What happened at the Council meeting of 10-16-18: council approves mayor's $351M spending plan, more gentrification policies approved, Blue Ribbon Commission established.

This is the Council meeting of Tuesday, October 15. It is three and half hours long.  If you are going to watch ii, it will make a lot more sense if you can follow along with an agenda. To access a copy of the agenda, the agenda summary and my commentary on the agenda, follow this link. Four members were absent for this meeting. Those absent were O'Connell, Mina Johnson, Bedne and Dowell.

Below is a summary of the meeting highlighting what I deem to be the most important items. After a couple ceremonial presentations, the Council gets down to business at time stamp 16.

The Public Comment period starts at timestamp 18:52 and ends at timestamp 25:55.  The first speaker advocates for the decriminalization of prostitution, another speaks about traffic problems, and another speaks about the problems in Metro Schools. Having an open public comment period is working out better than I thought it would.
 
There are a several position to be filled to various boards and commission. Most were confirmation of mayoral appointments and those were approved.


Tax Increment Financing Study and Formulating Committee appointees were voted upon. This is the Committee established to study TIF financing. TIF is the tool used to fund a lot of metro's Commercial development. When this tool is used, instead of the tax revenue from the development flowing into Metro coffers it flows to MDHA to fund development. The use of TIF is a major reason Metro is experiencing a revenue shortfall despite unprecedented growth. The nominees were Mayor Briley’s nominees Mr. Brian Kelsey and Ms. Talia Lomax-O’dneal and MDHA’s nominees Mr. Charles Robert Bone and Mr. Bert Mathews.The confirmation motion was seconded and adopted by a unanimous vote of the Council.

Council election to fill three vacant positions on the Tax Increment Financing Study and Formulating Committee: The President called for an election to fill three vacancies . There were a bunch of nominees. Some were ruled ineligible or withdrew. There was some parliamentary maneuvering to change the election process and that failed. Votes were taken and all of the votes were by roll call vote and each candidate received some negative votes. Dr. Paulette Coleman and Council Member Mendes were elected to the Tax Increment Financing Study and Formulating Committee.

A second vote was taken to fill a remaining vacancy. There were four candidates for the remaining position. Again there was some discussion and then Mr. Richard F. Warren garnering 16 votes was elected to the Tax Increment Financing Study and Formulating Committee.


Resolutions: Most were approved on the Consent Agenda, meaning they were not acted upon individually, but lumped together and passed by a single vote. Here are the resolutions of interest.

Resolution RS2018-1452  spends  $3,070,000.00 from the General Fund Reserve Fund for the purchase of equipment and building repairs for various departments. That is a lot of money to pull from this fund at one time. However, the fund is set up for this purpose. This was approved 32 to 0.

Resolution RS2018-1455  approves the issuance of up to $25,000,000 in GSD general obligation bonds to provide funding for various projects, $15,000,000 of the bond proceeds would be used for projects exclusively in Council District 1. Some of these are for projects not listed in the Capital Improvements Budget. I would expect this to be deferred or amended or defeated. The Council cannot fund projects not in the Capital Improvements budget. This resolution is sponsored by newly elected Councilman Hall of District 1. Usually these type resolutions are sponsored by the Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee. Hall moved to defer the resolution, which motion was seconded and approved by a voice vote of the Council.

Resolution RS2018-1454 (as amended)  to issue general obligation bonds  in an aggregate principal amount of not to exceed $351,100,000.  Council Member Vercher moved to defer the resolution, which motion was seconded and failed by a roll call vote: 9 "yes,"21 "No," and one abstention. After some parliamentary maneuvering and debate, and attempt was made to defer it again and that also failed by a vote of 10 to 20 to one. The resolution then passed by a vote of 22 in favor, 8 opposed and one abstention. The "no" votes were Cooper, Mendes, Hall, Swope, Hagar, Glover, Huezo, and Henderson. Council Cooper and other complain they did not see the list of projects and associated revenue sources until right before the meeting. Also, some of the bonds are no interest for the first year, which can have financial implications and needs more study. It seems like this was ramrodded through and the Council was buying a "pic in a poke."  To watch the council action on this resolution see time stamp 36:42- 1:6"34.

