Comptroller OKs Memphis statue removal

After conducting a review requested by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and Speaker of the House Beth Harwell, the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office on Wednesday announced it had determined the City of Memphis acted within its authority to sell two parks to a nonprofit organization in order to circumvent a state decision preventing the city from taking down Confederate monuments there.

The comptroller found that Memphis did not violate open meetings law and complied with city law in selling the parks at less than market value. The city sold the parks in December to Memphis Greenspace Inc. after the city failed to receive a waiver from the Tennessee Historical Commission to remove a statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest from one of the parks.