Metro Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell reportedly confirmed there is no property tax relief in his budget, which will instead include a “Legacy Business program” offering grants to some Nashville businesses.
O’Connell reportedly confirmed his stance on Friday to Fox 17, who reported the mayor “is not proposing property tax cuts in his budget proposal because it would not line up with the property assessment timeline.”
Instead, the outlet reported that O’Connell is leaning on the “Legacy Business program” outlined during his Wednesday address to the city, which he said would include “grant money” for “longtime, local business owners.”
During his speech, the mayor did not clarify how much grant money he intends to make available, what the grant application process entails, or when the first awards will be granted to Nashville business owners.
The grant program comes as some Nashville businesses, particularly Lower Broadway bars and entertainment venues, have been hit with property tax increases as high as 356 percent, causing multiple establishments to close.
One business unable to sustain the tax increase was Pelican & Pig, which was featured on the Netflix program Somebody Feed Phil, but said it became too expensive to operate in Metro Nashville.
“Unfortunately, it’s become incredibly expensive to operate a business in this city, and we’re left with the difficult decision to put the fires out,” the establishment’s owners said in a statement. “When you have such a large amount of money that has to go out to property taxes, it just — it left too much uncertainty and really just took our knees out.”
More than 100 Nashville business owners reportedly packed the Independent Metropolitan Board of Equalization to push back against property tax hikes that many called unsustainable.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Freddie O’Connell” by Freddie O’Connell.
He’s running for mayor again, he’ll ruin Nashville even more.
All grant money does is funnel taxpayer money to the friends (and family???) of thise in charge. Government is not in the business fo picking winners and losers. These supposed grants do exactly that. Time for a state audit and jail time.
So, the Nashville City Government raised property taxes so high that businesses were going to close. The Mayor stepped in, denied property tax decreases for the residents, and will use that money to give to the businesses to pay the property taxes that HE (and the Council) raised!
Hmmm!! I’ll bet there’s a “processing fee” that gets “deposited” into Democrat coffers.
Nashville needs better leadership quick.
The state needs to take over Nashville since it is being totally run into the ground by these leftist activists. All they want to do is grow government. There needs to be an intelligence test in business experience before you’re ever allowed to run for public office. Since most of these people have never run a lemonade stand, let alone a billion dollar plus City.