This discussion is worth watching. I am impressed by John Cooper. Angie Henderson also peruses a good line of questioning. To read The Tennessean's coverage of this issue see: Nashville council approves mayor's $351M spending plan, despite calls for delay.

 Bills on Second Reading: There are 16. These are the ones of interest.

Bill BL2018-1188  would establish a committee system to review high-value real property transactions by Metro Government. It was approved by a voice vote.

Bill BL2018-1281 (as amended) would require all metro employees and contractors doing business with Metro with contracts of over $500,000, to take a sexual harassment training course under the Direction of Metro Department of Personnel. There are a couple problems with this. It may be contrary to a state law that prohibits cities from imposing additional requirements on state licensed firms, Human Resources cannot say how much it will cost, and the city does not have the resources at this time to track and assure compliance. This was on Second Reading last Council meeting and was deferred. This time it was approved by a voice vote.

Bill BL2018-1329 establishes some rules for the residential parking permit (RPP) program. Some residential areas near popular commercial area have had a problem with parking. Visitors to the nearby commercial establishments have been taking all of the parking on neighboring streets and residents who rely on on-street parking can not park on their own street. This permit system attempts to solve that by allowing only cars with permits to park on that street. If however you want to have guest for a baby shower or family dinner, it means they would be illegally parking on your street. Residents could purchase two guest permits good for a year. While this RPP system is new to Nashville it is common in lots of larger urban areas. No doubt this policy will be tweaked from time to time.  This was on Second Reading last meeting and was deferred. It was approved by a voice vote.

Bill BL2018-1334 tweaks the  ticket tax for the Major League Soccer Stadium. I don't expect this to generate controversy, but it might. This would raise the overall price of attending a game and may suppress attendance. This was approved by a voice vote. Bills on Third Reading: There are 16. These are the ones of interest.

Bill BL2018-1183  would establish a distance of a quarter of a mile between auto

repair businesses and used auto car lots and "auto services."

This seems like too much micromanagement to me. It also seems like an attack on poor people.  I know Nolensville Road is not very attractive and if you drive the road south of the fairground now, you will see used tire shops and used auto dealers and similar places clustered. A lot of these places are owned by immigrants. Those already operating would be grandfathered in, but if ownership changed the establishment could not continue. I assume that is the way that would work. That is the way it normally works with changes like this.  New used tire shops could not open unless they were 1/4 mile away from other such businesses.  I think we should let the market work this out. Poor people need jobs and places to shop too. Bills like this push out poor people and indirectly cause a loss of affordable housing.  To have affordable housing you need affordable communities. Affordable communities are going to have used tire shops and alternative financial institutions such as pay day lenders. You cannot gentrify all of Nashville and still have affordable housing. This was approved by a vote of 29 to one. The only "no" vote was Angie Henderson.

Bill BL2018-1314   establishes the Blue Ribbon Commission to look for government efficiencies and cost savings. The Commission would be 15-member. This lays out how they are appointed and their duties. I am pleased to see the council doing this. I hope some good comes from it. Despite Metro's rapid growth we have a financial crisis that is only getting worse. This was approved 30 to zero.

Bill BL2018-1316 would establish screening requirements and standards for waste
dumpsters. This is great for those of us who have to walk or drive by unsightly dumpsters but will add expense for the same people who might want to open a used tire shop on Nolensville Rd as described above. Well intention measures like this drive gentrification by making it difficult for poor neighborhoods to exist and if all parts of the town are aesthetically pleasing to middle class taste, you price poor people out of their neighborhoods and this leads to loss of affordable housing and makes it harder for struggling entrepreneurs to start new businesses. You cannot not have a lot of affordable housing without affordable neighborhoods and affordable neighborhoods may have unscreened dumpsters behind tire shops. You can't still have affordable neighborhoods and expect every neighborhood to look like Green Hills. This was approved on a voice vote.  

