Organizers of a grassroots effort to repeal Nashville’s 34 percent property tax increase have collected an estimated 4,000 signatures calling for a citywide referendum on fiscal responsibility.
A proposal called the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act would to repeal the tax increase and amend the Metro Government of Nashville and Davidson County charter to ensure future financial responsibility. With enough signatures, the measure could be on the ballot in a citywide referendum Dec. 6.
“The idea is to put a little more fiscal responsibility on Metro,” Jim Roberts, a Nashville attorney behind the 4 Good Government effort, told The Center Square. “A lot of people think this is going to devastate the Nashville economy. The dumbest thing we could possibly do in this sort of the sort of environment is to raise taxes a huge amount.”
Nashville’s financial troubles began before the coronavirus pandemic came to the city. Last November, State Comptroller Justin Wilson warned Metro Council members the state could take control of the city’s finances if it failed to get its finances in order.
Roberts, concerned with Nashville’s dire financial straits, long considered measures to help the city back toward fiscal responsibility. When Mayor John Cooper’s 34 percent tax hike was approved last month in a 32-8 vote by the Metro Council, Roberts knew it was time to act.
He wrote the petition, and set up a website called 4 Good Government. Volunteers now are gathering signatures at voting locations. The group has mailed petitions to a little more than 40,000 Nashville households.
The group does not have any major sponsors, Roberts said. It is funded by private donations.
“I mean, this is very grassroots. It’s not secret or anything,” Roberts said. “We’ve got some donations on the website. People sometimes include a check when they send the petitions in. We don’t have any big backers, I’m afraid.”
The number of signatures needed for a referendum will be determined by the number of voters participating in the Aug. 6 election. For the proposal to be on the ballot, petitioners must gather signatures equaling at least 10 percent of participating voters in the city’s general election. Roberts estimates about 4,500 signatures will be needed.
“We’re pretty optimistic,” Roberts said, explaining petition sheets can hold multiple signatures. “We’ve gotten back nearly 2,000 petitions in the last three days. … That’s probably 4,000 signatures, at least. So we feel pretty good that it’s going to get on the ballot.”
The Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act proposes to amend the Metro charter in five ways. It would limit property tax rate increases to 2 percent per year without approval by public referendum. It would prohibit the city from giving away public parks, greenways or public land without a 31-vote approval from the Metro Council. It would require a public referendum on all bonds issued by the city for amounts over $15 million, excluding classrooms, libraries, public health care buildings, police and fire stations and charter-protected facilities. It would require that if any professional sports teams, such as the Titans, leave Nashville, their facilities will revert to the people. Lastly, it would require Metro records be open to the public.
“I don’t think these are particularly controversial,” Roberts said. “My goal was to come up with things that 80 or 90 percent of people will look at and go, ‘That sounds pretty reasonable.’ ”
A separate group called NoTax4Nash is behind an effort to recall Cooper and the council members who voted for the property tax increase.
