proposed charter changes, in November. On Thursday, the group also discussed ethics reform, a topic they'll pick up later this month.

Mayor Willie Herenton first raised the idea of selling MLGW in 1997, suggesting the city study how much the sale might bring in and how the city could use the proceeds.

State legislators have tried unsuccessfully several times over the years to pass legislation mandating a public referendum before MLGW could be sold.

In 2006, a bill requiring voter approval failed by one vote in the Senate. Herenton's administration lobbied against it then, even though officials said they had abandoned discussions of selling MLGW.

Former city attorney Sara Hall argued at the time that a public referendum would limit the utility's ability to manage its affairs.

The idea of selling MLGW has remained one of the most emotionally charged topics in the community. Many citizens who attended public hearings held by the charter commission last year implored the panel to address the matter in the charter.

In other business Thursday, commissioner George Brown asked that the group look at a charter amendment regarding ethics. Brown said the commission needed to address the matter because of the public outcry for ethics reform.

He said people "don't want the foxes looking over the hen house."

Brown proposed a charter provision that would allow elected officials charged with malfeasance in office to be suspended with pay while the matter was being resolved.

Commissioners also discussed whether an ethics review panel, approved last fall by the Memphis City Council, should be an independent body of citizens.

The city's current ethics ordinance calls for a seven-member Board of Ethics to be appointed by the mayor from a slate of candidates proposed by the city council. One of the members must be a retired judge.

The board is charged with handling ethics complaints against elected and appointed officials.

Webb said the fact that the mayor and council select the ethics board seems like a conflict of interest. She suggested picking board members "in the same way that we pick jurors who are not judges, who are not lawyers, who probably don't know a whole lot about the system, but they are innocent people, citizens."

The commission will decide at its next meeting March 20 whether to suggest charter amendments regarding ethics.

-- Jacinthia Jones: 529-2780