Top Stories
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Beth Harwell: No privatization of Tennessee park services as govenor
| Beth Harwell |
While at this point I am undecided who I will support for governor and while there are several factors that will go into my decision, I would like someone to serve as governor who would continue to pursue opportunities for reducing state payroll. This stated position by Beth Harwell opposing privatizing is a mark against her.
Some elected officials see governments function as a provider of employment and will oppose any economizing efforts that would cause a constituent to lose his job. I experienced this viewpoint at work shortly after I was elected to serve in the Metro Council. In the early 80's Metro still had elevator operators of the elevators in the Metro Courthouse. I remember as a boy, almost all elevators had elevator operators but by the 80's elevators had long been self-service. The elevators in the courthouse were modern contemporary elevators, yet we still had an elevator operator which would ask you which of the three floors you wanted to go to and push the button for you. Some members of the Council opposed eliminating those positions because those people would lose their job.
There was a big fight in the Council in changing the way we picked up garbage. At that time, Metro did not contract any of the garbage collection but it was all collected by Metro employees. We picked up garbage twice a week at the back door. The garbage cans were not uniform and the garbage cans had to be manually empties instead of having a devise that lifted the cans. A big
expense of collecting garbage was workman's comp. It seems that most garbage men ended up retiring early with a bad back. Contracting out garbage collection saved the city a massive amount of money, but many fellow council members opposed any change to the way we collected garbage because they had constituents who would lose a job.
The purpose of government is not to provide government jobs.
Top Stories
Rebecca Burke to Oppose Rep. Charles Sargent
 |
| Rebecca Burke |
“I am starting early because there will be a lot of political noise for voters to digest leading into the governor’s race and U.S. Senate race, not to mention local races,” said Burke. “Many think that we should be worried about the ‘Swamp’ in Washington D.C., but my sights are focused on the ‘Swamp’ in Tennessee.”
Burke, 62, has spent over 35 years as an aggressive and outspoken conservative activist. She has been known to out-work opponents as a campaigner and strategist and to pursue relentlessly, politicians who fail to demonstrate integrity and consider lightly their devotion to smaller, more efficient government.
“I have at least two dozen close friends who are members of the legislature’s conservative caucus who live and breathe dedication to keeping taxes low, reducing the size of government and holding themselves to very high ethical standards. And then, there are others who need to be replaced,” Burke added. “There is perhaps no better recent example of that disconnect than the investigative series on Monday and Tuesday in the Tennessean.”
A two-part series by Joel Ebert documented lavish spending of the taxpayers’ money on out of state trips where legislators are wined and dined by lobbyists in a manner that is prohibited behavior within the state. Taxpayer funded trips often include family and legislative staffers. Problems have been documented in legislators reimbursing themselves for expenses that have been covered by lobbyists, double dipping. Since 2009, such trips have cost Tennessee taxpayers $1.2 million. Data is sparse to non-existent on what was learned on these trips, what legislation was produced or what benefit was realized.
“Some legislators are so immune to responsible use of the taxpayers’ dollars that they resist making this data public, you have to ask them how they benefitted and why they attended these resort locations, Burke explained. “To top that off some suggest it is ok because that is what happens in corporate America. Well, I have news for them, corporate America would not tolerate such behavior. They operate on tight margins and expect to see measurable benefits. The days of the fat expense accounts are over, unless you are in the legislature. Accountability, transparency and appreciation of our hard-earned tax dollars is grossly lacking in a ‘Swamp.”
Burke also points out the doubling of some legislators’ salaries through the use of per diems. The State allows legislators to report overnight stays in Nashville, meals, mileage and parking and misc. other expenses as allowable. “If you call the Registry of Election Finance or the Legislature and ask to see per diem payments, you can’t see them. Rep. Charles Sargent is reportedly one of the bigger abusers of this manner of padding the salary, despite living a short distance from Nashville. I say ‘reportedly’ because he has never disclosed these expenses or payments or to whom the money was paid. It is all hidden from taxpayers’ eyes,” Burke said.
Burke indicates that she will run an innovative, unusual campaign. She plans to attack the flow of State monies back to Williamson County. While local officials scramble to find money for schools, the State of Tennessee engages in progressive-think about the redistribution of wealth from Williamson to other parts of the State’s budget. “Our robust county is home to leading business which is a tax engine for the State. Remove Williamson County and our tax revenue from the State, and they would be in trouble. Yet they return to us only a small percentage of what we send to them. That can’t continue,” Burke explains. “While Charles Sargent has been our representative, the State’s share of schools’ funding has decreased and decreased, while our taxes flow freely to the State, that’s not advocacy for our County. We need new formulas and stronger leadership.”
Burke will complete her four-year term on the State Executive Committee as she competes in the August primary. Her work on the SEC made a name for herself as she carried unanimous resolutions commending parents for opposition to Common Core, for opposing then Chairman Ryan Haynes’ reassignment of presidential delegates from those who earned the seats to rewarding political allies, to leading the two-hour debate on closing primaries coming within seven votes of passage in the 66-member body representing Senate districts state-wide. She has been a leading advocate for new Chairman Scott Golden, formerly a deputy staffer for Congressman Marsha Blackburn.
