Tag: Nashville Metro Council

Nashville Chief Development Officer Addresses Proposed ‘East Bank Authority,’ Prioritizes Residential Buildings for East Bank Development

Matthew Giffin
Bob Mendes East Bank

Metro Nashville Chief Development Officer Bob Mendes addressed the proposed “East Bank Development Authority” that would oversee the East Bank development project at a Friday press conference. Mendes also detailed some restrictions he said are intended to create a “neighborhood” in a 30-acre area of the East Bank.

Mendes said he was hopeful that the Tennessee General Assembly would pass the necessary legislation to create an East Bank Development Authority, which he added would also need to be approved by the Nashville Metro Council.

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Nashville Mayor O’Connell Announces November Transportation Referendum but Offers No Plan Details

Kaitlin Housler
Nashville Transit

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell officially announced Thursday that there will be a public transit referendum on the November 5 ballot, however, did not reveal any specifics to his awaited transportation plan.

“After getting the green light on both legal and financial aspects of the process, the administration is putting a referendum in front of the voters on November 5,” O’Connell’s office said in a press release.

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Revealed: Far-Left Agitators Plan to Be Arrested at August Protests at Amazon, Lee Company, Metro Council

Peter D'Abrosca

After obtaining a secret audio recording from a far-left Saturday activist planning session in Nashville, The Tennessee Star can reveal locations wherein left-wing agitators plan to wreak havoc during August’s special session of the Tennessee General Assembly.

Those locations include Amazon’s Nashville office, the Lee Company, owned by Gov. Bill Lee (R), and the Metro Council. 

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Shelby County Commission to Hold Vote on Appointment of Former State Rep. Justin Pearson to the Tennessee State House

Peter D'Abrosca

After Monday’s reinstatement of State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) by the Nashville Metro Council, the Shelby County Commission Wednesday will hold a special meeting to consider whether to reappoint expelled former State Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis). 

Over the weekend, Shelby County Commissioner Mickell Lowry released the following statement on his Facebook page: 

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Tennessee Titans Stadium Proposal Submitted to Metro Council for Approval

Kaitlin Housler

A final budget proposal for how the new Tennessee Titans football stadium will be funded has been submitted to the Nashville Metro Council by Nashville Mayor John Cooper and the football team.

The legislation will be subject to three readings, beginning at the council’s next meeting on March 7th. April 4th is the earliest possible date for the agreement to be finalized.

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State Senator Johnson on Local Government: ‘When They Are Dysfunctional and Ineffective, It Is Our Responsibility as a State to Step in and Take Action’

Julie Carr

Live from Music Row, Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Tennessee State Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) in studio to discuss the relation between state and local governments. Johnson called to decrease the number of Metro Nashville city council members.

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Metro Council Approves Mayor John Cooper’s $50 Million ‘Housing First’ Plan Tackling Homelessness

Kaitlyn Osteen

The Nashville Metro Council voted on Tuesday night to approve Mayor John Cooper’s $50 million four-part “Housing First” plan to address homelessness.

Following the Metro Council’s approval, Mayor Cooper issued the following statement, “I am grateful to Council for overwhelmingly approving my $50 million plan to get our most vulnerable off the streets and into the stable housing. Homelessness is a decades-old challenge for Nashville, and I believe the size, scope, and sophistication of this plan meets the magnitude of the problem.”

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Metro Council Poised to Approve Measure Banning LPR Use for Enforcement of Abortion Laws

Aaron Gulbransen
A portable tripod-mounted Miovision Automatic License Plate Recognition data acquisition camera is set up at an intersection in suburban Illinois.

Nashville Metro Council passed a measure on second reading that prohibits the use of license plate scanner (LPR) technology to aid in the enforcement of “laws outlawing abortion or outlawing interstate travel to obtain an abortion as an allowed use of LPRs” and is poised to approve the ordinance at the September 6 meeting.

BL2022-1385, a bill that was on second reading and is now proceeding to the third is an “ordinance amending Section 13.08.080 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws pertaining to the use of license plate scanner technology to exclude assisting with enforcing laws outlawing abortion or outlawing interstate travel to obtain an abortion as an allowed use of LPRs.”

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Metro Council Considers Bill That Prohibits License Plate Scanner Use for Enforcement of Tennessee Abortion Laws

Aaron Gulbransen

Nashville Metro Council is proceeding with legislation that prohibits the use of License Plate Scanner (LPR) technology to aid in the enforcement of “laws outlawing abortion or outlawing interstate travel to obtain an abortion as an allowed use of LPRs.”

