Should Nashville raise property taxes? Pro and con

by Rod Williams - My answer is a resounding emphatic "absolutely not."  Instead we should take a top to bottom, line item by line item examination of the budget and cut out waste, corruption, mismanagement and unnecessary spending.  Nashville does not have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. I would close General Hospital which serves no purpose other than to boost the ego of the Black community.  I would ban police overtime except in a declared emergency and make sponsors of events pay for their own security, I would stop the outlandish over payment of fees to the managers of Metro's pension fund, I would tell the school board to slash overhead and to rapidly consolidate schools to reflect the reduced enrollment, and I would find out why it takes $6 million dollars to build 3 miles of sidewalk.  I would fire a bunch of department heads such as those who allow it to take $6 million to build three miles of sidewalks. I would discontinue corporate welfare. To avoid the crisis  that is on the horizon, I would change Metro's pension system from a guaranteed benefit to a guaranteed contribution system. More money to Metro will simply mean more waste, corruption, mismanagement and unnecessary spending. We need to starve the beast.

The Tennessean asked the question and the editor of The Tennessean,  David Plazas says "yes,"  while Justin Owen, president and CEO of the Beacon Center of Tennessee says, "No."  (link)

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Council "substitute budget" shifts $2 milliion from elsewhere to give to the schools.

The Metro Council's Budget and Finance Committee has completed its work on the mayor's budget and developed a substitute budget which, as expected, does not call for a tax increase. The substitute budget tweaks the mayor's budget by cutting a little hear and there that total $2 million and give that money to Metro Schools. Out of a $2.23 billion budget that is not much. Hardest hit was the city's Music and Entertainment Economic Development initiative which lost $1 million.$300,000 was taken from the mayor's office budget smaller amounts from other departments.  The $2 million additional funding for the schools is still much less than what schools asked for and there is no funding in the budge for Metro employees cost of living increase. For The Tennessean's report on this story, follow this link.

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We should not be like Stockton California and we get the government we deserve

Jeff Hartline

If you do not subscribe to The Tennesseean you missed two good opinion pieces in last Sunday's newspaper from local conservative luminaries.

 Jeff Harline writes, Nashville is stuck with the government it deserves. He identifies four categories of voters from the engaged to the most apathetic and says that in the recent referendum on the transit proposal and mayoral race apathy was on full display, "when voters overwhelmingly defeated the tax increase, but voted for the major candidate who pushed the tax increase."  I share Jeff's opinion. I am constantly amassed how little people seem to care about local issues and how little they pay attention.


Unfortunately, The Tennesseean did not save this article online (which I find hard to believe) or they have such a  poor search engine (which they do) that I can't find it. Harline is a former Republican candidate for the District 5 congressional seat, is a political activist and publishes the online Tennessee Spotlight.

Carol Swain

Carol Swain, recent candidate for mayor, former Vanderbilt professor, author, activist and TV commentator writes, Why Nashville should not be like Stockton, California.  She writes, "Stockton, California and Nashville are mid-sized cities run by liberal Democrats. Local leaders in each city have championed high-dollar projects that ultimately work against the public interest. As a result of this extravagant spending, both cities have found themselves in fragile financial positions. Music City would be wise not to follow in the footsteps of Stockton, which declared bankruptcy in 2012." 

I share her concern that we are headed down that path.

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A sweet moment with Sue and Louella

by Rod Williams - I experienced the sweetest thing yesterday and wanted to share it with readers of

Sue Deuss and Louella Ballenger

this blog.  Those of you who know me, know of my situation with my wife Louella. Louella has brain damage and is "total care." She has to be fed, bathed, changed -everything. She is in a wheelchair and she cannot talk. She has been sick since about 2001 but she gradually declined and has been in her current state about four years.

We have a wonderful caregiver, named Sue, who has taken care of Louella for the past nine years. Sue took a vacation and was gone about two and half weeks, returning to work yesterday.

