Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell told reporters that termination of federal funding sources under President Donald Trump could jeopardize elements of the Choose How You Move transit plan that was passed by voters last November, but said a possible lack of federal money will not mean Nashvillians pay higher taxes.
O’Connell acknowledged in a Monday press conference reported by Fox 17 that the transportation plan he championed “does have some expectations about federal funding, and if programs evaporate from a federal level,” the speed at which parts of the 15-year program are set to be completed would need to be reconsidered.
“In some cases it may just mean patience, we may have to adjust some timelines and yes, we probably would be looking for whatever similar replacement sources were there,” O’Connell said, according to the outlet. “If it’s not there, it would result in value engineering. It would not result in, for instance, a cost increase to people here.”
While the sales tax increase to finance the transit plan took effect in Nashville on February 1, the Trump administration in January issued a memo to federal agencies, advising them to pause the disbursement of all federal financial assistance, including grant funding, in order for the administration to determine which comply with the multitude of executive orders signed by the president.
Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), stated in the memo that funding is likely to be cut if it is determined to be aligned with partisan political goals rather than the public interest.
“The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” wrote Vaeth.
As the Trump administration’s efforts to curtail unnecessary government spending jeopardize the timeline of O’Connell’s transit plan, it simultaneously faces an appeal in the lawsuit, which claims its goals are illegal under the IMPROVE Act of 2017, which empowers Nashville to increase its sales tax to pay for mass transit.
The lawsuit brought by the Committee to Stop an UnFair Tax and its founder, Emily Evans, says the text of the law specifically allows Tennessee cities to increase sales taxes for the purposes of funding mass transit, but items in O’Connell’s plan like the new traffic lights and sidewalks are not related to operating a mass transit system.
Nashville Tea Party Founder Ben Cunningham, who was associated with the committee, additionally warned that the transit plan could result in higher property taxes if federal funding should run dry.
“They’re going to leverage this to get billions of federal funds, and then when those federal funds run out – which is what we’re seeing all across the country now as these transit agencies ‘fall off fiscal cliffs’ because the federal money has run out – property taxes increase,” Cunningham said last year. “They will come back and they will fill the gap with property tax increases. We will have property tax increases as far as the eye can see.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Freddie O’Connell” by Freddie O’Connell.Â
The FACT is: Freddie lied to his constituents about this.
He knew the total cost would be higher than he proffered in the article put before voters. Now, with federal funds in doubt, the TOTAL COST to the voters will be even higher.
Freddie should be recalled!
All Fed money for Mass Transit needs to be eliminated. It funds empty buses and empty trains that lose huge amounts of money. Gov. Lee > stop subsidizing the Music City Star train to Lebanon.
This is what happens when one builds there plans on paper and shifting sands. The guy is an idiot looking for a place to happen.
True–DEI, transgenderism, ‘equity’–all are racist, bigoted, or just plain insane.
“Marxist equity, transgenderism…” blah, blah, blah. This policy is racist and bigoted. This Republican party are monsters who prize boring conformity and party toeing of the line over progress and innovation.