There is a Metro Council Meeting tonight at 6:30 pm. An agenda has been provided and you can watch the meeting live via channel 3 or stream live on your electronic devices. Also, please do not respond to this email... You can reach me at [email protected].

~~Before we get started, I'd like to wish my beautiful wife, Damita, A very Happy Birthday! Please join me in wishing my better half a Happy Birthday!~~

Mayor's Budget Proposal

Here are a few links to help you get started with the FY2023 Budget season.

- The Budget Proposal Ordinance 

- Finance Office Budget Presentation

Here's a reminder of the metro budget process...

• End of April - The mayor has until the end of April to present the budget proposal and file the legislation for council's review. (This happened last week).
• Budget Book - Generally by the 2nd week of May, the Budget Book is available. The budget book is a detailed, 800 page document of the overall spending plan.
• Mid-May to June - During this time, the council will host budget hearings with all the metro departments and listen to their concerns and needs. These will be open to the public, please join us.
• Early June - By this time, the council will need to have amendments filed for the budget, and the finance & budget chair must have their substitute filed. Your input is needed during this process.
• End of June - If amendments or a substitute is needed, it must be completed by the end of June. If the council does not pass an amended or substituted budget, by law, the mayor's budget will be set as the city's budget for FY2023.

A few quick highlights, we will dive into this conversation deeper as we continue.

1. Education - The mayor's budget presentation signals a budget increase in education. I'm interested to see the breakdown. The state of metro mentioned an increase in Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) and a pay increase for all staff (bus drivers, maintenance, janitors, cafeteria staff, teacher aides, etc.)
2. Public Safety - The mayor's budget presentation also looks to increase the budget for police and fire & rescue. We will dive deeper into this, however, the main allocations are proposed to go to staff the new Antioch precinct that was funded last year.
3. Affordable Housing - The presentation shows a substantial increase to the Barnes Fund. However, from my perspective, these are one time dollars that will not be sustainable for the ever growing affordable housing crisis.
4. Homelessness - The mayor's plan is to use American Rescue Plan funds (one time allocation from the federal government during Covid) to address this area. I'd like to take a deeper dive into the budget book to better understand this budget item.
5. NDOT - There is a win for District 21 here. The NDOT allotment will allow for additional bulk item/illegal dumping pickups in North Nashville alleyways. This is a tremendous win for us and I am happy to see this addition. I have worked hard to keep this in front of the mayor and NDOT/Public Works since 2019. This is a start to answering the litter and illegal dumping crisis within our district.

Hadley Park May Music Festival | May 21 | 1:00 PM

National Clean Up Day | May 21

What I've Been Up To

• For neighborhoods that are need of traffic calming, follow this link: Traffic Calming Application - To complete the application for your neighborhood. Be sure to get your neighbors in the loop. Also, add me to your application form as you submit it.
• During our District Town Hall, NDOT Director shared that they will receive additional dollars in the budget to have multiple bulk item pickups monthly to address the litter and illegal dumping crisis.
• Mosaic 2-D Murals have been installed at Elizabeth Park Senior Community Center. This project was initiated in 2017. The first installation was installed in August of 2018 depicting a photo of Ms. Curlie E. McGruder. The additional installations feature 4 notable Black North Nashville Women Leaders of the Civil Rights movement, Ms. Nora Evelyn Ransom, Ms. Mary Louise Watson, Ms. Frankie Pierce, and Ms. Willie Mae Boddie. We will honor this art installation with a ceremony on May 15 at Elizabeth Park.

What's Happening Tonight

BL2022-1202 - A Rezone from RS5 to R6 at 2401 Meharry Blvd. An ordinance to amend Title 17 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws, the Zoning Ordinance of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, by changing from RS5 to R6-A zoning for property located at 2401 Meharry Blvd, at the corner of 24th Ave N and Meharry Blvd (0.26 acres), all of which is described herein (Proposal No. 2022Z-015PR-001).

BL2022-1206 - An ordinance to amend Title 17 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws, the Zoning Ordinance of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, by changing from OG to ORI-A zoning for property located at 405 B 31st Ave N, approximately 160 feet north of Charlotte Avenue (0.12 acres), all of which is described herein (Proposal No. 2022Z-027PR-001).

Dates to Remember

• Cumberland Gardens Traffic Calming (tentative)
  
  • Thursday, May 12 
  • 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
  • St. Luke CME Church

Lets Connect:

I invite all District 21 residents to reach out to me directly with any information or concerns in our community. Email is the best form of communication, but invite you to call me as well. My contact information is below.

Contact information: Email - [email protected] / Phone: 615.946.9700

Best regards,

Brandon