For more details see the meeting minutes at this link.

Top Stories

Every life has meaning- so does every vote. Make yours count.

From Tennessee Right to life:or

For a list of candidates who stand strong on life issues, click here or visit www.vote4life.org

Lives are being saved because of your investment in the election of sincere pro-life legislators and the passage of protective pro-life state laws. Children and moms are being spared the grief of an abortion decision because of positive public education programs in churches, campuses, and community events where friendly Right to Life volunteers share facts, alternatives to abortion, and opportunities for involvement in the pro-life movement. Speaking of facts, did you know: 4 abortion facilities have closed in Tennessee since 2012 7 facilities remain which advertise and perform surgical and/or chemical (RU 486) abortions The facilities are in Bristol (1), Knoxville (2), Memphis (3) and Nashville (1) In 2016, 9,732 abortions were sought by women residing in our state 85% of women and girls seeking abortions are unmarried 38% of abortions are sought by women having had 1 or more previous abortions Thanks to you and the work of fellow pro-life Tennesseans, we have the strongest pro-life legislature and laws at any time since Roe v Wade. Required informed consent for women and girls considering an abortion and a mandatory 48-hour waiting period help to ensure that every woman has fuller knowledge about the age and development of her unborn child as well as public and private agencies available to assist her. Upon her request, she must also be given the opportunity to view the ultrasound image of her child.  You can help keep these public policies by returning pro-life super-majorities to the Tennessee state House, state Senate, and Tennessee's Congressional delegation. In addition, Tennessee must have a Governor with the demonstrated commitment and capability to stand without fail for life.

Top Stories

Early voting dates, times and locations

Early voting began today Wednesday, October 17, 2018 and will continue through Thursday, November 1, 2018. Below are the dates and times for early voting

Date	Time
Wednesday, October 17	8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 18	8 a.m.–7 p.m.
Friday, October 19	8 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 20	8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Monday, October 22	8 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 23	8 a.m.–7 p.m.
Wednesday, October 24	8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 25	8 a.m.–7 p.m.
Friday, October 26	8 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 27	8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Monday, October 29	8 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 30	8 a.m.–7 p.m.
Wednesday, October 31	8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Thursday, November 1	8 a.m.–7 p.m.

Early Voting Locations

• Belle Meade City Hall, 4705 Harding Pike,Nashville, TN 37205
• Bellevue Library, 720 Baugh Road, Nashville, TN 37221
• Bordeaux Library, 4000 Clarksville Pike, Nashville, TN 37218
• Casa Azafrán Comm. Center, 2195 Nolensville Pike, Nashville, TN 37211
• Edmondson Pike Library, 5501 Edmondson Pike, Nashville, TN 37211
• Goodlettsville Comm. Center, 200 Memorial Dr, Goodlettsville, TN 37072
• Green Hills Library, 3701 Benham Ave, Nashville, TN 37215
• Hermitage Library, 3700 James Kay Lane, Hermitage, TN 37076
• Madison Station Fifty Forward, 301 Madison Street, Madison, TN 37115
• Howard Office Building, 700 2nd Ave S, Nashville, TN 37210
• Southeast Library, 5260 Hickory Hollow Pkwy, Antioch, TN 37013

To view a sample ballot follow this link.

Helpful Information: 

• Election Day is November 6th.
• Voting Hours on Election Day: the polls are open 7:00 am – 7:00 pm.
• Photo ID: Voters must present a photo ID issued by the Federal or Tennessee state government, unless exception applies. You do not have to present your Voter Registration Card to vote.
• Election Day Voting Location: On Election Day, you must vote at your assigned polling place. Use the Polling Place Finder at www.nashville.gov/voteto identify your assigned location .
• Change of Address: If you have moved within Davidson County and not updated your address, you may do so during Early Voting. If voting on Election Day, go to your new polling location where you can change your address and vote.

