SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — Several City Council members and county commissioners explained their absences from a joint meeting on crime and blight over the weekend.
Only nine of a possible 26 officials attended the meeting.
“There are just a lot of busy schedules and a lot of calendars are already full, and that was the case with mine,” Councilwoman Wanda Halbert told WREG.
Councilman Bill Boyd appeared on Live at 9 with Halbert to discuss the matter.
WREG also heard from Commissioner Steve Baser and Councilman Shea Flinn who said they had familial obligations.
Commissioner Terry Roland sat down with WREG to explain his absence. He said he was out of town and would have attended the meeting if he were here.
However, he said many meetings are just “lip service,” and he’s doing work to improve the community everyday.
“They have these sessions where they talk about crime and blight, but they’re not paying their employees. The policemen are just beat down,” Roland said.
City council members Jim Strickland, Harold Collins, Janis Fullilove, Myron Lowery, and Kemp Conrad attended the meeting. County Commissioners Mark Billingsley, Willie Brooks, Eddie Jones, and Van Turner also attended.
WREG has not heard from the others, although the Shelby County e-mail system was on the fritz Monday.
Part of the meeting was discussing the Operation Safe Community Plan, which is a 64-step plan to reduce violent crime.