On Tuesday, August 16, Metro Council will consider BL2022-1385, a bill on second reading that is an “ordinance amending Section 13.08.080 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws pertaining to the use of License Plate Scanner (“LPR”) technology to exclude assisting with enforcing laws outlawing abortion or outlawing interstate travel to obtain an abortion as an allowed use of LPRs.”

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Former AllianceBernstein COO Jim Gingrich Calls for More Transparency in New Titans Stadium Negotiations

Aaron Gulbransen

In an open letter written and delivered to the entire Nashville Metro Council on July 5, former AllianceBernstein COO Jim Gingrich expressed his concern about negotiations over a new Titans stadium and called for more transparency for the process.

“The time has come for the Council to assert its leadership, bring transparency to the negotiation, and prioritize taxpayers and Titans fans,” Gingrich said.

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Metro Council to Consider 2024 Republican National Convention Contract Agreement at Next Meeting

Aaron Gulbransen

Nashville Metro Council will begin the legislative process on approving a contract with the Republican National Committee, considering a bill on first reading sponsored by Councilman Robert Swope on July 5.

Bills or ordinances must pass three readings in order to take effect. Bills will typically pass on first reading and without much discussion, although this one may generate more than usual, given the partisan nature of the event.

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Woke Resolutions Recognizing ‘Nashville Pride Month’ and Supporting ‘Stricter Gun Laws’ Highlight Metro Council June 7 Meeting Agenda

Aaron Gulbransen

Woke resolutions recognizing “Nashville Pride Month” and calling for increased gun control laws highlight the Nashville Metro Council agenda for its June 7 meeting.

RS2022-1581 is a resolution “recognizing Wednesday, June 1 to Thursday, June 30, 2022 as the ‘Nashville Pride Month’, celebrating the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer communities and their enormous contributions to the quality of life in Nashville and Davidson County, and further recognizing the 34th anniversary of the first Nashville Pride event.”

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Nashville Metro Council Passes Redistricting Plans for Council and School Board

Aaron Gulbransen
Nashville City Hall

Nashville Metro Council met on Tuesday and took several actions. Metro Council passed their own redistricting plans for council and school board, in addition to passing a resolution urging the General Assembly to reject the proposed congressional redistricting plans that are heading to the House and Senate floors and continuing the legislative process on license plate readers.

BL2021-1052, an ordinance on third reading, is “An ordinance approving and adopting a plan for redistricting the Councilmanic Districts of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County and revising the school districts pursuant to Article 18, Section 18.06 of the Metropolitan Charter.” The list of the new boundaries and the maps were posted on the bill’s website.

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Metro City Council Votes to Appropriate Millions in Funding for New Tasers for Metro Nashville Police Department

Aaron Gulbransen
police belt with taser

Nashville Metro Council voted last night to give Metro Nashville Police Department $3.15 million dollars to fund the purchase of new tasers. That was far short of the $5.8 million that MPND had requested.

As previously reported, The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) had requested a budget for new tasers, stating that the tasers in current use are obsolete and are not reliable.

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Nashville Metro Council Member Steve Glover to Introduce Resolution for Budget Transparency, Fight for Lowered Taxes

Corinne Murdock

Nashville Metro Council member Steve Glover is pushing for more budget transparency from Mayor John Cooper. Glover made this announcement during a press conference on Wednesday. In short, the resolution would ask the mayor to share with the council an estimate on revenues. Glover shared that his initial predictions of a $70-100 million surplus proved less than the actual current surplus of $102-150 million. 

As a result, Glover estimated that the mayor could reduce the tax increase anywhere from 31 to 50 percent. He explained that he’d relied on numbers from the state to draw these conclusions – the same information that the mayor knew while deciding on the hefty property tax increase.

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Nashville Metro Council Passes Record 34 Percent Property Tax Hike, Includes Employee Raises and More Police Funding

Laura Baigert

During another lengthy meeting that began Tuesday night and went into Wednesday morning, by a 32 to 8 vote the Nashville Metro Council passed a budget that includes a record 34 percent property tax increase, increased funding for police, cost-of-living raises to city employees, increases funding to the school district as well as funding for a school district minimum wage of $15 per hour.

The Council-approved property tax increase is even higher than the 32 percent increase that Mayor John Cooper called for in his budget proposal.

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The Tennessee Star Report: Metro Councilman Steve Glover Discusses Nashville’s First Steps Towards Fiscal Responsibility

Julie Carr

Live from music row Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy and in-studio guest Metro Councilman Steve Glover discussed the Nashville city budget and how Mayor Cooper’s taken a good first step to get $12 million back from the Music City Convention Center.