Visit the Election Commission Department web site for more information

Top Stories

Sountheast Conservatives Breakfast Club meets Oct. 20th.

From Robert Duvall
Good day to Everyone:
Additional Speaker added.
We will be having our October meeting on the 20th of October, at the Shoney’s on Thompson Lane. Breakfast at 8 AM.. Meeting called at order at 9 AM. Our agenda is as follows:

AFP, Americans For Prosperity will share the headliner position of the meeting, with our FOP, Fraternal Order of Police.
We have added Paul Manyok. Paul is an old member. One of the Lost Boys of the Sudan, and has an announcement to make!
Our guest speakers are Jimmy Gafford, FOP, James Amundsen, AFP, Paul Manyok. 

Hope to see you there. Come early. We expect a full house.
Smiles,
Robert

Top Stories

Vote NO on Metropolitan Charter Amendment 1

Davidson County Republican Party - After a thorough review, the Davidson County Republican Party urges the citizens of Davidson County to vote NO on Charter Amendment 1 concerning the creation of a Community Oversight Board for law enforcement.

There are currently at least 8 different layers of accountability in place for our local law enforcement agencies, several made up of civilians. These include local agencies such as the Office of Professional Accountability as well as state and federal agencies such as the TBI and FBI. Our local officers are currently held to a higher standard of accountability than other departments nationwide. Also, there is no mandate in the current legislation that would require the perspective of someone who is well-versed in current law enforcement policy, procedure and training. Nor is there a requirement for anyone on the board to have a comprehensive understanding of local, state and federal law. 

Furthermore, the proposed amendment to create the Community Oversight Board would not only be redundant, but would add another $2 million annually to the Metro Budget. In a time when the metro government cannot keep its promised raises to employees and is cutting tens of millions of dollars out of the budget to stay solvent, Nashville certainly cannot afford this redundant, expensive layer of bureaucracy.

The current language in the proposed amendment also causes concern:

Section 11.1301
1. “7 of the 11 Board Members will be nominated by community organizations or private petition signed by 50 Davidson County Residents and approved by majority vote of Council.
2. “At least 4 of the 7 members must reside in economically distressed communities.”
Not only is the term “economically distressed community” not clearly defined, but there are many other vague descriptions throughout the proposed amendment.
Most importantly, nowhere in the proposed amendment is there language that any board members appointed are required to be United States Citizens. This is in direct violation of the sanctuary city legislation passed by the state legislature. How can we require our law enforcement officers to be citizens but not the individuals who have oversight of their livelihood?
It is for these reasons that we encourage all Davidson County Voters to vote NO on Charter Amendment 1 to allow our police force to continue protecting Davidson County residents.

Top Stories

Vote for Dr. Brent Moody in House District 56

Brent Moody

by Mark Roger - If you live in District 56, Please vote for Dr. Brent Moody for State House.

Brent is a nationally respected skin cancer surgeon and is the best prepared choice to replace Beth Harwell who has left the Legislature. Brent brings a cutting edge understanding of medical issues to the role of Representative. This will be of great value as Governor Lee and the Legislature tackle decades long problems in health care. 

Another strength of Brent is that medicine has trained him to listen and do research before making a diagnosis or beginning treatment. He will bring this same focus on dialogue and data to all the issues that will come before the Legislature.

Mark Rogers is a prominent Nashvillian active in Republican Party politics and public affairs. 

Top Stories

Vote for Bill Lee for Govenor

Bill Lee

by Mark Rogers - Early Voting begins tomorrow, October 17th. It is important for you to show up and play a role in determining the future of our state and federal governments.

I encourage all Tennesseans to vote for Bill Lee for Governor. Bill has proven his ability to manage a large organization with his skillful operation of the Lee Company. One element of his leadership ability was his building of an excellent campaign organization that enabled him to defeat two candidates who outspent him by millions of dollars. That skill, the picking of the right people, is crucial for anyone seeking to govern a state of over six million people spread across 95 counties and almost 500 miles.