Luckily I had a good caregiver from an agency take care of Louella in Sue's absence. That is not always the case. So, I was fortunate this time. Also, I have found another good person who helped out on weekends and some other times when we did not have the agency. So, I had a good team to take care of Louella while Sue was gone.

With Louella's condition it is hard to know how much Louella knows. I wondered if she missed Sue. With her advanced brain damage I wondered if Louella would forget her or if Louella even knows one person from the other or if she even realized Sue was not there. On Wednesday, Sue returned to work. When Sue was getting Louella up, Louella's face just lit up when she realized it was Sue. Then sitting on the edge of the bed Louella leaned over and kissed Sue, Then, did it two more times. And "spoke" in cooing tones with soft inflection. Then she leaned her head on Sue's chest and let Sue stoke her for some times.

It was so sweet to see Louella express her love for Sue. Louella's mind might be gone, but there is still a person there with feeling and a capacity for love. It was a blessing.

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Growing Debt Blamed for Budget Shortfall

by Ben Hall, News Channel 5 - Nashville is booming, so why is there a budget shortfall? It is the

Councilman John Cooper

main question Metro Council members are getting asked as they prepare to pass a budget by the end of this month. Total revenue is up, but Metro can't fully fund schools or provide promised pay raises, leading some to say we need a property tax increase. 

Councilman-at-large John Cooper ..."the short answer is the biggest place where that went is increased debt service - that we really borrowed a lot of money,"(link)

Rod Williams Comments: Please click the link to see the video and read the rest of the story. I would have posted the video buyI hate videos that start automatically so I did not post it.

Cooper explains that while we have a lot of revenue flowing into the city a lot of it goes to pay debt. Most of the money from the hotel-motel tax goes to pay for the convention center and property taxes from several new buildings in the Gulch help pay for the Sounds Stadium.

In addition to debt which is a major culprit in metro's immediate shortfall, Metro just waste too much money. Little is being done about the abuse of the police overtime. Instead of event sponsors paying the security for numerous  events from festivals to 5K runs, the city pays for it and police rack up big overtime. This not only cost us now but for many years to come. A metro employee's retirement income is calculated on a formula that includes his income earnings in the year he earned the most income, so policemen try to rack up as much overtime as possible in the year before they retire. Another big waste is Metro's sidewalk program which spends millions on studies and consultants and replacing perfectly serviceable sidewalks but building almost no new sidewalks. Also we refuse to get out of the hospital business and funnel more and more money into the failing Metro General Hospital when it should be closed.  Also we are getting ripped off by paying exorbitant fees for management of our pension fund. We need a top to bottom line item review of every dime spend and cut out the unnecessary, the wasteful, and the misspend spending.

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Nashville General Hospital pays former councilman $150k.

The Tennessean - A newly resigned Nashville General Hospital Authority board member is blasting the cash-strapped institution for paying a consultant more than $150,000 through a contract she says "was kept hidden" at the height of the hospital's financial crisis.  ....money spent on the services of former Nashville councilman Jerry Maynard ... in addition to more than $200,000 paid to the city's largest public relations firm. ... former board member Dr. Michelle Williams condemned the hospital's arrangement with Maynard.(link)

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Family Action Council's legislative scorecard. Find Out How Your Legislators Voted

The Family Action Council is an organization that advocates for social conservative issues. The scorecard they produce is very detailed and provided a summary of each bill they use to score legislators. To view the complete  scorecard follow this link.

Among Nashville legislators, Representative Bill Beck scored a 11%; Gilmore earned a score of 1%; Beth Harwell, 100%; Harold Love, 13%; Darren Jernigan, 13%; and Mike Steward, 10%. 

Senator Dickerson scored 14%; and Jeff Yarbro scored a zero, and Thelma Harper scored a 42%.

If you are unsure who is your state rep or senator, follow this link for an interactive map. 

