What happened at the Council meeting of 9/18/18: Tax increment financing (TIF) reform advances.

At one hour and 48 minutes long this is a relatively short council meeting. Nothing of great controversy was on the agenda. To access the council agenda, council staff analysis and my agenda commentary follow this link.

Six Council members were absent this meeting. That is an unusually high number. Those absent were Pardue, Huezo, Weiner, Pulley, Bedne and Dowel. The meeting starts with a couple of ceremonial presentations and does not get down to business until timestamp 19 in the video.  The Vice Mayor announces the establishment of a special committee to look at school safety issues and the establishment of some other special committees and announces that new committee assignments have been made for the coming year. There are no surprises in the confirmation of mayoral appointments to boards and commissions and all are approved.

The public comment period starts at timestamp 32:35 and only two people speak and they speak on issues of local concern. So far, the public comment policy is going better than I expected. I thought all kinds of activist would take this opportunity to vent and it would turn into a lengthy session of grandstanding but that has not happened yet.


Resolutions. Most resolutions passed on "consent" which means they were all lumped together and passed by a single vote. Any member could have had a "no" vote recorded or have had an item taken off of consent. Below are the ones I found of interest.

 Resolution RS2018-1385 by Councilman Blalock  is a resolution requesting grocery store operators within Davidson County to take effective measures to reduce the use and/or impact of single-use plastic carryout bags and report the measures being undertaken in this effort, and encouraging the use of reusable bags by residents and businesses within Davidson County. In a previous council meeting Blalock had sponsored legislation that failed to ban plastic bags. In may view this needed to fail also. However, it only "request" grocery story to do this so grocery stores can just ignore it. It passed on the consent agenda.

Resolution RS2018-1390  approves a PILOT for renovation of an affordable housing  apartment complex. I have some concern that this subsidy  may become an expectation for any developer who develops anything except luxury apartments. I admit I do not have enough information to know if this concern is justified. I hope the city is using this tool judiciously. This passed on the consent agenda.

Resolution RS2018-1391  approves the sale of $775 million in General Obligation bonds. These are all bonds authorized by other legislation actions of the council. This passed on the consent agenda.

Resolution RS2018-1411  confirms the mayor's appointees of members of a Blue Ribbon Commission to recommend Metro cost saving and improved efficiencies. It is an impressive list and includes former Tennessee Finance and Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz, ex-Metro Councilmember Emily Evans, real estate developer D.J. Wootson, SEIU Local 205 President Brad Rayson and former school board chair Gracie Porter. I am especially pleased to see the appointment of Emily Evans. I observed her when she served on the Council. She is smart and had a firm grasp of Metro financial issues. Dave Goetz seems like a good choice.  I don't know much about the qualification of the others. I am hopeful that this committee will come up with some meaningful recommendations.  The establishment of the Blue Ribbon Commission was an initiative of Councilman John Cooper. This passed on the consent agenda.

Resolution RS2018-1393 was a resolution approving an agreement between the United States Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and Metro through the  Nashville Police Department, to provide police assistance to the Middle Tennessee Drug Enforcement Task Force. I assumed this would be routine and be on consent but it was not. The purpose of the Drug Enforcement Task Force is to gather intelligence data and conduct undercover operations related to illegal drug trafficking. I do not know the basis of the opposition as there was no discussion of the resolution. The vote was 28 to 3 with Sledge, O'Connell, and Rosenberg voting "no."

Resolution RS2018-1395  was to appropriate $360,000.00 from the General Fund Reserve Fund for the purchase of equipment for the Nashville Fire Department. It was deferred indefinitely. The sponsor explains that the requested funding for the equipment will be in a different resolution in the near future.

Bills.

Bill BL2018-1283  on Second Reading would prohibit the use of funds from the sale of Metro owned property from being used to fund the operating budget. While I do not think it is wise policy to use one-time funds for reoccurring expenses, I do not think it ought to be strictly prohibited. If this passes it would leave a hole in the current budget because the budget did rely on revenue from the sale of some property that has not sold yet. That problem could be easily fixed by changing the effective date of the prohibition to future budgets and exempting it for the current budget year. Nevertheless, I think this bill should be voted down.  It should be noted however, that anything done by legislation can be undone by a legislation so if this did pass and a future council wanted to undo it they could do so. Passed by voice vote.

Bill BL2018-1314  on Second Reading establishes the Blue Ribbon Commission to look for government efficiencies and cost savings. The Commission wold be 15-member. This lays out how they are appointed and their duties. Resolution 1411 above is the confirmation of the five appointed by the mayor. This is deferred one meeting on a voice vote without discussion.

