Raising Money For Memphis

It's widely assumed in Memphis that Mayor Herenton is setting up the city-owned utility company Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) to become a problem child whose sale to private energy firms seems like the best solution to several problems, especially Memphis' money problems. Given how the City Council and the Mayor have allowed the Mid-South Fairgrounds to deteriorate (I've called it benign neglect intended to facilitate its demise.), and given new MLGW President Joseph Lee's complete inappropriateness for his position, it's not unreasonable to believe that.

We've been told that the City has made important cuts. We also know that's not really true. There is one option that hasn't even been put on the table yet: selling the City-owned and operated golf courses. There are, if I read this right, eight.

Why do we operate golf courses? I've tried to learn if we have City-owned bowling alleys or squash courts, but I don't think we do. If golf is the popular sport we're led to believe it is -- not just with the business and civic elites but with everyone -- then it's reasonable to assume the courses would quickly sell. And if Stonebridge is any example, then they will be inexpensive to play. Certainly they would bring in quite a bit of money. Heck, if we offer the land to developers and have the City Council take their usual prostrate positon then the land could be quickly redeveloped into nice luxury homes. Of course, the developers will get massive tax breaks that will deprive the city of future revenues, but the one-time benefits of a sale appear to be all that the Mayor is looking for.

So why isn't the sale of golf courses on the table? It's a good question to ask and someone needs to ask it.

There's another City albatross we could stand to lose -- the Memphis Zoo. Why, in this day and age, do we own a zoo?

Zoos came into existence because people had read about and heard about the exotic wildlife that adventurers were discovering all around the world in the 19th century. Travelling circuses were early forerunners, presenting some animals for a week or so, but zoos had permanence.

People wanted to actually see and experience the strange and beautiful animals of the world. But in this digital age -- when we have PBS, The Discovery Channel and DVDs, the Internet, and a faunal cornucopia of ways to get closer to animals than any zoo ever will provide, to a range of animals no zoo can match, again I ask? Why do we need a zoo?

Don't give me the crap about it being a "civic jewel" or a "calling card" of our being a "world-class" city. It's an anachronism, a relic of an age of primate dominance and control, a respectable freak show. Its primary purpose is rendered unnecessary by technology.

We should seriously consider selling our golf courses and the Zoo. The one-time benefits of the sales will only give us money to fill the hole we find outselves in, not set us on a path of fiscal responsibility and forethought.

We can refill the rainy day fund with the proceeds. To most Memphians it's an abstraction, but to the moneylenders we depend on for bond sales and borrowing, a robust rainy day fund is a sign of a healthy financial state for the City. It's a major part of the reason for our lowering bond ratings, and was the real reason for some of Herenton's financial maneuvers earlier this year.

Every politician needing to buy votes and every special interest group that's been impatiently waiting for the City to return to flush times and cater to their particular need will try to have at that money. It will be likely that we squander it rather than use it responsibly.

But I think we need to talk about these sales.

Are there any other City-owned white elephants or elite-catering properties we could unload? What are your thoughts?