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Small Business Optimism Index Soars, Continuing Historic Run

Press release, NASHVILLE, June 12, 2018 —The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index increased in May to the second highest level in the survey’s 45-year history. The index rose to 107.8, a three-point gain, with small businesses reporting high numbers in several key areas including compensation, profits, and sales trends.

State-specific data is unavailable, but NFIB Tennessee State Director Jim Brown said Tennessee businesses are benefiting from operating in a state with a friendly regulatory climate.  “The Tennessee General Assembly continues to ease the regulatory burden on small businesses, which is contributing to exceptional job creation and strong confidence,” he said. “Small business appreciates predictability, low taxes, and less red tape.”

Nationally, “Main Street optimism is on a stratospheric trajectory thanks to recent tax cuts and regulatory changes. For years, owners have continuously signaled that when taxes and regulations ease, earnings and employee compensation increase,” said NFIB President and CEO Juanita Duggan.

The May report hit several records:

Compensation increases hit a 45-year high at a record net 35 percent. Positive earnings trends reached a survey high at a net three percent. Positive sales trends are at the highest level since 1995. Expansion plans are the most robust in survey history.

In another interesting marker, a net 19 percent of small business owners are planning price increases, the highest since 2008 and a signal of a strong economy. A net three percent reported positive profit trends, up four points and the best reading in the survey’s history. In addition, a net 15 percent reported higher nominal sales in the past three months, up an astonishing seven points and the sixth consecutive strong month for sales.

“Small business owners are continuing an 18-month streak of unprecedented optimism which is leading to more hiring and raising wages,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “While they continue to face challenges in hiring qualified workers, they now have more resources to commit to attracting candidates.”

Small business owners continue to hire with a seasonally-adjusted net 18 percent planning to create new jobs. Twenty-nine percent of owners have job openings for skilled workers, the third highest reading since 2000. Twelve percent have job openings for unskilled workers, with the strongest demand in the transportation, travel, communications, and utilities sector. To compete in the job market, 35 percent of owners reported increases in labor compensation to attract job applicants.

The percentage of owners reporting capital outlays moved up one point to 62 percent, with 47 percent reporting spending on new equipment, 24 percent acquiring vehicles, and 16 percent improving expanded facilities. Thirty percent plan capital outlays in the next few months.

Access to credit continues as a non-issue with 37 percent of owners reporting all credit needs were satisfied and 43 percent saying they were not interested in a loan, down seven points from last month and the lowest reading since 2007. Only one percent reported that financing was their top business problem. Owners planning to build inventories rose three points to a net four percent, the nineteenth positive reading in the past 20 months.

As reported in NFIB’s May jobs report, 23 percent of owners cited the difficulty of finding qualified workers as their Single Most Important Business Problem, followed by taxes at 17 percent and regulations at 13 percent. Fifty-eight percent reported hiring or trying to hire, up one point from last month but 83 percent of those reported few or no qualified workers.

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Metro fair board pushes forward plan for Fairgrounds giveaway of 10 acres.

Channel 4 WSMV: Metro fair board pushes forward plan for Fairgrounds - ... The flea market would move across Wedgewood Avenue to a piece of property that’s lower and smaller. ... As far as the demolition of the buildings goes, this will not happen without Metro Council approval.

The Tennessean:  Nashville fair board approves plan for reimagined fairgrounds with MLS stadium - ... The fair board's vote isn't binding, but it was an important requirement for the project to advance. It means the process to rezone the property will begin immediately, with legislation to be filed Wednesday to change the land use of the site.

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Nashville General Hospital CEO offered 10% incentive raises by half-empty board

The Tennessean: Nashville General Hospital CEO offered 10% incentive raises by half-empty board

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Even more trouble at General Hospital: Fifth member of 10 member board resigns.

Yet another board member of the Nashville Hospital Authority Board as resigned making this the fifth member to resign from the board in the last month.  The Board member who resigned yesterday was Fredia Outlaw. In resigning she said she had "grave concerns" about the  Board. "I believe in a focus on both process and outcomes in keeping with principals and practice that ensure integrity,” Outlaw said. “I strongly believe that the current process of review and renew of Dr. Webb’s contract is seriously flawed.”