Bill BL2018-1319  on Second Reading would amend the law regarding Tax Increment Financing.  TIF is a program that provides that property taxes generated in redevelopment areas and authorized by Council do not flow to the General Fund but instead are used to subsidize the development and repay the cost of infrastructure improvements in the area. Much of downtown development does not contribute to the tax revenue of Nashville but flows to MDHA because of this. This bill would impose a formula requiring that a portion of the property tax revenue would flow to the general fund to support schools. it is Passed by voice vote and referred back to Budget and Finance. To see the discussion see timestamp 1:13:05- 1:32:19.  This is a complicated issue. A sort of shell game is played with some of the TIF tax revenue in which some money is included in the school budget but the schools must pay that money to MDHA. I think TIF should be greatly reduced and there needs to be more transparency brought to the issue. Hopefully that will happen. This is a good bill and deserves to pass.

Bill BL2018-1315 on Third Reading creates a  Tax Increment Financing Study and Formulating Committee. This sits out the composition of the committee and what they are charged with doing. This is a positive development. Passed 32 to 0.

Top Stories

Nashville council issues $775M in bonds to pay for previously approved projects

The Tennessean: Nashville council issues $775M in bonds to pay for previously approved projects

Top Stories

Bredesen Supports Fully Funding Abortion Provider Planned Parenthood

Top Stories

Franklin ranked among top 10 places to live in the U.S.

Franklin ranked among top 10 places to live in the U.S.

The Tennessean - Franklin is listed on Time Magazine's 10 best places to live in the U.S. The article, published Monday, weighed economic growth, quality of life and affordability. Franklin is no stranger to such lists. It was named by 24/7 Wall St. as one of the best cities to live in in 2017, and ranked the 8th fastest-growing city in the nation by the U.S. Census Bureau last year.

Top Stories

What is on the Council Agenda for 9-18-2018: an attack on use of plastic bags, a Blue Ribbon Commission to look for cost saving, and studying Tax Increment Financing.

The Metro Council will meet Tuesday, September 18, 2018 at 6:30 PM in the Council chamber at the Metro Courthouse. This is a shorter agenda than that of recent meetings without lots of controversial issues.  This should be a shorter meeting and I am certain Council members will be pleased.  Recent meetings have been marathon session running four to six hours. Here is a link to the Council agenda and the staff analysis for those who want to watch the Council meeting and follow along.
 

Below is legislation of interest.

Resolution RS2018-1385 by Councilman Blalock  is a resolution calling on grocery store operators within Davidson County to take effective measures to reduce the use and/or impact of single-use plastic carryout bags and report the measures being undertaken in this effort, and encouraging the use of reusable bags by residents and businesses within Davidson County. In a previous council meeting Blalock had sponsored legislation that failed to ban plastic bags. This needs to fail also. We do not need to be trying to force grocery stores to give up plastic bags and forcing them to report to metro on this topic.

Resolution RS2018-1390  approves a PILOT for renovation of affordable housing  apartment complex. PILOT is "payment in lieu of taxes." The company does not pay property taxes but instead makes a payment considerably less than what they would pay in taxes. Only in the last couple years have PILOTs been used to promote affordable housing. Prior to that they were used to entice businesses to locate to Nashville.  I hope someone is closely monitoring this program and thinking long-term. This will be the thirteenth such deal for affordable housing.  When we talk about "affordable housing" we are not talking about the projects.  Unless one had personal knowledge, most of what is "affordable housing" one would not know it was some how subsidized. The unintended consequence of using this PILOT tool to encourage affordable housing, is that it may become an expectation and subvert market forces. There is still a demand for housing that is not luxury housing, but if the expectation become that any developer who builds anything but luxury housing gets a PILOT or tax credits or other subsidies then no developer may build non-luxury housing without that subsidy. On the other hand, my fears may be unfounded. I just hope this tool is being used judiciously.

Resolution RS2018-1391  approves the sale of $775 million in General Obligation bonds. These are all bonds authorized by other legislation actions of the council. I do not expect this to be debated or controversial.

