Memphis City Council Committee Meetings: October 20, 2026

The Memphis City Council’s committee meetings on October 20, 2026, covered utility, parks, public-safety, budget, and infrastructure matters. In the MLGW committee, President Doug McGowan presented consent-agenda items including an annual contribution to Shelby County’s groundwater monitoring program, replacement of a repeatedly failing water main near the Peabody, a five-year meter-data analysis contract, purchases of street-light components, and $1.7 million in high-voltage wire over 24 months. The transcript does not show a final vote on those MLGW items. Council members also questioned MLGW’s infrastructure-renewal priorities and the balance between investment, borrowing, and rates. Parks discussed closing out the Westwood Pool improvements CIP after completing unanticipated backflow-prevention and deck-drain repairs; the committee approved the related allocation and transfer, though the amount is garbled in the transcript. Roller Derby facility arrangements included proposed rental subsidies and rates, but no new spending vote is clearly recorded. The council also received an M Street Fiber update: the company reported more than 28,000 passings completed, nearly $250 million invested, and an intention to commit nearly another $500 million. Members raised concerns about rollout schedules and service to underserved neighborhoods and requested follow-up information; no new contract award or funding vote was recorded.

In the Security Committee, members recommended approval of additional U.S. Department of Justice grant funding for police overtime (the amount is inconsistent in the transcript: $15,528.10 in the agenda description and $105,528.10 in the later add-on listing) and approved a $319,000 transfer within the Downtown Command project from other costs to architecture and engineering to support phase two. The Budget Committee approved proposed compensation increases, with estimated impacts of about $786,000 to the general fund and $1.4 million to the solid-waste fund, and approved accepting and appropriating a $500,000 Tennessee environmental grant for the Memphis Zoo’s pervious-pavement project. Members discussed charging for improper waste setouts and recovering police overtime costs for major public events, but no policy change was adopted on those topics. The council also advanced an ordinance on first reading to seek state authorization for a community-benefit agency that could manage negotiated data-center contributions; it is an enabling proposal, not an approved revenue arrangement, and would require state action.