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Nashville Metro Councilman At Large Steve Glover Plans to Work with Conservatives, Moderates and Liberals

Julie Carr

On Monday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – hosts Leahy and Glover discussed what it’s like to be a metro council member as it pertains to answering your constituents. Glover also went on to describe the swearing-in process for himself and the offices where metro council members could work if they wanted to.

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Carol Swain Urges Support for Steve Glover, ‘Only Experienced Conservative’ Running for Council

Jason M. Reynolds

  Former Metro Nashville mayoral candidate Dr. Carol W. Swain is calling on her supporters to turn out to the polls once again — to support at-large Metro Council candidate Steve Glover. Early voting runs to September 6. Election Day is September 12. In an email newsletter to her supporters, Swain says that Glover is the “only experienced conservative running for a seat on city council” and that he needs votes — and she asks people to vote for only one at-large candidate to give Glover his best chance. Swain also asks her supporters to vote for District 26 council candidate Courtney Johnston, who is engaged in a run-off against Jeremy Elrod. Current Metro Council district member and at-large candidate Steve Glover has been a critic of incumbent Mayor David Briley, including lately, the mayor’s budget, The Tennessee Star reported. Glover believes that the budget submitted by Mayor David Briley and recently passed by the Metro Council violates state law and Metro rules requiring a balanced budget. Glover asked State Senator Farrell Haile (R-Gallatin) to request an opinion from Tennessee State Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery concerning the legality of that budget. During her concession speech in the Aug. 2…

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Nashville Council Files Another Bill Targeting the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency

Chris Butler

Nashville Metro At-large Councilman Bob Mendes is taking additional steps to try to rein in the city’s Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency. Last week Mendes had four Tax Increment Financing-related bills up for discussion, according to the Nashville Business Journal. The newest proposed bill would require Metro hire an independent accountant to validate the financial assumptions built into any proposed new MDHA redevelopment district, the website reported. Other bills Mendes backs are already on their second and third readings. As reported, the MDHA has vast powers and gives real estate developers millions of dollars in incentives to build in ritzy areas of town. Many of those details aren’t public record. This process, Tax Increment Financing, is supposed to help blighted areas — but not necessarily a project such as the one at Fifth and Broadway in tourist-heavy downtown Nashville. According to the Nashville Business Journal, one of Mendes’ bills tries to make the incentives process more transparent. That bill, if passed, would accomplish that through a seven-member committee. The other two would divert a portion of money otherwise earmarked for MDHA to Metro Nashville Public Schools. Council members must go through three readings before the bills are actually law, in…

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Nashville Metro Council Member Steve Glover Complains of Threats . . . From the Mayor

Chris Butler
Steve Glover

A Nashville Metro Council member is tasked with challenging the mayor and holding him or her accountable, when needed, but current council members evidently don’t hold that kind of sway. At least not now. That’s because current Mayor David Briley makes threats, said Metro Council Member Steve Glover. “In this city, we get threatened all the time by the administration. If you don’t vote this way then we (the mayor’s office) will not do something for you,” Glover told The Tennessee Star. “I got $500,000 to start doing improvements on Central Pike under the Karl Dean Administration. You tell me. Do you see anything starting out there yet? You will not. I’m not going to throw other council members under the bus. I know they get threatened all of the time. We hear ‘If you don’t support me then I’m not going to make this project happen for you in this district. I’m good at withholding the money on this or that. I have the money to do these projects.’” Glover said he will not work that way. As reported, Glover has spoken out against Briley, including, most recently, the way he planned for a Major League Soccer stadium. No…

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Columnist: Major League Soccer Could Have Played in Nissan Stadium Instead

Chris Butler
Nissan Stadium

If members of the Nashville Metro Council wanted to save taxpayers some money they would have arranged for the city’s Major League Soccer team to play in Nissan Stadium, according to a new column. This, instead, of building a pricey new stadium. Nissan Stadium, of course, is where the Tennessee Titans play for the National Football League. Eric Boehm published his column for Reason before Metro Council members voted 31-8 this week for a $275 million MLS stadium project at the Nashville Fairgrounds. He said his idea, though, makes more sense. “Taxpayers are already on the hook for $300 million in upgrades to Nissan Stadium, home of the National Football League’s Tennessee Titans. That stadium is within walking distance of downtown and could easily be adapted to host soccer games,” Boehm wrote. “In fact, Nissan Stadium has regularly hosted the U.S. men’s and women’s national soccer teams. Teams from the English Premier League, widely regarded as the top soccer league in the world, have played there. It’s also one of the stadiums proposed as a site for the 2026 World Cup. Why exactly does the city need a new soccer-specific stadium?” No one at MLS returned The Tennessee Star’s request for comment on the matter. MLS…

