It’s not unusual at all to find Shelby County Commissioner Mike Carpenter on the right side of an issue, but this week, he’s two for two.

On one issue, infant mortality, he is evidence supporting our Tuesday post by demonstrating the difference between mainstream Republicanism and the brand practiced in the suburbs of Memphis.

On another, voting in favor of reducing the county property tax rate, he was acting in good faith in the spirit of the state law designed to prevent local government from realizing a windfall from reappraisal.

Apparently, the truth about the county tax rate was too much for Interim Shelby County Mayor Joe Ford, who angrily branded Commissioner Carpenter’s common sense amendment as lacking substance and being driven by politics.  Actually, the interim mayor himself is an expert witness in both: His phony budget is nothing but a politically-motivated financial farce at its most basic.

Games, Games, Games

Mr. Ford’s proposed budget depends on the county property tax remaining at $4.02, which he undoubtedly will describe in his campaign brochure as keeping it from rising.  But the truth is that his budget actually includes a tax increase of about 7 cents (or more than $10-12 million in new money for county government).

It’s money hidden in the “appeals allowance” submitted by county government and approved by the

Here’s the Cliff’s Notes version of what happens in reappraisal years: all property in Shelby County is reappraised, resulting in an increase in the tax base; state law requires that the tax rate be rolled back so that the total revenue collected does not exceed the total revenue in the previous year and the new tax rate is to be set on that amount; local government works with the state comptroller’s office to agree on a new, lower certified rate; and the government must adopt the new certified rate before it can vote on any tax rate increases.

But there is a rather large gray area: local county governments are allowed to set aside an amount that is alleged to be the amount needed to cover appeals of the reappraisals.  It is set in an elaborate dance with state government, and county government always ends up high-balling the amount and pocketing the difference.   The process was supposed to ensure transparency in the setting of the property tax rate, but it really doesn’t work that way.

Through the Looking Glass

It was in defending transparency in government that Commissioner Carpenter ran afoul of Mr. Ford, who sees no reason that taxpayers should get back the overage in the appeals allowance.  Sometimes, it’s as if Alice in Through the Looking Glass would feel right at home with the logic in the world of the interim mayor.  But the other strange characters in that strange world are the Democratic commissioners who rubber stamp votes against taxpayers getting back the money they deserve.

The final vote will come Monday at the regular Board of Commissioners’ meeting.  Hope springs eternal, but it appears that even more eternal are some politicians’ games to hide tax increases and to keep money that rightly belongs to taxpayers.

That was issue #1.  The other was his principled stand in favor of state funding for infant mortality programs in Memphis in the face of the lock step votes by suburban Republican lawmakers in Nashville.  To his credit, he did not mince words, labeling the vote to remove $1.65 million from the state’s budget “ill-advised and detrimental to efforts to reduce the extremely high infant mortality rates in Shelby County.”  “I cannot for the life of me see the logic in eliminating these funds,” he said.  “The decision of Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee is either grossly short-sighted or simply political.  Either way, babies will suffer if these funds are not restored.  I find it extremely inconsistent to defend the unborn fetus and also fail to defend as vigorously the life of a baby from birth to one year.”

It wasn’t so long ago that his position would represent mainstream Republicanism, but the takeover of the once proud party by the pandering positions embodied by suburban Republican legislators point out how far the party has drifted from the core values it once had.  It all reminds us of how important it is for our community that Commissioner Carpenter was returned to office in the recent election.

Commissioner Carpenter Column

As further explanation of Commissioner Carpenter’s position on the funding to fight infant mortality, here’s his thoughtful commentary:

Whether or not a Tennessee baby lives to see her first birthday shouldn’t be a partisan issue, but apparently some in the State Senate think it is. This past week in a party line vote, the Tennessee Senate Finance Committee voted to stop funding of the Infant Mortality Initiative.

The cruel realities of infant mortality need no introduction in Shelby County. Simply put, too many babies die before they ever see their first birthday in Tennessee and, especially, Shelby County, where a baby dies every 43 hours. In fact, our state has the 47th worst infant mortality rate in the United States, comparable to rates seen in countries like Bosnia and Costa Rica.

Contributing factors are many and complex – an interconnected web of medical issues, lifestyle choices and psychosocial stressors. The result is that babies all too often face an uphill battle, from premature birth and low birth weight to congenital malformations to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

The False Economy of Cutting the Funds

Thanks to the Governor’s Office of Children’s Care Coordination (GOCCC), financial support reaches local infant mortality programs including the Shelby County Infant Mortality Initiative, and we are able to fund Fetal Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) teams that can identify issues and provide intervention.

Since the introduction of such programs, infant mortality across Tennessee has seen a statistically significant dip, so we know these efforts yield results – more babies are alive today because of our efforts. This makes the Senate Finance Committee’s decision to stop funding even more perplexing.

Even when we look at the issue in terms of dollars, having an Infant Mortality Initiative makes sense – the cost behind a healthy full-term baby is $1,100 while the cost for a preterm, low-birth weight baby can reach as much as $1,000,000. Now where is the real burden on our state’s economy.

In the current climate, we are all too aware of the ire voters have for out-of-control government spending.  The list is long at the state and federal levels of high-cost, low-return programs, but the Infant Mortality Initiative is not one of them.  The return on investment is that our babies’ lives are being saved and mortality rates are heading in the right direction.

I believe that citizens are demanding their government lead with fiscal rigor. However, I also believe it is imperative when the lives of our most vulnerable citizens are at stake, elected leaders set aside partisan rancor and do what is most fundamental to any government – protect those who cannot protect themselves. The state senate should reverse its decision to cut funding for the Infant Mortality Initiative, because there is fiscal responsibility and then there is moral responsibility.