Burke has served on the presidential campaign of Donald Trump, leading the Orlando, FL call center and most recently assisted the Congressional campaign of Georgia’s Karen Handel. She assisted special events for Sen. Fred D. Thompson’s presidential campaign. Locally, Burke served as campaign manager for School Board member Terry Leve who notably recruited Superintendent Mike Looney.
Top Stories
TN Uninsured Rate Drops To 9 Percent In Tennessee, Even Without Medicaid Expansion
By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio -
The state's uninsured rate is roughly on par with the national average
of 8.8 percent and is even below some states that have expanded
Medicaid, like Arizona and Nevada. (link)
Top Stories
Nashville receives an A- grade on list of best metros for millennials
by Andrew Woo, Data Scientist, Apartment List - In our recent survey of 24,000 renters, 64 percent of renters expressed
plans to settle down in a new city. Millennials, aged 18 to 34, move
more frequently than older adults, relocating to metros that offer
better jobs, more affordable housing and livelier social scenes. In order to identify the best metros for millennials, Apartment List created an index to grade 75 top U.S. metros on jobs, affordability and livability.
Overall, Nashville received an A- grade on our list of best metros for
millennials. Here are some highlights you might be interested in:
- Nashville ranks #33 out of 75 for its job market, with a millennial unemployment rate of 5.2%
- Nashville ranks #35 out of 75 for affordability. The median monthly rent is $1124 and 64% of the population can afford the median home
- Nashville ranks #23 out of 75 for livability, with its highest scores for safety and low crime rates
While many metros offer one or two elements important to millennials, few can provide millennials the trifecta of good jobs, reasonable housing costs and high livability ratings. While large coastal metros, from San Francisco to New York City, offer strong job markets and plenty of entertainment options, affordability concerns make them a poor choice for many millennials.
Inland metros, including Pittsburgh, Provo, and Madison, are some of the best options for millennials, offering millennials more than just affordable housing options. These metros also provide strong job markets and the vibrant social scenes millennials are looking for.
Preview the full report here.
Top Stories
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
A report on the effort to save Fort Negley
I carried your name, and 2025 more, to the parks meeting today!
Keep an Urban Park in Nashville
Sep 12, 2017 — Friends,
The room was electric today as we (all of us, me and you - pictured below, all 2,026 names) sat at the Parks Board Meeting listening to the group Friends of Ft. Negley make an impassioned plea for our city to preserve and protect this hallowed park, this lung of our city, this outdoor living space. At the end of the presentation the room erupted in applause. I heard a parks staff member exhale "wow." Thank you for joining me !
In addition to FOFN President Clay Bailey others spoke including architect Ben Page who encouraged us to dream a bigger dream for Ft. Negley. The former director of the Metro Historic Commission set the record straight that this park, in its entirety, was designated Historically Protected in 2005. And a faculty scholar from Vanderbilt University updated us of the progress towards naming this a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
If you can, help us get to 2,771 names on this petition - we are very close. Getting there would match the number of African Americans conscripted into building federal fortifications in Nashville. Their work saved our union. Let us appropriately honor their memory.
Let us dream a bigger dream for Ft. Negley and St. Cloud Hill.
Stand strong.
Alice Ganier Rolli
District 17 Resident
The room was electric today as we (all of us, me and you - pictured below, all 2,026 names) sat at the Parks Board Meeting listening to the group Friends of Ft. Negley make an impassioned plea for our city to preserve and protect this hallowed park, this lung of our city, this outdoor living space. At the end of the presentation the room erupted in applause. I heard a parks staff member exhale "wow." Thank you for joining me !
In addition to FOFN President Clay Bailey others spoke including architect Ben Page who encouraged us to dream a bigger dream for Ft. Negley. The former director of the Metro Historic Commission set the record straight that this park, in its entirety, was designated Historically Protected in 2005. And a faculty scholar from Vanderbilt University updated us of the progress towards naming this a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
If you can, help us get to 2,771 names on this petition - we are very close. Getting there would match the number of African Americans conscripted into building federal fortifications in Nashville. Their work saved our union. Let us appropriately honor their memory.
Let us dream a bigger dream for Ft. Negley and St. Cloud Hill.
Stand strong.
Alice Ganier Rolli
District 17 Resident
Top Stories
Taxpayers spend $1.2 million to send Tennessee lawmakers to out-of-town conferences. Tate of Memphis took 72 trips since '09.
 |
| Democratic Sen. Reginald Tate of Memphis took 720 legislative trips since 2009 |
by ... Since 2009, 143 lawmakers have gone on about 720 trips
— everywhere from Idaho and Alaska to Puerto Rico and Ireland — all
costing Tennesseans $1.2 million, according to a USA TODAY NETWORK -
Tennessee review of state records.