Resolution RS2018-1411  confirms the mayor's appointees of members of a Blue Ribbon Commission to recommend Metro cost saving and improved efficiencies. It is an impressive list and includes former Tennessee Finance and Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz, ex-Metro Councilmember Emily Evans, real estate developer D.J. Wootson, SEIU Local 205 President Brad Rayson and former school board chair Gracie Porter. I am especially pleased to see the appointment of Emily Evans. I observed her when she served on the Council. She is smart and had a firm grasp of Metro financial issues. Dave Goetz seems like a good choice.  I don't know much about the qualification of the others. I am hopeful that this committee will come up with some meaningful recommendations.  The establishment of the Blue Ribbon Commission was an initiative of Councilman John Cooper.

Bill BL2018-1283  on Second Reading would prohibit the use of funds from the sale of Metro owned property from being used to fund the operating budget. While I do not think it is wise policy to use one-time funds for reoccurring expenses, I do not think it ought to be strictly prohibited. If this passes it would leave a hole in the current budget because the budget did rely on revenue from the sale of some property that has not sold yet. That problem could be easily fixed by changing the effective date of the prohibition to future budgets and exempting it for the current budget year. Nevertheless, I think this resolution should be voted down.  It should be noted however, that anything done by resolution can be undone by a resolution so if this did pass and a future council wanted to undo it they could do so.

Bill BL2018-1314  on Second Reading establishes the Blue Ribbon Commission to look for government efficiencies and cost savings. The Commission wold be 15-member. This lays out how they are appointed and their duties. Resolution 1411 above is the confirmation of the five appointed by the mayor.

Bill BL2018-1319  on Second Reading would amend the law regarding Tax Increment Financing.  TIF is a program that provides that property taxes generated in redevelopment areas and authorized by Council do not flow to the General Fund but instead are used to subsidize the development and repay the cost of infrastructure improvements in the area. Much of downtown development does not contribute to the tax revenue of Nashville but flows to MDHA because of this. This bill would impose a formula requiring that a portion of the property tax revenue would flow to the general fund to support schools. This is better than nothing.  However, I think it probably should be deferred to see what the Tax Increment Financing Study and Formulating Committee comes up with.

Bill BL2018-1315 on Third Reading creates a  Tax Increment Financing Study and Formulating Committee. This sits out the composition of the committee and what they are charged with doing. This is a positive development.

To watch the Council meeting, you can go to the courthouse and watch the meeting in person or you can watch the broadcast live at Metro Nashville Network's Government TV on Nashville's Comcast Channel 3 and AT&T's U-verse 99 and it is streamed live at the Metro Nashville Network's livestream site and you can watch it live on Roku. You can catch the meeting the next day (or the day after the next) on the Metro YouTube channel. If can stand the suspense and just wait, I will post the video on this blog the day after or the day after that and provide commentary

Top Stories

Councilman Robert Swope explains his vote on the Fairground/MLS issue.

by Rod Williams - At the September 4th Council meeting, the council voted to approve several

Robert Swope

pieces of legislation necessary to finalized the MLS deal. This issue had been before the Council for months and pitted soccer fans, city insiders, and elites against advocates of saving the fairgrounds. The part of the deal of most concern to those who support saving the fairground was the giveaway of ten acres of fairground property to the wealthy developers bringing MLS soccer to Nashville. They contented that to make the deal work they had to have the ten acres for mixed-use development.

Of all of the pieces of legislation before the Council to finalized the deal, the one piece of legislation that had the least chance of passing and thereby the best chance of derailing the MLS deal and the ten acre giveaway was  Substitute Bill BL2018-1289. This legislation approved the demolition of certain buildings and structures necessary for the construction of a new Major League Soccer Stadium and the imposing of a privilege tax on the sale of tickets to events at the new Major League Soccer Stadium. The reason this was the best chance to derail the MLS deal was because this bill required 27 votes to pass instead of a simple majority. It passed by a vote of 31 to 8. 

Recently I posted How they voted on the Fairground giveaway and who switched sides.  Included among  those who voted in favor of the MLS deal who had previously been opponents was Councilman Robert Swope. This came as a shock to many.  Robert had been a critic of the deal. On this and other issues, such as the transit issue, Robert Swope had always taken the conservative position and had emerged of one a very few dependable conservative voices in the Council and a Republican leader in Nashville.

I asked Robert to explain his vote which he did graciously and in detail.  I am posting below his explanation in full.

Rod,

As you know, the Fairgrounds Nashville MLS Soccer deal is a highly emotional and complicated issue.  In light of this fact, I have, for months, attempted to not only accommodate soccer in Nashville, but protect the existing Fairgrounds and all the activities that currently reside there.    I do believe that both can exist together, if sane minds prevail.