Two weeks ago the Board voted to "extend" the contract of Hospital CEO Joseph Webb despite no formal performance review and no formal written contract which to extend at the time. The  extension of the non-existing contact did not specify salary or benefits. The board said they would work that out later. That vote was 5-1. At the time there were two members absent and two vacancies on the board.

Prior to Outlaw's resignation and since the action of the Board to extend Webbs non-existing contract, Board member Dr. Michele Williams resigned.  Dr. Williams reported told The Tennessean he had 'trust issues' with the Board. He said that Mr. Webb's performance review had essentially been completed for months but it was not favorable so the Board did not release it fearing it would jeopardize hospital funding. Dr. Williams' departure from the Board means the Board does not have enough physician members to make decisions about medical credentialing or evaluate medical staff, according to the Tennessean.  I am unsure if this is a result of State law or Metro charter or board policy and I do not know how many, if any, physician remain on the Board.

Metro General has failed time and time again to live within the budget provided by the city and has had to go hat-in-hand repeatedly to the Council asking for more money. One would think that that failure to live within budget would be a factor in a performance review. I don't know if this is a negative reflection on Webb or not.  It may very well be that he is such a great administrator that General would have been asking for even more money without Webb's leadership. I don't know.  One would think however, that given what a mess General is in that the board would want an objective official performance review before extending his contract. This action of the board does not instill confidence.

Metro General has serious problems. It can not fill its beds because not enough people choose General. Metro jail inmates without insurance must use General if they need hospitalization and Metro employees get a special deal it they will use General.  Ever since the advent of Medicaid there has been no need for a charity hospital and is only kept alive because it is a source of pride in the Black community. The current city subsidy to General Hospital is $11 million. Briley's proposed budget for next year would give the hospital a $46.million subsidy.  Former Mayor Barry had a plan to close General and replace it with an outpatient clinic, but abandoned that play when she got push back.
 
For source material and more information see these links: here,  here, here,

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What happened at the 6/5/2018 Metro Council meeting: Public ask for more funding for school and employee pay increases, Flood wall killed again, rip-off of pension fund addressed.

At five and half hours long, this is a long council meeting. Over four hours of the meeting is the public hearing on the budget.  To access the agenda, the Council staff agenda analysis and my commentary on the agenda, follow this link.



Following the payer and pledge, there is a presentation of a Lupus awareness mouth resolution. Following that is the opening of the floor for nomination to the Industrial Development Board beginning  at timestamp 13:04. Only two people are nominated and I do not know how many seats are open, it is not stated. Maybe there is only one opening.  This is important to a very small segment of the community but is very important to some of them. If you care about this go to the 13:04 timestamp to see the nominations.

The next item is the confirmation of mayoral appointments to boards and commissions. Usually the appointees are unanimously recommended by the Rules Committee but several of the nominees have a committee report of one opposed and the rest in favor. Those receiving the one vote against from the Rules Committee were appointees or reappointments to the Board of Equalization. The "no: vote was from Councilman Jim Shulman. He explains his "no" vote at about timestamp 19 in the video. Those appointees are going to return to the Rules Committee and explain the process of Board of Equalization appeals. I think this is a good thing. The Council should take its confirmation responsibility seriously.  The Council should understand how these boards operate. Council member Hunt questions why they are asked to come back to the committee and some discussion ensues. All appointees are approved.

