Backers Attempt Again to Get Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act Before Voters

 

Organizers are pushing again for Davidson County voters to have the chance to vote for the proposed Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act referendum.

If voters approve it, the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act would roll back Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s 34 to 37 percent tax increase.

As The Tennessee Star reported in November, Nashville attorney Jim Roberts fought the Davidson County Election Commission to get the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act referendum on last year’s December 5 ballot. But Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled against arguments in favor of the Act, thus giving members of the Davidson County Election Commission what they wanted.

Roberts previously told The Star about a backup plan and predicted that he and his supporters would have it ready in late February.

And Roberts said Monday — a few weeks ahead of schedule — that he was ready.

“We went back and whether we agreed with what the judge said or not, my advice to everybody was it would take two years to litigate it properly. I said let’s change it. Let’s do what the judge says and so we modified it to what the requirements were,” Roberts said.

“Now, I have no doubt that Metro will come in and say ‘Well, now we have some new requirements,’ but it’s going to be a lot harder for them to do that.”

Roberts said that organizers have sent out about 200,000 ballots. They need to receive 33,000 ballot signatures for the measure to go to a referendum for voters.

The new petition says that “Metro’s property tax revenues in 2020 were substantially higher than projected.”

“Despite higher revenue, Metro Council refused to even consider lowering the massive 34-37 percent property tax hike,” the petition said.

The petition proposes that voters go to the polls on either May 28 or June 14 of this year.