Nashville Mayor John Cooper on Thursday disparaged a referendum to roll back the city’s property taxes and called it “a poison pill” that would stagnate the city and threaten future progress.
Cooper said this at a press conference.
As The Tennessee Star reported Thursday, Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee announced that members of the group had turned in roughly 20,000 signatures to the Metro Clerk’s office in support of the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act.
Members of the group helped gather the requisite number of signatures for the initiative for the December 5 ballot. The Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act would roll back Cooper’s 34-37 percent tax increase and limit property tax rate increases to 2 percent every year without voters approving it.
Cooper, at Thursday’s conference, said he expected that the topic “will be actively discussed in the community.”
“Ultimately, I do worry that the result of this is just forcing a stealth election on Nashville, a very expensive stealth election on Nashville, in order to give the city a poison pill. And it’s not just about the property taxes, it has all kinds of stuff on it that is, quite frankly, a poison pill for our city,” Cooper said, although he did not elaborate.
“Everyone who serves the city, every teacher, every police officer, [and] every citizen of the city would need to be deeply concerned that this is a poison pill. We want to create a great city — going forward in the 21st century — and not create a backwater here and have us swallow, unintentionally, a poison pill, particularly through a stealth election.”
As reported last week, Nashville attorney Jim Roberts said that Metro officials “clearly don’t like having power taken away.”
Roberts said more on Thursday, after Metro officials received the signatures.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
take one pill by mouth after each meal johnny, you wrote your own prescription
The democrats always have talking points – obviously his team was stuck for words since the only thing he could come up with was poison pill and stealth election. How about “We the people”, financial responsibility, no taxation without representation, reduce government waste, liberal cities fail……#NotPortland
Hey at least it ain’t a poison “Fleet” like Mini Cooper has given to the citizens and small business owners of Nashville!
But as I read between the lines, Mini Cooper is saying that the ONLY way for anything good to happen in Nashville is for it to be his idea! How is it then that almost every economic boom in the US has been the result tax cuts? The fact is, that Nashville has a spending problem! Maybe the citizens ought to try a Republican mayor for a change,. Could it hurt more that a 37% tax increase?
And where is the “conservative” State government, allowing Nashville and the financial engine of Tennessee to go down this slippery slope?
Hmmm…I noticed mayor Cooper mentioned that teachers and police officers need to be concerned that the property tax won’t increase , and , all who serve the city… really?? 😆 So he really thinks any body who is one of these positions makes that kind of money to support that kind of property tax increase? Check in with the real world , sir.
From the guy who ultimately gave the green light on Nashville’s newest albatross – the soccer stadium. The worst deal in the world for taxpayers. A handful of people make out like bandits on this deal, leaving residents holding the bag. The latest fun fact is the team could leave town, should the league feel they would be better suited elsewhere,, and nothing Nashville could do.
And that guy from California looking to bring MLB here? Good luck with that. Now that many Americans have come to the realization that they can survive without sports, that should no longer be an issue.
And there you have reason number one why my family will be moving out of Davidson County the end of September. This is classic liberal, we know more than you mentality. I retired from government and it does have a function in our lives but it is in no way what these misguided people think it is. Think about how well Detroit did with it’s government first policies. You can’t do it Nashville unless you want to be known as Detroit south.
Property tax statements go out next week, I think.
This referendum will pass overwhelmingly, and it won’t be from a lack of negative advertising paid for by the Chamber of Commerce, sports teams, and public employee unions. The funding source of these ads and commercials must be pointed out as the public has turned sharply against all of those entities. Elderly black people in North Nashville, farmers in Bells Bend, and others who will be devastated by the property tax hikes must be featured in counter-commercials.
It is wonderful this has managed to get on the ballot rather than the recall, which is fraught with partisanship. The people have differing opinions on public figures, but almost uniformly hate having to bear the burden of the infantile profligate spending of the last few years. To those who garnered enough signatures: thank you!
So, we’re ignoring the “Community Oversight Board” on the police that was put in place by “popular referendum”? It always astounds me how incredibly stupid liberals seem to think the general population is.
If I’m calculating this correctly, 20,000 signatures is roughly 1/30th of the city’s population. If we remove those ineligible to vote, we may be looking at a larger portion of the population, say 1 in 25 or 1 in 20. Of course, not all of them are going to vote, just the ones with passion for the topic.
He may need to understand the concept of the We The People have the power and when Mayors misuse their office or fail to perform their Trustee function, we use checks and balances to refocus him on what the job is about, not what the Mayor personally wants to spend taxpayer money on. His comments calling the We The People check and balance on his power, “a poison pill” is not in keeping with a Public Servants response.
While you are stuffing things, stuff these mask where the sun don’t shine. You are the one that caused the spike in positive covid cases protesting with the Communist Justin Jones and Marxist BLM, you are sickening.
Amen Rick!
The mayor and the council should be challenged this way by just 20,000 right wingers in a city of a ,million people. I want good roads, high paid teachers, affordable (should be free) health care and a solid living wage. We can have NONE of these things with people stealing the will of the elected who speak for the people.
We have a well paid teachers union. What a utopian like we live now.
If you support “Affordable Housing” should should be in favor of this. Raising property taxes 34% is going the wrong directino.
Mayor Cooper should be talking about creating fiscal responsibility with the budget and how we can meet the city’s needs during this difficult economic time for so many Nashvillians but you won’t hear anything like this. He is a tax and spend liberal who if given the chance would have Nashville look more like Detroit or Baltimore as long as he can fund his pet projects. He should also choose his words more carefully, if we don’t give him the money he wants we are at risk of becoming a backwater city?
yes it is, a pill to stop government spending and taxing at what ever suits them at the time.
Cooper makes me sick to my stomach every time I see him and hear him speak. His ignorant poison pill remark is vague and unintelligent. Cut a liberals money off and they have problems, our money is their power, He is so childish if he cannot get his way he will really throw a tantrum, about like his idiotic four steps to open Nashville’s economy. Imagine this idiot saying how many people can attend a funeral. Go to hell Cooper! This jerk by himself has done more to ruin Nashville’s economy than anyone. His is a sickening little twerp that should be thrown out of office, Now his scare the public into voting his way will begin and the local news media (2,4 and 5) will kiss his backside, they are useless. He is a immature spoiled jackass.
Yeah, & we the people are gonna stuff the taxpayer protection act down your lying throat till U choke on it! Enjoy the power while you can, Commie Cooper!