Bill also showed his vision by running a campaign that was designed to unify all Tennesseans. In the primary he rose above the barrages of negative attacks to reach out to Republicans from the right to the center. His victory ensured that we could all put aside the divisiveness and focus on the general election and governing after November.

In the General Election Bill has continued to campaign in a manner designed to unify voters of all ideologies and parties. His vision for Tennessee will build on the achievements of Governor Haslam, Lt. Governors Ramsey and McNally and Speaker Harwell.

Karl Dean was a good mayor and a man to be respected. But Bill Lee has proven he can unify the party that will control both Houses next January and and can unify the citizens of our state as we move toward even greater improvements in Education, our Economy and in the overall quality of life in Tennessee.

Please vote early and often for Bill Lee for Governor.

Mark Rogers is a prominent Nashvillian active in Republican Party politics and public affairs. 

Top Stories

Please vote for Judd Cowan in District 50

Judd Cowan

by Mark Rogers - If you are a resident of State House District 50, please vote early for Judd Cowan. Judd is the Republican in District 50 and he brings the skills we need to help with high tech issues that will face Tennesser in the coming years.

Judd is an engineer who understands how to secure our state computer systems so that our data and our services are protected. He is also well prepared to ensure that the outside companies we hire to do sophisticated computer programs are doing the job right the first time so we can get our school testing operating properly when we need it.

Judd is not a professional politician who puts reelection ahead of doing the right things. He is the sort of citizen legislator we need more of now.

Mark Rogers is a prominent Nashvillian active in Republican Party politics and public affairs.

Top Stories

The 23 worst school in Nashville. These are schools ranked among the bottom 5% of all state schools.

Last month the state of Tennessee issued their list of  "priority" schools. Priority schools are the lowest performing schools in the state. The  list represents the bottom 5 percent of schools in the state based on standardized test results or are high schools with a graduation rate of  less than 67 percent..

Of  the total of 81 schools on the list, 23 are Nashville schools. Nashville was the jurisdiction with the second highest number of schools on the list. Shelby County had 27 schools on the list. Knoxville had no schools on the list and Hamilton County had nine.

In 2015, the last time the list was compiled, Nashville hat only 15 schools on the list. Four school on the 2015 list are now off the list, but more have been added. In 2012, there were only six Nashville schools on the list. Can anyone see a trend here? Our schools are rapidly getting worst.

Two of the schools on the list, Brick Church and Neely's Bend are not overseen by the local school board but are charter schools overseen by the the state's Achievement School District.

Two high schools on the list, Maplewood and Whites Creek, are plagued by chronic absentee rates of 42 percent. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing more than 10 percent of the school days in a given year. 

When School Director Shawn Joseph was asked how many would still be on the list in three years, he said, "none."  My view is that we should not wait to see if he is correct but should replace Joseph now.

Here's the current 2017-2018 list of Nashville priority schools. 

• Alex Green Elementary
• Amqui Elementary
• Antioch Middle
• Bellshire Elementary
• Caldwell Elementary
• Cumberland Elementary
• Gra-Mar Middle
• Haynes Middle
• Jere Baxter Middle
• Joelton Middle
• Madison Middle
• Maplewood High
• McMurray Middle
• Moses McKissack Middle
• Robert E. Lilliard Elementary
• Rosebank Elementary
• The Cohn Learning Center
• Tom Joy Elementary
• Warner Elementary
• Whites Creek High
• Wright Middle
• Brick Church
• Neely's Bend

If your student is assigned to one of these schools you do not have to simply accept the fact. Parents now have school choice and may enroll their child in other schools rather than the district school. There will be a  SCHOOL CHOICE FESTIVAL on Thursday, November 15, 2018,  5-7 p.m.at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. Follow the above link for more information. .

For more on this story see these links: link, link, link, link.   