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Nashville Metro Council Member Glover: Voters Don’t Want More Taxes for More ‘Stupid Stuff’

Chris Butler
Steve Glover

Nashville Mayor David Briley and many members of the Metro Council, as a collective, act as though the 2011 referendum on the Nashville Fairgrounds never happened, said Metro Council member Steve Glover. As reported, if all the shiny details get finalized, a Major League Soccer stadium will likely go up on that property. But there’s that one little problem — dating back to 2011. There was a referendum that year where voters, by a margin of 73 percent, said to just leave the fairgrounds alone, as is. But Metro officials act as though it’s OK to ignore the voters’ wishes and do their own thing, Glover said. “This is something people need to understand. The MLS didn’t come to us and say ‘We need to be at the fairgrounds.’ This was Megan Barry’s administration who said ‘We want this, and this is where you will go. You will go here,’” Glover said. “The administration basically told the people of Nashville ‘We don’t care what you voted for. This is what we’re going to do.’” None of Glover’s 39 colleagues returned messages seeing comment Thursday, and neither did anyone from current Mayor David Briley’s office. For their part, Metro officials think…

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Nashville Metro Council Rule Change Will Let People Have Their Say (For 2 Minutes)

John Bryant
Metro Council microphone

Nashville’s Metro Council meetings will see a major change beginning Tuesday July 16  thanks to a significant rule shift impacting public comments at the meeting. According to reports, “An open comment portion will be added near the beginning of the meeting to allow people to talk about issues even if they’re not on the council’s agenda.” Previously, it wasn’t as easy to address the council. The main restriction was that comments were only taken for items that were on the agenda and that were required, by law, to include a public hearing, such as land re-zonings and the annual budget discussion. The open comment period will now begin the council meetings held on the third Tuesdays of each month. There will be a two minute  time limit for individuals who sign up to speak. The change is linked in large part to protests in council chambers after the fatal shooting of Jocques Clemmons by Nashville police Officer Joshua Lippert back in February of 2017. If what happened Tuesday night at the Metro Council has ever happened before, it was beyond the recent memory of anyone in the chamber. Calling for justice for Jocques Clemmons, the black man shot and killed…

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Transit Plan Early Voting Ends, Opponents Make Final Push For Election Day

Jason M. Reynolds

Early voting on Nashville’s light rail transit plan ended Thursday, April 26, but one group advocating for alternative transit planning is making a final push for Election Day. There is one more opportunity to vote on the transit plan as Election Day is Tuesday, May 1. In a newsletter Thursday, the NoTax4Tracks PAC said, “This plan is incredibly flawed and costly. What’s worse, it’s being forced onto Davidson County families and businesses before we have seen any alternatives. There are better, less expensive options than making families pay $43,000 in new taxes for a light rail system that won’t even reach them.” In a separate communication, NoTax4Tracks referred people to listen to an episode of the Nashville Sounding Board podcast discussing the light rail transit plan. Nashville Metro council members Freddie O’Connell and Angie Henderson were guests. O’Connell said, “I think that as a councilmember trying to do the best job of representing my constituents… I will say I think a mistake was made by the administration in preparing this plan was a lack of council engagement.” Henderson said, “Absolutely, I concur with that.” James Pratt wrote a letter to the editor that appeared in The Tennessean on Wednesday, April…

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Majority of Nashville Metro Council Wants Tennessee Supreme Court to Accept Special Election Date Appeal

Tennessee Star Staff

Twenty-one members of the Nashville Metro Council signed a letter to Metro Legal Director Jon Cooper on Tuesday asking him to request of the Tennessee Supreme Court that it “reach down” and hear the plaintiff’s appeal of a Chancery Court Judge’s decision to hold the special mayoral election on August 2, rather than May 1. The Tennessee Star reported that earlier this month the Davidson County Election Commission ignored the plain meaning of the law and voted 3 to 2 to hold the special mayoral election on August 2, rather than May 2. Last week, attorney Jamie Hollin filed an appeal of that decision on behalf of his client, mayoral candidate Ludye Wallace in Davidson Couny Chancery Court. Later that week, Judge Claudia Bonnyman ruled against Wallace and in favor of the Davidson County Election Commission, and confirmed August 2 as the date for the special election. The Star subsequently reported that, according to Arizona State University Law School Professor Judith M. Stinson, a national expert on “dicta” and legal holdings, if Judge Bonnyman’s decision was based on “dicta”–that is, facts cited in an opinion that are not directly relevant to the legal holding of the court–the legitimacy of the…

