Metro Nashville Council members were scheduled to consider three bills Tuesday night related to the Amazon.com and its proposed move to Music City, according to The Nashville Business Journal.
Metro Council members are considering a controversial $15 million incentive package for Amazon to locate a hub downtown.
As The Business Journal went on to say, Amazon has promised to bring 5,000 jobs to Nashville in exchange, but people who don’t like the idea of more corporate incentives have pushed back.
“Metro officials have agreed to pay the company $500 per new job created for seven years, or roughly $15 million,” The Business Journal reported.
The mayor’s office has not yet presented that proposal to the Metro Council, though it’s expected to debut in the coming months.
The first bill council members were to consider as it pertains to Amazon involves, of all things, affordable housing.
As The Tennessee Star reported, Nashville would have to hand out the same amount of money for more affordable housing units as it gives to major corporations to get them to come to the city.
Nashville Metro Council members Fabian Bedne and Colby Sledge are reportedly pushing the idea. But fellow council member Steve Glover said the city is broke.
As The Business Journal reported, members of the Metro Budget & Finance Committee voted not to recommend that bill to the full council.
Council members were to consider another bill that would tie the Amazon incentives to wage increases for city employees.
County officials had already done away with a plan to provide them with cost-of-living increases because city finances were tight, The Business Journal reported.
“That crunch, and the tensions it sparked, culminated in the narrow defeat of a property-tax increase,” the paper reported.
“Since its debut and ultimate deferment, the resolution has undergone a minor change: It now asks that Metro ‘refrain from providing economic incentives to Amazon or to any other entity unless and until employees of the Metropolitan Government receive cost of living adjustments.’”
The third bill for Metro council members to consider involves real estate, according to The Business Journal.
“Metro wants approval to reimburse real estate developer Southwest Value Partners for $15.3 million in infrastructure-related expenses within its massive Nashville Yards project,” the paper reported.
“Overall, the company expects to invest nearly $80 million into infrastructure, meaning Metro would only fit the bill for roughly 20 percent of the project’s total costs. Metro’s portion of the deal is tied to upgrading water and sewer systems, installing traffic lights and construction of sidewalks and roads. After some debate Monday, the Budget & Finance Committee voted to recommend approval of the bill.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Fabian Bedne” by Fabian Bedne.
Photo “Colby Sledge” by Colby Sledge.
Background Photo “Nashville City Hall” by Nicolas Henderson. CC BY 2.0.