For the past 20+ years, every mayoral administration has attempted to bulldoze the fairgrounds to make profits off of public land.  This has been an ongoing WAR.  The 1902 land grant, the 1962 Charter of Nashville, and the 2011 referendum have done their best to protect this 117 acres.... but for the last 2 decades, the war has intensified.  With each battle becoming harder to fight.

In my humble opinion, the war needs to end.

How does this happen?  Protect the elephant in the room.  In the 117 acres that is Fairgrounds Nashville, the elephant is the speedway.  One of the oldest tracks in America, producer of more NASCAR drivers than all other tracks in America combined, and a jewel that is currently in desperate need of love and attention.  If you want to "Save The Fairgrounds"... then you need to save the elephant.  Long Term.  Something that no other person or group has managed to do in the last two decades.

When the MLS deal was proposed last October, I fought it tooth and nail.  What was proposed would be the start of the end of the speedway.... and as a consequence, the State Fair and the Flea Market... and ultimately the Fairgrounds itself.  I consider these three things the 3 legged stool that IS the Fairgrounds.  And I have spent months working to save them all.  Months spent on my own dime, my own time, and my own energy.

To make a very long story short (considering I have personally spent over 600 hours working this), Speedway Motor Sports (SMI), the folks who own Bristol and a half dozen other tracks, approached me two months ago.  After numerous meetings and calls, at my request, they wrote a letter to the Mayor and all Councilmembers expressing their interest in a long term contract to manage the Speedway.  This letter fell on totally deaf ears.  This was totally amazing to me.  No-one even had the time to respond.  Except myself.

So.... I began calling, meeting, and emailing the mayor, council members, Tony Formosa, Melissa Smithson, Shane Smiley, John Rose and numerous others attempting to bring everyone to the table to once and for all Save The Fairgrounds.  This was an intensive all out drive to convince the Mayor, and everyone else, that in order to save the three legged stool, we need to save the elephant.  If the speedway were to be contracted on a 30 year deal, then everything else would be saved as well.

There are a hundred other things involved here... .including the needs of the State Fair, the monthly Flea Market vendors, Christmas Village, Hunters Auto show, the Botanical shows, Boat Show, and hundreds more.  All of these were at risk IF the speedway were to fail.  I took my time and energy to speak with most, if not all of them.  Including chairing two Codes Fairgrounds and Farmers Market Committee special meetings in council.

This is a very complex issue....with hundreds of variables, and I wanted to see this from all sides before I acted upon anything.

Please make note:  I was out of the country on business when the council vote occurred last November.  IF I had been in chambers that night, I would have voted no.  Since that time, and until the third reading, and final vote, I have abstained (essentially voting no) from every vote.  I did this because during this entire process I was working my *** off to "Save The Fairgrounds" by bringing SMI to the table, coordinating with the State Fair, the Flea Market vendors, the Save The Fairgrounds coalition, the mayors office, the Fair Board, and others.  Basically bringing a company, and its owners, who are worth far more than the entire Nashville Soccer group combined, to protect the elephant.

Each of these groups agreed with me on several key issues that become the mantra of my personal mission.  They are:

1) The Formosa family shall remain promoting and operating local racing.  (This was agree to by SMI from our first conversation)
2) SMI would receive a 30 year contract to promote NASCAR racing at the speedway.
3) SMI would agree (and they have) to SHARE the expense of rebuilding the speedway with the city.  50-50.  This includes safety upgrades, new seating, new PA, new lighting, a full television/media center, sound barriers, and numerous other upgrades.  No other private entity has EVER offered the city such a deal.
4) The State Fair and the Flea Market vendors would have voting seats on the design board for the new exhibit space (this is being done now)
5) The State Fair would be offered a 30 year deal from the city IF the speedway were secured for the same time period.

All of these things are currently being done.  It will take weeks for these deals to be consummated... but I have personally shaken hands with the mayor and the SMI folks and feel comfortable that these men will honor their promises.

This all comes down to trust.  I am a man that lives up to his word. And I expect, and demand, that others do as well.  My yes vote on the stadium and additional 10 acres of development came at a VERY high price.

My price was the protection of the remaining 100 acres of Fairgrounds Nashville for generations.
My price was the end of a 20+ year war.
My price was saving a 100 year old treasure from any and all further development.
My price was creating a crown jewel where there is now a run down facility for all to enjoy.
My price was never having to spend hundreds of hours of my life again in protecting this treasure we all love in different ways.

My concession was having to agree to the additional 10 acres of land.  This was a pill I HATED to swallow.... but agreed to based on solemn promises made to me by the mayor, SMI and others.  It was the hardest vote I have had to make on this council.

