Ryan Poe

poe@commercialappeal.com

9:45 a.m.: Discussion of Highland Strip development plan

10:15 a.m.: Discussion about funding SkyCop cameras with streetlight fees

1 p.m.: Update on Inland Waste's performance

After 3:30 p.m.: Council votes on marijuana decriminalization

Memphis City Council members are scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether the city will become the state's second to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana.

The vote comes after weeks of back-and-forth discussion in council committee meetings, during which Police Director Michael Rallings passed around bags of marijuana joints to demonstrate what a half-ounce looks like (all accounted for afterward), and two weeks after Nashville Metropolitan Council voted 35-3 to approve a similar measure.

The vote is scheduled for the council's 3:30 p.m. regular meeting in City Hall. If approved, the ordinance would allow police officers to issue a misdemeanor citation punishable by $50 or community service for possession of a half-ounce or less of marijuana. Officers could still opt to charge violators with a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 and up to a year in jail under the state's criminal law.

The big question is whether the criticism of the ordinance -- most notably from Rallings and Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich -- will outweigh the arguments advanced by supporters like the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators and criminal justice reform advocacy group Just City.

The caucus, headed by Rep. Brenda Gilmore, has lobbied for the ordinance especially hard on Twitter recently:

"A small amount of marijuana on your person can receive the same penalty as someone with criminal negligent homicide.That's archaic" @2_Shay — TN Black Caucus (@TNblackcaucus) September 23, 2016

"This is a cycle that we've got try to get out of if we're going to create an African-American middle class." -@SenDemLeaderTN — TN Black Caucus (@TNblackcaucus) September 21, 2016

In committee, council members have been more sympathetic to the ordinance co-sponsored by Berlin Boyd and Martavius Jones. The ordinance needs seven "yes" votes to win approval, and five of the 13 council members have already voted for the ordinance in committee.

Highland Strip economic impact plan

In committee meetings, one of the biggest items to watch is a resolution approving an economic impact plan for the Highland Strip area near the University of Memphis.

U of M President David Rudd told council members earlier this month that establishing a tax-increment financing district in the area was "critical to our future." A TIF district would capture any property taxes generated in excess of the amount collected last year and give them to a special corporation set up to reinvest the taxes in improvement projects in the area to spur development.

The plan is slated for a preliminary vote in the Economic Development & Tourism Committee at 9:45 a.m. in City Hall.

Also in committees

Here are some of the other items to watch out for Tuesday:

At 10:15 a.m., the Memphis Light, Gas & Water Committee will revisit a plan to cover the cost of utilities for police surveillance cameras with streetlight fees. That shouldn't result in an increase in fees, but could shift the burden for those costs off of police. The council voted 6-3 to for the ordinance in August, one vote shy of the seven votes needed for approval. Council member Edmund Ford changed his vote to resurrect the ordinance last council meeting.

At 1 p.m., the committee overseeing Public Works will get a quarterly update on trash collections -- including by Inland Waste. Inland was fined $141,000 in July after the company missed collection deadlines in April and May, and was put on notice that its contract could be dropped if deadlines aren't met in the future.

City Council's Oct. 4 agendas