Public hearing on the operating budget and capital improvements budget begins at time stamp 
36:58 in the video.  I watched this in double speed but didn't miss anything important.. As anticipated a lot of citizens want Metro to spend more money for their pet projects or areas of concern and others express support for some funding that is in the budget. The budget includes funding for the Black Chamber of Commerce, the  Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the LBGT Chamber of Commerce. Speakers advocate for this funding. Speakers advocate for the funding of the Financial Empowerment Center, for the "In full Motion" program, for the funding of the arts, for pre-K funding, mass transit funding, the "opportunity now" program, the Entrepreneur  Center,and  after school programs,  One speaker addresses the overtime pay for police and says the event organizers should pay for this service, not we taxpayers (about timestamp 1:23:258). Speakers advocate for more funding for Metro employees, schools, fire department, General Hospital, affordable housing,and  a tax increase. One speaker takes the opportunity to argue against short term rentals. Another argues against the racial disparity in in-school suspension. Former Councilman John Summers ask for a tax increase. One speaker (at about timestamp 3:37:30) makes the obvious sensible argument that property tax increases makes housing less affordable and he argues the city should not be funding so many non-profits such as the Country Music Hall of Fame. By far, most speakers were advocating for more funding for schools followed by those advocating for an employee pay increase. One speaker urges a freeze on all new capital expenditures, specifically saying we should not be funding the new Soccer stadium. The public hearings are concluded at timestamp 4:12:01.

Other than the one speaker concerned about overtime pay for policemen and the one who called for a halt to new capital projects, no one else called for belt-tightening or questioned the massive waste and corruption in Metro government. Metro has plenty of money; we just waste too much of it.  We spend millions on sidewalks and get only a few miles of sidewalks, we pay exorbitant management fees for the pension plan investments  and we just spend on things that are not necessary.  No one called for a budget cut or tax decrease.  This is typical of every budget hearing. Those who want to raise taxes and spend more speak out and those who want sound money management and less government do not.

Flood Wall removed from the Capital Improvements Budget

The proposal to build a $125 million flood wall  to protect downtown from the next thousand year flood was again in the Capital Improvements Budget this year. The Council had defeated this proposal in three separate years but Mayor Briley included it in this years proposal again. Normally an item in the CIB does not spend any money or cause anything to be built without coming back before Council as part of a funding package that list the projects to be funded. Normally the CIB does not spend any money but is a wish list of projects that are prioritized and sources of funding identified. The flood wall would have been different.  The Department of Water and Sewer Services has its own source of funding in the water bills they charge customers and they would not have had to come back before the Council to build the wall had this been in the CIB. I am pleased to see this removed and killed yet again. For my commentary on this issue follow this link. To see the Council discussion see timestamp 4:13:18 - 4:34:25.

Resolutions:   
There are 29 resolutions on the agenda. Here are the ones of interest.

Resolution RS2018-1180  proposes three amendments to the Metro Charter. If approved by the Council they would go before the public to be voted on in a referendum. These proposed charter amendments concern the line of succession in the event of a vacancy in the office of mayor  how to fill a vacancy in the office of vice mayor and the positions of President Pro Tempore and Deputy President Pro Tempore of the Metro Council. This bill is substituted which tweaks the proposed amendments a little and then the resolution is deferred until the first meeting in July.

Resolution RS2018-1243 by Robert Swope and Steve Glover is an attempt to do something about Metro's money mismanagement. This is  a good bill. It passes. It ask the "Investment Committee of the Metropolitan Employee Benefit Board, the Metropolitan Finance Department, and the Metropolitan Office of the Treasurer to review contracts pertaining to the management of Metro’s pension fund and to explore other options for pension fund management that would lower management fees and other expenses related to the pension fund. This should include exploring whether Metro’s pension fund could be managed by the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System.

In the "whereas" clauses this resolution reveals the fact that the "pension fund, as of June 30, 2017, had assets of nearly $3 billion," and "investment expenses associated with Metro’s pension fund totaled over $39 million." I suggest those who care about the financial well being or our city to read this resolution. 

Resolution RS2018-1245  is "resolution supporting and encouraging economic equality for women." It passes on the consent agenda. This bill repeats the often made deceptive claim that women are underpaid compared to men because women earn only 79% of what men do. It ignores that women make different choices. When other variables are held constant, there is no pay gap. For more on this see The ‘Wage Gap’ Myth That Won’t Die - WSJ,  or The Gender Pay Gap is a Complete Myth - CBS News. This is a meaningless resolution and accomplishes nothing but I wish someone would have taken to the floor to debunk the myth.