I expect all of these agreed to promises to be consummated within the coming weeks.  SMI has been in town three times and has taken meetings with all the parties relating to the "three legged stool".  So far, everyone seems to be in agreement.  They will be back in town within a week and written agreements are forthcoming as I write this to you.  I TRUST that men who have agreed in principle will honor their words moving forward.

Again... this is about trust.  Something this city desperately needs to regain.  I hope I have played a part in rebuilding that trust, for the betterment of all, the protection of the Fairgrounds property, and in building a facility that we are all proud of....... and not simply been played.  Time will tell.  It always does.

All the Best,

Robert

Robert Swope
Metro Councilman - District 4
Nashville, Tennessee

Top Stories

I will not wear or buy Nike

by Rod Williams - I will not be buying Nike shoes since Colin Kaepernick is now their spokesman. Not that my not buying Nike will have an economic impact on the company.  My "boycott" of Nike will be less than negligible.  I just don't buy that many sneakers. I will not buy or wear Nike not to cause financial harm to Nike but as a matter of conscience.

After this announcement by Nike, I went to my closet to see if I had any Nike's I needed to trash. I don't have any athletic shoe brand loyalty and did not even know what brand I was wearing. Thankfully, my shoes are not Nike, because I am frugal and hate to waste, and I would have hated to throw them out before they were worn out but I would have.  I have two pair of tennis shoes, one pair is a Reebok and the other is Dr. Scholls. I had one pair of Nike socks which I will trash and they are almost new.

I am not big on boycotts.  There is too much other stuff to be informed about to try to remember who I am supposed to boycott. Life is complex enough without evaluating companies and products based on the causes they support, the political opinions of the company owners or to

whom they give discounts.  I will never join AARP, but I am not going to boycott companies that give AARP members a discount. Life it too short to complicate it like that.

Following the Parkland school shooting, there was a push by gun control advocates to pressure companies to drop their NRA association and some did.  The "NRA association" did not amount to much really. Usually the "association" meant that NRA members got an insignificant discount if they presented their NRA membership card at the time of purchase.  I don't remember if it was Delta Airlines or some other company, but one major company in a year's time had only awarded four NRA discounts. The reason is that usually only one discount can apply at a time and if you purchase through another party, such as Travelocity, you don't get any other discount. I bet most NRA members even think to present their NRA membership card and ask for a discount.

In response to companies dropping their NRA discount, some conservatives mounted a boycott of companies like Delta airlines that had disassociated themselves from the NRA.  I recently took a trip to Montreal, Canada and flew on Delta simply because it was the best and most convenient option. The supposed boycott of Delta did not enter into my calculation.

Due to their bathroom policy some people boycott Target and lots of people boycott Starbucks but I forget the reason why. I don't do Starbucks, not because I am boycotting them, but because I think they are overpriced and there is other coffee just as good.

So, my point is that I am not big on boycotts. However, Nike is different. By choosing Colin Kaepernick they have chose the person who started a movement to disrespect the flag. I do think people ought to have the right to disrespect the flag.  I even think they should have a right to burn the flag if it is their own flag.  The first amendment should extend to symbolic speech and flag burning is symbolic speech.  The flag itself is not a sacred icon but a symbol and while I find burning it or disrespecting it offensive, free speech means sometimes people may do or say something that offends you. That doesn't mean that you have to respect them or associate with them.

Nike has taken sides and proudly aligned itself with those who disrespect the flag. The logic of the move to show disrespect for the flag is that it somehow protest alleged police brutality. "Taking a knee," is to support the Black Lives Matter movement. I get it. However, to choose this kind of protest to make your point is so very offensive to me.  I am a patriot. I love my country and I pledge allegiance to the flag and and to the republic for which it stands. I take showing respect for the flag seriously. I sill can get goosebumps at patriotic displays.

Nike may know their customers. Maybe this won't hurt them at all.  I assume among many Blacks this will make Nike more popular.  I perceive that many millennials and many other liberals, are slightly embarrassed by patriotic displays and find patriotism not much more than tribalism. They may view themselves as citizens of the world rather than America and see attachment to country as an embarrassing relic of a previous era of jingoism and irrational romanticism.  They probably applaud Nike.

As for me, I cannot respect someone or a company who disrespects the flag. If there was a rally to publicly burn your Nike's, I would attend and throw my Nike socks in the fire.  I would feel good doing so.

Top Stories