MEMPHIS, Tenn. — There is little doubt that Mayor Jim Strickland has been preoccupied lately with the effects of an ice storm that knocked out power to more than 100,000 Memphis Light Gas and Water customers. Plus, the violent crime problem continues to concern everyone. And we are still not completely out of the woods with the COVID-19 pandemic.
But none of that excuses the mayor’s failure to either officially reappoint existing members of MLGW’s governing board – or select new members to the board.
As the Institute for Public Service Reporting at the University of Memphis reported this week, all five members of the utility’s board have been serving – despite all of their terms being expired. The terms for three members lapsed in 2019 and the term for the newest member ran out more than 18 months ago.
A spokesperson for Strickland said the mayor intentionally opted not to tamper with the existing board while the utility is involved in a bidding process for a power supplier that could replace the Tennessee Valley Authority. The problem is, no one else knew that.
Of course, there are no penalties for board members serving on expired terms. So you might be tempted to say, so what? But this is about attention to detail, transparency and just good governance.
MLGW belongs to the citizens of Memphis, and the citizens should not be kept in the dark about how it operates.