Top Stories

"Moderate" Bredesen spent nearly half a million dollars trying to elect liberals to office

Phil Bredesen talks about how he will be a moderate voice for Tennessee, but history shows he’s spent a small fortune supporting left-wing Democrats.

Bredesen has spent nearly half a million dollars trying to elect liberals to office and backing their out-of-touch policies, and in 2016 Bredesen proudly backed Hillary Clinton for President.
In a state President Trump won by 26 points, voters aren’t going to forget Bredesen fought tooth and nail to support a candidate who called them “deplorables.”
BACKGROUND:
Phil Bredesen spent $460,691 bankrolling liberal Democratic candidates. (Philip Wegmann, “Phil Bredesen spent $460,691 bankrolling liberal Democratic candidates,” Washington Examiner, 6/6/18)
On August 27, 2016, Phil Bredesen Contributed $33,400 To The Hillary Victory Fund. (Hillary Victory Fund, October 15 Quarterly Report (Amended), Federal Election Commission, Filed 8/31/17, Pg. 7088)

Top Stories

Phil Breden's shameful record on sexual harassment

If Phil Bredesen wants to claim he had a “zero tolerance policy” when it comes to sexual harassment, how does he explain this?

Here’s a look at the detailed and extensive reporting that the Tennessean, the Associated Press and other outlets conducted.

• As governor, Bredesen’s office shielded top aides from sexual harassment allegations. (Bonna de la Cruz, “Deputy Gov. Pulled Strings In Hushed-Up Harassment Case,” The Tennessean, 12/21/05)
• Under Bredesen’s administration, sexual harassment problems skyrocketed. (Matt Gouras, “Sexual Harassment Reports Climb,” The Associated Press, 12/12/05)
• Bredesen’s administration shredded evidence about sexual harassment allegations involving his political appointees. (Brad Schrade, “Investigator Shreds Notes In Bredesen Aide’s Demotion,” The Tennessean, 5/12/05)
• “Records have shown that when Bredesen’s office becomes involved in a complaint, notes are shredded or not taken, or documents are not released.” (Editorial Board, “EDITORIAL: Bredesen Must Clean Up Conduct, Open Records,” The Tennessean, 7/15/05)
• “The governor’s office has become involved in a select number of workplace harassment complaints against top state officials and has put them under a veil of secrecy that does not apply to ordinary state works, a Tennessean review of case files shows.” (Brad Schrade, “Bredesen Imposes Secrecy On Select Harassment Cases,” The Tennessean, 7/16/05)
• The Tennessean reported that “when cases are routed through Gov. Phil Bredesen's office, the files are empty, are shredded or contain only one or two pages with almost no details about the accusations or how the investigations were handled.” (Brad Schrade, “Bredesen Imposes Secrecy On Select Harassment Cases,” The Tennessean, 7/16/05)
• “Tennessee Harassment Investigations Found to be Incomplete, Inconsistent.” (Beth Rucker, “Tennessee Harassment Investigations Found To Be Incomplete, Inconsistent,” The Associated Press, 12/11/05)
• Bredesen downplayed sexual harassment saying, “Anytime you mix men and women together in a work environment there's going to be issues.” (Brad Schrade, “Bredesen Imposes Secrecy On Select Harassment Cases,” The Tennessean, 7/16/05)
• Bredesen called a small fine and minimal suspension “appropriate,” after the President of Middle Tennessee State University was accused of sexually harassing a female subordinate. (Duren Cheek, “MTSU Chief’s Penalty Fair, Too Soon To Tell For TSU Head, Governor Says,” The Tennessean, 12/9/03)
• Bredesen hired two individuals who oversaw the mishandling of the sexual harassment allegations to run his campaign. (Brent Scher, “Bredesen Reassembles Team That Mishandled Sexual Harassment Claims,” The Washington Free Beacon, 2/6/18)

Michael McAdams
NRSC Regional Press Secretary

Top Stories

What's on the Council agenda for Oct. 16: Gentrifying Nashville, increasing the price of a soccer ticket.