Bills on Introduction and First Reading: There are 48 bills on first reading. Bills on First Reading are normally considered as a group and are seldom discussed. First reading is a formality that allows the bill to be considered. Unless a bill is ridiculously atrocious it should be passed on first reading. Bills are not assigned to committee or analyzed by council staff until after they have passed first reading.   Bill BL2018-1205  on First Reading would save the fairgrounds by prohibiting the giveaway of the ten acres that is slated to be given to the developers of the planned soccer stadium. It is deferred one meeting.

Bills on Second Reading: There are 13 bills on Second Reading. Here are the bill of significance:

Substitute BL2018-1139 approving the Donelson Transit-Oriented Redevelopment Plan passes on a voice vote. There is a new authority given to cities to plan, facilitate and guide develop around transit stops to encourage a certain kind of development around those stops and to give cities the authority to issue Tax Increment Financing bonds for improvements in the designated area. This would be the first time this authority has been used. This designation would apply to the Donelson stop on The Nashville Star line. There is a lot of detail in the staff analysis for those who want to know more.  I had previously expressed a concern is that this might confer the power of eminent domain to MDHA for use in this area.  I have since spoken to the sponsor and have been assured this is not the case. The bill is amended to prohibit non-owner occupied short term rental in this redevelopment district. While I do not like that provision, on balance I think this is good planning and am supportive of this bill.

 Bill BL2018-1157  establishes a 50 foot floodway buffer along the Cumberland River and prohibits variances. This is deferred to July 3rd.

Bill BL2018-1185 sets the tax levy which does not change the current tax levy so does not raise taxes. As expected, this is deferred to "track" with the operating budget.

Bill BL2018-1186   is essentially an extension of an existing tax relief program that has been in existence for many years. This is a good bill. It allows elderly homeowners to stay in their home and not be forced out because of increased property taxes. The out come never in doubt, this passes on a voice vote.

Bills on Third Reading. There are  11 of them. Most are rezoning bills and of little interest and there are no surprises.

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"Downtown Nashville Is Supposed to Be the Model of the Walkable 21st-Century City. I’m Not So Sure." WHAT? Who says?

Nashville gets lots of accolades as best this and best that and #1 for this or the other.  Being "the model of the walkable 21st-Centry city," is something I had not heard before. I would not think Nashville deserves the honor.  Drivers constantly ignore the "walk" signs when turning or running yellow lights.  To cross a street is to take your life in your own hand. Drivers do not yield for pedestrians even when pedestrians have the light.

Except for downtown not much of the city has sidewalks. Our sidewalk program doesn't expand sidewalks but rips up very serviceable sidewalks and replaces them with brand new sidewalks.  In October it was revealed that in the past two years the city had budgeted $60 million for sidewalks and only got 3.5 miles of new sidewalks.

So who is saying Nashville is supposed to be the model of the walkable 21-century city? New York magazine said it and then questioned the accuracy of the statement. It sort of sit up a straw man to knock over. It never credits anyone or any organization for saying Nashville is the walkable 21st century city.  The article does however provide some insight into the status of Nashville's downtown as a community and instead says it is sort of temporary housing for millennials who migrate to the suburbs as soon as they have children. The article seems to say Nashville is a soulless conglomerate of  pricey high rises and tourist spots but not a real city and that in the process of creating downtown we have made a city in which the working poor cannot afford to live.  The article is worth reading. I am not sure I agree with it but it offers a point of view worth pondering.

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The Tennessean reports on, "Council kills latest downtown flood wall proposal."

The Tennessean reports on, "Council kills latest downtown flood wall proposal." In my view the Council did the right thing. To see my commentary on the topic follow this link.

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