The Shelby County Commission, as it currently stands, met for the last time Aug. 24. A slate of new board members will begin their term Sept. 1, replacing eight out of the 13 current commissioners.
The meeting began with resolutions honoring the outgoing county administration, including several commissioners who have hit the two-term limit.
The incoming board will have the same partisan makeup as the outgoing one: nine Democrats and four Republicans.
Commission votes to limit solitary confinement for youth
The commission also took its final vote on an ordinance calling for limits on the amount of time kids incarcerated at the Shelby County Youth Justice and Education Center can be held in solitary confinement. The item passed with no discussion.
State law generally allows for children to be held in solitary
confinement for up to two hours continuously. This time frame can be extended if the detention center's operator deems it necessary, but a child cannot spend more than six hours in confinement within a day.
The ordinance passed by the county commission establishes similar guidelines, saying, "seclusion of detained juvenile detainees shall not exceed 2 hours without an appropriate hearing and shall not exceed 6 hours in one day unless otherwise required by law."
It also would establish near-constant and direct monitoring of kids in the solitary unit, requiring — at a minimum — a face-to-face visual through the cell's window every 15 minutes.
The ordinance will now go to Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris.
County makes tweaks to criminal justice matters
The commission also signed off on the county's plan to fund the two new courtrooms added to the 30th Judicial District in the Criminal Courts of Shelby County by the recent passage of a state law, dubbed the Violent Criminal Court Act. The two additional courts, designated as violent criminal courts, should start handling cases starting Sept. 1.
The commission recommended expending just over $260,000 of the Fiscal Year 2027 budget to get the courts up and running with judges and the necessary technology. These funds were moved from what was originally dedicated to the Shelby County Mental Health Court.
In the same resolution, the commission reallocated $400,000 in opioid abatement funds to the Mental Health Court.
The board also approved an emergency purchase order for almost $70,000, which paid for temporary chiller services at the Jail Annex, 271 Poplar Ave., a few months ago. In May, the chiller at the facility failed, resulting in a lack of proper cooling and an immediate health and safety threat. The agenda item's purpose was to properly account for the emergency expenditure.
The commission's administrative catch-up comes shortly after the air conditioning at the main jail, at 201 Poplar Ave., failed in June and caused extreme heat and several medical emergencies.
Annie Goldman covers government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at annie.goldman@commercialappeal.com.
Commercial Appeal Reporter Lucas Finton contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shelby County to get 2 additional courtrooms for violent criminal cases