The Metro Council will meet Tuesday, October 16th at 6:30 PM in the Council chamber at the Metro Courthouse. 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 a summary of the agenda highlighting what I deem to be the most important items.

There are a total of eleven position to be filled to various boards and omission.  One is the confirmation of Dave Goetz to the Blue Ribbon Commission on government efficiencies and cost savings. Goetz is the former Tennessee Finance and Administration Commissioner serving under Governor Phil Bredesen. One is the confirmation of the appointment of  Dr. Bonnie Slovis to the Hospital Authority. This board which oversees General Hospitals has had a troubled past with conflicts and controversy and resignations.

Four appointees to the Tax Increment Financing Study and Formulating Committee are up for confirmation. They are Mayor Briley’s nominees Mr. Brian Kelsey and Ms. Talia Lomax-O’dneal and MDHA’s nominees Mr. Charles Robert Bone and Mr. Bert Mathews.

The Council will elect three member to the Tax Increment Financing Study and Formulating Committee. Included among the nominees are Dr. Paulette Coleman, Councilman John Cooper, Mr. Eddie Gray, Mr. Jose Gonzalez, C.M. Jonathan Hall, Councilman Angie Henderson, Mr. Ben Henry Jordan, Mr. Dan Lane, Mr. Jerry Maynard, Councilman. Bob Mendes, Mr. Larry Papel, Dr. Megan Streams, and Mr. Richard F. Warren. I don't know much about most of these people other than the council members. I hope Councilman Cooper is elected to serve on this committee. I have been impressed by his service on the council.

Resolutions: There are 24 resolutions all of which are on the consent agenda.  A resolution is on the consent agenda if it passed unanimously the committees to which it was assigned. Since the committees have not met yet, some resolutions which are listed as on the consent agenda may not be on the consent agenda when the council meets. Resolutions on the consent agenda are usually not controversial and tend to be routine matters, such as accepting grants from the Federal or State Government or authorizing the Department of Law to settle claims against the city or appropriating money from the 4% fund. Resolutions on the consent agenda are lumped together passed by a single vote of the Council rather than being considered individually. Any member of the body may have a bill pulled off of the consent agenda. Several of thee resolutions on this agenda authorize the issuance of General Obligation bonds. I would not expect these to be controversial. Usually by the time the resolution to issue the bonds reaches the council agenda the decision to fund the projects has been made by the administration and the council. Here are a couple resolution of interest:

Resolution RS2018-1452  spends  $3,070,000.00 from the General Fund Reserve Fund for the purchase of equipment and building repairs for various departments. That is a lot of money to pull from this fund at one time. However, the fund is set up for this purpose. I hope the budget and finance committee carefully scrutinizes each request to assure that it is legitimate.

Resolution RS2018-1455  approves the issuance of up to $25,000,000 in GSD general obligation bonds to provide funding for various projects, $15,000,000 of the bond proceeds would be used for projects exclusively in Council District 1. Some of these are for projects not listed in the Capital Improvements Budget. I would expect this to be deferred or amended or defeated. The Council cannot fund projects not in the Capital Improvements budget. This resolution is sponsored by newly elected Councilman Hall of District 1. Usually these type resolutions are sponsored by the Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee.

Bills on Second Reading: There are 16. These are the ones of interest.

Bill BL2018-1188  would establish a committee system to review high-value real property transactions by Metro Government. This looks like a good idea. However the staff analysis says it violates a charter provision so it will likely be deferred for more work.

Bill BL2018-1281 (as amended) would require all metro employees and contractors doing business with Metro with contracts of over $500,000, to take a sexual harassment training course under the Direction of Metro Department of Personnel. There are a couple problems with this. It may be contrary to a state law that prohibits cities from imposing additional requirements on state licensed firms, Human Resources cannot say how much it will cost, and the city does not have the resources at this time to track and assure compliance. This was on Second Reading last Council meeting and was deferred and likely will be deferred again.