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Metro Council To Investigate Mayor Megan Barry’s Affair With Chief Bodyguard

Jason M. Reynolds

Nashville Metro Council voted Tuesday to create a committee to investigate Mayor Megan Barry’s affair with her bodyguard Sgt. Rob Forrest, WSMV reported. Councilwoman Tanaka Vercher proposed the resolution. The council has not taken such action since 1974 during a land rezoning bribery scandal involving former council members Morris Haddox and Jack Clariday, The Tennessean reported. The 30-7 vote will create a committee of three to seven council members to oversee the probe, focusing on travel and overtime expenses of Barry and Forrest, the newspaper said. Barry does not have the power to veto the action. The council is turning to an authority under the Metro Charter to hold investigations and hearings, The Tennessean said. The power includes the ability to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers and records pertinent to the investigation. Testimony will be under oath. Barry admitted to the affair on Jan. 31. District Attorney Glenn Funk asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to look into the matter to determine if there was any criminal wrongdoing in the form of overseas trips and overtime payments to Forrest.

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Nashville Metro Council Prepares Transparent Transit Plan Referendum For May 1

Jason M. Reynolds

Nashville Metro Council voted Tuesday to place both the $5.35 billion and $9 billion transit plan price tags on the May 1 referendum. An amendment showing the price range was approved on a 34-2-2 vote. The vote was part of the third and final reading of the referendum language. Debate during the council meeting likened the transportation plan to buying a car. When buying a car, one looks at the dealer’s price as the purchase price; expenses like tires and fuel are operating costs, council member Jeremy Elrod said. Council member Bob Mendes said “We’re not buying a car.” To buy an operating system, one pays not only the upfront costs but also debt and has to consider the debt terms and payback period. One must consider the bond debt payment. He said the $8.95 billion figure was good enough for the state comptroller. Jeff Eller, campaign spokesman for NoTax4Tracks, which has expressed concerns about the transit plan, said, “We believe the Council did the right thing by letting voters decide on the full cost of the $9-billion light rail plan. They will now have the opportunity to understand this plan will result in the highest sales tax in the country…

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Truth, Trust Are ‘Kryptonite’ To Barry, Metro Council In Promoting $9 Billion Transit Plan

Jason M. Reynolds

In popular media, Superman fights for “truth, justice and the American way.” The superhero who is “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive” is vulnerable to a substance known as Kryptonite. Those who back Nashville’s $9 billion transit system are facing their own version of Kryptonite: Trust. Even one prominent supporter now says he has some doubts. The uncertainty comes nearly a week following news that Metro Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, the face of the Let’s Move Nashville Transit Improvement Plan, had an adulterous, years-long affair with veteran police Sgt. Rob Forrest who was in charge of her security. Barry dodged her responsibilities as an elected official having an affair with an employee who resigned, while she kept her job, and it was revealed her affair violated her office’s mission statement of transparency and her own executive order that employees should be ethical and avoid conflicts of interest. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has been asked to investigate any potential breaking of the law, including “misappropriation of public funds and official misconduct,” District Attorney Glenn Funk spokesman Steve Hayslip told The Tennessean. The Metro Council voted Jan. 23 on a second reading of the plan to hide the…

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State Rep. Judd Matheny Blasts Metro Nashville Council Over Proposed ‘Sanctuary City’ Ordinances

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

  State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) tore into the Metro Nashville Council’s proposed sanctuary city ordinances on the Dan Mandis Show on 99.7 FM WWTN Tuesday. As The Tennessee Star reported on Tuesday, the Metro Nashville Council is currently considering two ordinances that would, in effect, turn Nashville into a sanctuary city. “It’s the most egregious move against public safety that the city of Nashville could possibly expose its citizens, and emergency services and social work to,” Matheny said. “It’s completely antithetical to the United States Constitution, and America. And the city of Nashville – with all due respect – they need to remember that the City operates at the pleasure of the State,” Matheny added: If they move forward with this – which I hope the’ll have the sense about them to not have a second reading (much less a third) and try to pass it – they can expect swift and severe action be the State of Tennessee. The taxpayers of Davidson county will suffer incomprehensibly if this passes. Organized crime will come to this town like a magnet from all over the country. The police will be a great risk. The citizens will be at great risk.…

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