The following blog is an application of taxpayer justice that effectively results in a transparent accountability model for the public good. The type of model that is avoided by the highly touted Memphis social justice organizations.

Anyway, MATA and MLGW are concealing public documents. After my very, very, very humble request to the Council for public document production, nothing appears on the 6/9/26 Council agenda for MLGW and MATA public document production as of 6/7/26. Nor has there been any responding email from Councilors on the matter.

If documents are not produced at the 6/9/26 Council meeting, this makes Councilors Chase Carlisle, Pearl Walker and Edmund Ford concealment coconspirators. Carlisle, Walker and Ford are respectively chairs of the Council Budget, MLGW and Transportation committees.

Using ratepayer money, MLGW recently erected a new FOIA portal and is not answering  public information requests having to do with Monthly Financial Reports and 2025 tree trimming actual costs and miles trimmed. This occurs as a potential $50-70M MLGW tree trimming ripoff unfolds.

And sadly, even after the MATA Council oversight debacle, Budget Chair Carlisle does not believe that MLGW should be Council overseen. This occurs, while neither the Council nor MLGW Board have a methodology in place to evaluate MLGW’s multibillion dollar capital improvement implementation that was funded with significant ratepayer increases. How nuts is that ?!?!

Meanwhile, MATA is approving contracts, out of public view, while also being the recipient of a recently approved $13M Council approved loan. There are no MATA FY25 financials, nor are there any current YTD FY26 MATA financials available. Further no YTD bus by route ridership is available. All of this MATA financial information and ridership data is needed to inform MATA public decision making and to track performance. Previously, all of this data was available when MATA had a public facing board.

Transparency has nosedived in Memphis for the public good, with elected officials acting a coconspirators. How Redneck is that?