Bill BL2018-1329 establishes some rules for the residential parking permit (RPP) program. Some residential areas near popular commercial area have had a problem with parking. Visitors to the nearby commercial establishments have been taking all of the parking on neighboring streets and residents who rely on on-street parking can not park on their own street. This permit system attempts to solve that by allowing only cars with permits to park on that street. If however you want to have guest for a baby shower or family dinner, it means they would be illegally parking on your street. Residents could purchase two guest permits good for a year. While this RPP system is new to Nashville it is common in lots of larger urban areas. No doubt this policy will be tweaked from time to time.  This was on Second Reading last meeting and was deferred. 

Bill BL2018-1334 tweaks the  ticket tax for the Major League Soccer Stadium. I don't expect this to generate controversy, but it might. This would raise the overall price of attending a game and may suppress attendance.

Bills on Third Reading: There are 16. These are the ones of interest.

Bill BL2018-1183  would establish a distance of a quarter of a mile between auto

repair businesses and used auto car lots and "auto services."  This seems like too much micromanagement to me. It also seems like an attack on poor people.  I know Nolensville Road is not very attractive and if you drive the road south of the fairground now, you will see used tire shops and used auto dealers and similar places clustered. A lot of these places are owned by immigrants. Those already operating would be grandfathered in, but if ownership changed the establishment could not continue. I assume that is the way that would work. That is the way it normally works with changes like this.  New used tire shops could not open unless they were 1/4 mile away from other such businesses.  I think we should let the market work this out. Poor people need jobs and places to shop too. Bills like this push out poor people and indirectly cause a loss of affordable housing.  To have affordable housing you need affordable communities. Affordable communities are going to have used tire shops and alternative financial institutions such as pay day lenders. You cannot gentrify all of Nashville and still have affordable housing. 

Bill BL2018-1314   establishes the Blue Ribbon Commission to look for government efficiencies and cost savings. The Commission would be 15-member. This lays out how they are appointed and their duties. I am pleased to see the council doing this. I hope some good comes from it. Despite Metro's rapid growth we have a financial crisis that is only getting worse. 

Bill BL2018-1316 would establish screening requirements and standards for waste
dumpsters. This is great for those of us who have to walk or drive by unsightly dumpsters but will add expense for the same people who might want to open a used tire shop on Nolensville Rd as described above. Well intention measures like this drive gentrification by making it difficult for poor neighborhoods to exist and if all parts of the town are aesthetically pleasing to middle class taste, you price poor people out of their neighborhoods and this leads to loss of affordable housing and makes it harder for struggling entrepreneurs to start new businesses. You cannot not have a lot of affordable housing without affordable neighborhoods and affordable neighborhoods may have unscreened dumpsters behind tire shops. You can't still have affordable neighborhoods and expect every neighborhood to look like Green Hills. 

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. You can catch the meeting the next day (or the day after the next) on the MetroYouTube channel.   If can stand the suspense and just wait, I will post the video here the day after or the day after that and provide commentary.

Top Stories

Music City Republican Women membership drive party

Top Stories

MARSHA MONDAYS every Monday from 5 - 7pm at Party headquarters on Lafayette Street

From Davidson Country Republican Party:

The Davidson County Republican Party's Candidate Campaign Headquarters will be hosting MARSHA MONDAYS every Monday from 5 - 7pm.

Join us this coming Monday, October 15th to phone-bank for Marsha. Located at 520 Lafayette Street (between 5th and 6th Ave), we are in need of volunteers willing to help us elect our next Senator from Tennessee!

If you can join us, please bring your phone or laptop and email DavidsonCountyGOP@gmail.com.

And even if you can't donate your time, please come by our new space downtown (open Mon. - Sat., 10am - 6pm) to get a sign, become a member, volunteer for one of our candidates, or just talk to like minded conservatives.

Top Stories