Today is very special! Not because we have a historic council meeting that will include a virtual public hearing, nor that we are deep into tax discussions following the Mayor's whopping 32% tax increase proposal. No... This day is so much more special than all of this! It's my beautiful wife's Birthday! 

Happy Birthday, Damita!

There is a Metro Council Meeting tonight… An agenda has been provided, and you can watch the meeting live via channel 3 or stream live on your electronic devices. There are items on Public Hearing tonight... I've included a few steps below that will help you join if you are planning to speak on any agenda items.

1. Tune into the meeting via live streaming on Nashville.gov, by watching on cable TV
(Comcast channel 3, AT&T Uverse channel 99), or watch on the Roku Metro Nashville
Network Channel.
2. Wait for the Vice Mayor to announce when your item is ready for live call in.
3. Dial 629-255-1931 and wait for operator assistance.
4. You will be asked if you are calling for the current bill on public hearing.
5. Mute your TV or live stream when it is your turn to speak.
6. Once your time begins, state your name, address, and whether you are for or against the
bill. You will have two minutes to speak.
7. During your public comments, you will receive a 30-second warning before your time limit
is up.

Mayor Cooper's Proposed Budget

On Tuesday, April 28, the Metro Council met with the Mayor and he presented a proposed budget to the members.

Click here to watch the presentation. Click here to review the presentation deck.

The complete proposed budget will not be available until later this week, once it is available, I will send you the link immediately. I plan to review the actual budget and briefly share what this proposal plans to fund in the coming weeks. 

(*Note: These are the facts of the presentation, not my view as your councilman. However, I will share my thoughts briefly towards the end of this segment). The presentation highlighted Metro's current state of finances. Our balance is projected to be $12M at the end of the fiscal year, which is not where we need to be as a city of this size; compare this fund balance to the $132.5M we had in 2019. The presentation shares that we are projected to have a $192M loss in revenue in the 4th quarter of FY20 and a $280M loss in revenue in FY21 due to the March 3 tornado and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

To reduce the FY21 $280M loss, the mayor proposed $64M in new revenue that does not include increasing property taxes. A few of the items included in the $64M new revenue are an MOU with the Convention Center Authority that would net $35M along with a PILOT with the Convention Center to find an additional $15M in new revenue, and also a $10M revenue stream with a Metro Water PILOT program. This decreases the projected loss to $216M. As we move into the upcoming fiscal year, we will still have an additional $116M ($332M Total) of revenue needed to balance the budget. This is where we all come in... The proposal to balance the budget is to increase property taxes $1, increasing the current rate from $3.155 to $4.155 in the Urban Services District (USD -D21) and $2.755 to $3.755 in the General Service District (GSD). The Metro Trustee's office has a really nifty tax calculator that will help you calculate your current and proposed tax rate - Follow this link to give it a try. 

Along with the $1 increase in property taxes, the mayor proposed other reductions totaling $21M. A few of these proposed reductions include TIF refinancing of MDHA property that is projected to save $9.3M, a cut to longevity pay for Metro employees which is projected to save $3.9M, and also a $2.8M projected savings from department cuts (travel freeze, eliminate consulting studies, no body-worn cameras expansion phases). 

In the next step, the Council will receive the actual budget from the Mayor this week. We will delve deep into the proposed budget and host hearings for each department. The council will have until June to vote on a budget, possibly a substitute budget will be presented and we will vote on that budget. The Council will either vote for or against a substitute budget. If a substitute budget is presented and fails, the current proposed budget by the mayor will go into law. You, as a resident of Davidson County, have the opportunity to join us at the first meeting in June to share your thoughts on the budget (and please continue to send your thoughts now, before June). There will be several ongoing conversations regarding the budget and the budget process. You can follow along with the budget calendar here. 

As I mentioned earlier, this was a brief synopsis of the facts from the mayor's budget presentation. I do however want to share my thoughts based on the responses I've received from constituents... During the meeting with the mayor, when he proposed his budget, I was truly shocked to see a $1 or 32% property tax increase. This has been a tough year for Nashville, and we are feeling the pain of a tornado, COVID-19, and now a storm with gale-force winds that knocked out power throughout the entire county. Once I receive the actual budget this week, I will review and have a much better understanding of the current proposed budget. We can take a look at the proposal and make a few recommendations that will not lead to such a large increase. I do believe that we need to review our current tax rate and increase, but the current proposed rate seems to not be in the best interest of the constituents in District 21.

Tornado Relief 

FEMA has closed their Emergency Relief registration, but thanks to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and several organizations rooted in North Nashville we still have the opportunity to find diaster and emergency relief from organizations that have received funds. Here are a few that are working now... Gideon's Army, Interdenominational Ministers Fellowship (IMF), Jefferson Street United Merchants Partnership, Inc. (J.U.M.P.), Lee Chapel AME Church, New Covenant Christian Church, Greater Heights Missionary Baptist Church, NAACP Nashville, Northwest Family YMCA, Catholic Charities of Tennessee - McGruder Family Resource Center, Meharry Medical College, Tennessee State University Foundation, Rebuilding Together Nashville, The Equity Alliance, and Urban League of Middle Tennessee. These organizations jumped in on the ground floor and have committed to working until individuals in our communities are back to whole and better. If you or someone you know are in need of relief, of any kind, from the tornado, please reach out to one or several of these organizations to find the help you are looking for.

What to expect tonight:

Tonight's meeting will be managed virtually. We are having Public Hearing items heard for the first time since we began meeting virtually. The state passed a law that allows the Metro Council and other municipalities to meet electronically, therefore, our meeting will be via the internet and phone. 

Below, I've added a quick synopsis of tonight's agenda...

BL2019 - 7 - This ordinance is on Public Hearing. It will limit one STRP permit in certain two dwelling zoning districts. For instance, a R6 zoning (allows two dwellings on one lot) would only allow one STRP on the lot.

BL2019 - 79 - This is another STRP ordinance on Public Hearing. Owners of owner-occupied STRP's cannot list all of the home's rooms on their listing and the owner must stay on-site and not leave the home for over a 15 hour period during a stay.

Substitute BL2019 - 78 - This ordinance will require non-owner occupied STRP's to remain a certain distance from schools, churches, daycares, and parks.

BL2020-234 - An ordinance providing for the waiver of certain building permit fees for the repair or rebuilding of property damaged as a result of the March 3, 2020 tornado.

BL2019-196 - I'm in favor of this bill. It will add more parameters and detail in regard to noise from construction in residential communities.

Dates to remember:

• All in-person meetings (large/small groups or one-on-one) that I have scheduled are postponed in light of the increasing COVID-19 concerns and will not be rescheduled until further notice. 

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