The Board of Mayor and Aldermen of Germantown, Tennessee held its regular meeting on Monday, June 23, 2025, at 6:00 PM in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building at 1930 S. Germantown Road. The meeting opened with an invocation, Pledge of Allegiance, and a moment of silence honoring FedEx founder Fred Smith. Key actions included the adoption of the FY26 budget, a property tax rate increase, and approval of a six‑year Capital Improvements Program. All votes were unanimous.
The consent agenda, containing 19 items, was approved en bloc without discussion. Items included:
Good evening, folks. Welcome to the Board of Mayor and Alderman meeting, the regular scheduled meeting for Monday, June 23rd. We welcome all those that are here participating with this with us this evening. We've got a lot of folks here. Um we've got many different uh special recognition items. So we've got our lead leaders here tonight. They're gonna graduate, and we've also got beautification award, and we've got some very eager neighborhood leaders that are getting big checks tonight, I believe. So we welcome all those. So a few highlights about our meeting uh this evening. As I mentioned uh prior to the meeting started, we have an item called Citizens to Be Heard. It comes as item six on the agenda, and we, contrary to uh belief, we love it when people come forward and speak to their fellow neighbor, the community, and those elected folks as well. So if you fill out one of those sheets, you've got time to do that now and get it to one of the officers at either side of the DS, and they'll get that sheet to Clerk Betty, and we'll recognize you as item six on the agenda. As I mentioned, we've got uh three special recognition items. I will point out that items eight through fourteen all are associated with the annual budget, so those seven items are associated with the FY26 budget. If you're scoring at home, generally the consent agenda is prior to the regular agenda, except one time during the year, the third and final reading of the annual budget. A few of those consent agenda items require um different things like fees, associated fees, and those will be approved during the regular agenda, and so the consent agenda goes afterwards so that it um it goes in the proper sequence. Uh, this evening um our community and economic development director, Cameron Ross will lead us invocation. Vice Mayor Mary Ann Gibson will lead us in the pledge. Prior to the invocation uh this evening, I would like to spend uh a moment of reflection and uh honor uh the life and uh memory of uh FedEx chairman and founder of Fred Smith. Uh I think um there's no need to go into a lengthy description at this time of what uh Mr. Smith meant to the greater Memphis region. So this evening, when we rise here in a moment, we will take a moment to uh lift him up in your own special way. So at this time, please rise for the invocation in a moment of silence. God, as we begin this meeting tonight, grant us the wisdom to truly understand what needs to be expect accepted and the discernment to clearly see what we can and should change. Give us the patience to endure what we cannot change without losing heart and the courage to act decisively on what we can, and bless us with the deep compassion to approach both our efforts and our acceptance with kindness for ourselves and for others, recognizing that every journey is a blend of all these things. Amen. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. You may be seated. Thank you, Director Ross, for leading us in tonight's invocation. Thank you, Vice Mayor Gibson, for leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Vicemor Gibson, you'd like to be recognized. You're recognized. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor and I appreciate the moment of silence for a man such as Fred Smith. Bear with me. Fred Smith was persuasive. He was powerful. Fred Smith was indelibly important to Memphis and to every single person fortunate enough to walk beside him as a valued member of his FedEx, his federal express family, as part of our Federal Express family. He believed deeply that if you treated people well, they would rise to deliver extraordinary service. And they did, day after day, year after year. The service FedEx came to be known for absolutely positively overnight, was not just a slogan. It was a promise that was kept 24-7, 365 days a year. People, service, profit. That wasn't just a mission statement. It was Fred's philosophy, both personally and professionally. It was the foundation of the company he built and the culture that he cultivated. He brought with him the discipline, commitment, and honor instilled in him by the United States Marine Corps. Standards he upheld throughout his life. Professionally and personally.