Tate, who this
summer has attended three conferences in eight weeks, has accounted for
nearly $104,000, or 8 percent, of total travel by all Tennessee
lawmakers since 2009. He took nearly 70 trips since 2009, the most of
any Tennessee lawmaker. He took 11 a year between 2014 and 2016. (link)
My Comment: I suspect most of these trips are junkets and anything one learned at the conferences could have been learned in a conference call or by watching a YouTube video or reading a report.
In the 80's when I served in the Metro Council I attended the League of Cities conventions most years. I went to Boston, Atlanta, Houston, San Antonio, Las Vegas and New Orleans. I missed the one to Seattle and Hawaii. Despite the conference being free for the council member, the council member had to pay the air fare for his spouse. My personal finances at the time and me and my wife taking time off from work and the birth of a child did not allow us to attend those. There would have been hell to pay if I would have attended without my wife. I could have attended two other conferences, both in Atlanta, but I simply didn't want to go to Atlanta again. I wanted to go somewhere fun.
The conferences were a lot of fun. I especially enjoyed New Orleans. We ate good meals, some of them were at the best restaurants in New Orleans paid for by people wanting to do business with the city. We partied on Bourbon Street till late in the morning, almost every night unless we were being entertained elsewhere. At the San Antonio conference the banquet entertainment was Ray Price, one of my all time favorite county singers. He did two sets. The first was with just a small band and featured his more honkytonk early style and the next set was the smooth Ray Price backed by a symphony orchestra. That is one of my all-time favorite musical experiences. A lot of people, but not me so much, really enjoyed Las Vegas and they gambled all night long.
I don't think these conferences were necessary for me to do my job. The first year I was very conscientious and attended conference sessions all day everyday. I noticed that some of my colleagues attended almost no sessions. Near the end of my term in the Council, I was less conscientious and just enjoyed the paid for vacation. There was lots of sight-seeing and good dining and drinking at all of the conferences and a big banquet with some famous politician and then quality entertainment the final night. Members spend a lot of time trading little lapel pins. These pins had the name and some design that represented the city of the council members. Council members were like kids trying to swap lapel pins and get the most pins and the most unique pins. Quit frankly, the conference sessions were mostly really boring but the trip was fun.
I don't think these conferences were necessary for me to do my job. The first year I was very conscientious and attended conference sessions all day everyday. I noticed that some of my colleagues attended almost no sessions. Near the end of my term in the Council, I was less conscientious and just enjoyed the paid for vacation. There was lots of sight-seeing and good dining and drinking at all of the conferences and a big banquet with some famous politician and then quality entertainment the final night. Members spend a lot of time trading little lapel pins. These pins had the name and some design that represented the city of the council members. Council members were like kids trying to swap lapel pins and get the most pins and the most unique pins. Quit frankly, the conference sessions were mostly really boring but the trip was fun.
Some would justify these trips as an opportunity to learn from their peers in other cities, build camaraderie with their own local peers, see how other cities are dealing with common issues, and learn something. Some of that occurred. Just visiting the many exhibitors at the exhibit all, one learned of new products and new ways of doing things. Nashville would have probably been even slower to change the way we collect garbage if not for the things council members learned at the League of Cities conference.
The League of Cites conventions were the only tax-payer funded trips I got to take while serving in the Council. There were a few council members who got to go to New York to witness a city bond issue or something related to the city selling bonds. I understand those council members got treated royally. They got put up at swank hotels and attended Broadway plays. Those trips however were not directly paid for by the city but by the company providing the financial transaction on behalf of the city.
The Council is a part-time job and an often thankless job. So is the State legislature. I do not really begrudge members of those bodies attending maybe one fun conference a year. However, they should be expected to actually attend work session while at a conference. One member of the legislative body going to 72 trips in eight years? That is an outrage!
Top Stories
Sunday, September 10, 2017
Sales Tax hike to fund transit plan will make Nashville the city with the highest sales tax rate in the nation.
Mayor Barry is busy drumming up support for her mass transit plan. She is urging supporters to sign petitions pledging support for the funding of mass transit. Yesterday she confirmed that an increase to sales tax in Nashville would probably be part of the revenue sources required to fund the plan. In May a referendum will be presented to the public which will almost certainly include a proposal to raise the sales tax.
The combined state and local sales tax in Davidson County is currently
9.25 percent, 7 percent being the state
sales tax and 2.25 percent the local portion. Nashville
has the ability to raise the local portion by another .5 for any reason. The IMPROVE Act, which was primarily the gas tax increase that the State legislature passed recently, also included a provision that said cities could add an additional
sales tax of up to 2.25 percent specifically to fund mass transit. If we raise the sales tax the .5% and the 2.25% that will produce a sales tax of 12%.
At a twelve percent sales tax rate, Nashville will be tied with Lake Province, LA as the city with the highest sales tax rate in the nation. There are only 21 cities in the nation with a sales tax rate of 11% or higher and most are small cities in Louisiana and Arkansas. (link)
The Tennessean covered Barry's statement that funding for transit would likely include a sales tax increase but did not report that that would make Nashville the city with the highest sales tax rate in the nation.
Top Stories
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
