MEMPHIS Tenn.
A Memphis judge is allowing the city council to pay the first installment of a $3 million pledge to struggling Lemoyne-Owen College, after hearing arguments from a citizen against the gift.
An attorney for Dr. Howard Entman argued Thursday that the pledge should be considered illegal because it gives public funds to a private institution.
Judge John McCarroll ruled against stopping the city immediately from giving the money, WMC-TV reported. But the judge also affirmed the doctor’s right to sue over the issue and said an important issue was whether paying the $3 million over three years would put the city in debt.
“The question is whether or not the funds are being paid from some accumulated reserve, as opposed to creating a debt,” McCarroll said.
City Attorney Allan Wade told the judge that the money would come from a budget surplus. The city was required to submit an accountability plan to the judge by Friday morning, and Wade said the first check for $1 million could be cut the same day.
“My opinion based on what I know now is that it’s a proper gift to LeMoyne-Owen,” McCarroll said.
