The 2021 Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act

OUR Metro Government sued its citizens to prevent YOU from being able to vote on repealing the unnecessary 34-37% property tax increase.  Using dishonest arguments and our state law, Metro convinced the Court the NTPA just could go to the citizens for a vote.  In light of the Chancellor’s ruling, we had a choice either to ask the Appellate Courts to reverse the Trial Court ruling, or to relaunch the ballot initiative by incorporating changes respective of the Court’s findings.  The result is the 2021 Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act.  

Despite the dire projections asserted by NTPA’s Opponents, Metro saw higher than estimated tax revenues for 2020, which proved the massive tax increase was unnecessary.  

More than a dozen fiscally responsible Metro Councilmembers tried to roll back the tax increase, yet our Mayor and certain Councilmembers demanded to keep our money so they could squander it on other pet projects, including  spending $100K+ to sue the citizens over the NTPA.  Our financial troubles are the consequence of Metro Government's years of financial mismanagement and failing to operate Nashville in a competent manner.   

Nashville is still $3.6 BILLION DOLLARS ($3,600,000,000.00) in debt, and $1 in $7 tax dollars received goes to paying interest. It is time for this nonsense to stop! Fixing Metro’s budgetary mismanagement and financial incompetence can no longer be trusted to the Government.

At a time when businesses have shut down due to the global coronavirus pandemic, unemployment the highest in decades, and families suffering, common sense would suggest this period might not be the best time to raise taxes.  When government is in fear of "suffering" a shortfall, the Mayor's "solution" increased property taxes by 34-37%, adding over $100,000,000.00 in new spending!  The Mayor's 2020-2021 budget was just a more-of-the-same spending spree with no serious budget cuts, a key problem that got Nashville in this mess to begin with.  This budget merely kicks the can down the proverbial road, and Nashville will face another 30-37% hike in the near future when the cause of the problem - overspending - is not addressed. 

Nashville will never recover from this economic downturn if we drive our restaurants, bars, and other businesses into bankruptcy and destroy jobs, while causing residential property rates to soar upwards.  Last year was the WORST TIME to raise property tax rates and the BEST TIME to cut wasteful spending.

The 2021 Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act is just the First Step in bringing financial stability back to Nashville.  The 2021 NTPA amends our Metro Charter to bring financial common sense to Metro in several ways:

1. Property Tax Rates shall not increase more than 3% per fiscal year upon enactment without a voter referendum, pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-3-204. For Fiscal Years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 the property tax rate(s) shall revert to Fiscal Year 2019-2020’s tax rate(s), or lower if required by law. This amendment’s provisions are severable.

Metro's current dysfunctional 2020 plan over-budgeted tax dollars by design and created an "emergency situation" where a 34-37% property tax increase was "suddenly" the only attainable solution.  As complicated and confusing as our property tax system is, the system can be easily manipulated without taxpayers being entirely aware of what is going on.  Property taxes should increase at most with inflation, and a fiscally responsible government should raise tax rates to track the inflation rate.  

The Court ruled that citizens could not REPEAL or LOWER an existing tax, which is based on a prior ruling that a tax rate could not be increased mid-year.  In response, this Amendment will ROLL BACK the property tax rate for Fiscal Years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 to the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 rate.  As long as the restriction occurs before the budget passes, it is valid and enforceable. The Tennessee State Attorney General has opined the citizens have a statutory right to limit property taxes by vote.  

Once rolled back, Metro Council and the Mayor cannot raise OUR property tax rates MORE than 3% per year without justifying the same to the Davidson County taxpayers by referendum on the increase.  This change will force the Metro Government to explain whya greater tax increase is needed.  The ballot initiative’s present increase was adjusted from 2% to 3% to better reflect inflation and the city's growth.

1. Property Tax Rates shall not increase more than 3% per fiscal year upon enactment without a voter referendum, pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-3-204. For Fiscal Years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 the property tax rate(s) shall revert to Fiscal Year 2019-2020’s tax rate(s), or lower if required by law. This amendment’s provisions are severable.

Metro's current dysfunctional 2020 plan over-budgeted tax dollars by design and created an "emergency situation" where a 34-37% property tax increase was "suddenly" the only attainable solution.  As complicated and confusing as our property tax system is, the system can be easily manipulated without taxpayers being entirely aware of what is going on.  Property taxes should increase at most with inflation, and a fiscally responsible government should raise tax rates to track the inflation rate.  

The Court ruled that citizens could not REPEAL or LOWER an existing tax, which is based on a prior ruling that a tax rate could not be increased mid-year.  In response, this Amendment will ROLL BACK the property tax rate for Fiscal Years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 to the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 rate.  As long as the restriction occurs before the budget passes, it is valid and enforceable. The Tennessee State Attorney General has opined the citizens have a statutory right to limit property taxes by vote.  

Once rolled back, Metro Council and the Mayor cannot raise OUR property tax rates MORE than 3% per year without justifying the same to the Davidson County taxpayers by referendum on the increase.  This change will force the Metro Government to explain whya greater tax increase is needed.  The ballot initiative’s present increase was adjusted from 2% to 3% to better reflect inflation and the city's growth.

2. Petitions to recall elected officials filed after January 1, 2021, under this section shall contain the signatures and addresses of registered qualified voters in Davidson County equal to ten (10) percent of the citizens voting in the preceding Metro general election in the district or area from which the recalled official was elected. Such Petitions shall be filed with the metro clerk within seventy-five (75) days of the date the notice is filed. This amendment’s provisions are severable” (B) Replace existing Article 15, § 15.08, Paragraph 2 with: “A recalled official’s name shall not appear on the recall ballot, but such official may qualify as a write-in candidate. This amendment’s provisions are severable.

The Metro Charter has for over 60 years allowed the citizens to recall elected officials who refuse to listen to the people.  Unfortunately, the current mechanism for recalling politicians sets a high bar in front of citizens who might like to see a change to any individual(s) representing them.  It is presently intentionally difficult and expensive to recall a politician. This Amendment would lower the threshold of signatures required by any future Petition, although the process would still require tens of thousands of signatures to recall a Mayor or Council Member.  Our elected officials ought to have some level of fear that citizens will remove them for incompetence, corruption, and not listening.

3. No elected official shall receive any benefits at taxpayer expense as a result of holding such elected office without a voter referendum.

Holding public office and being a public servant are honors bestowed by election.  They chose to run for office, and it is wrong for elected official to enrich themselves at the public's expense for decades after they have served. 

This Amendment DOES NOT affect any pension or other earned benefit resulting from employment with the Metropolitan Government.  It applies only to elected officials and those benefits arising from holding public office.   

4. Voter-sponsored Charter Amendments approved after January 1, 2021, shall be amended only by voter-sponsored Petition, notwithstanding any law to the contrary.

This Amendment protects voter-sponsored Amendments from any future amendments by Metro Council that could deceitfully undo fiscal reforms previously approved by voters. 

The source of inspiration for this Amendment came from a certain Metro Council Member’s legislation in October 2020 that would have competed with the NTPA on Election Day.  In the event it had passed, the Metro Council's Charter Amendment would have secretly/inadvertently undone the very reforms the people had voted for in supporting the NTPA.  The Council's dishonest Charter Amendment legislation was  meant to confuse the voters, as a type of sleight of hand, with the hope it would cancel out the NTPA.  Such intentional dishonesty is shameful.  

This Amendment would allow voter-sponsored amendments ONLY to be repealed or modified by a citizen-sponsored amendment.  

5. No portion of a publicly-owned park, greenway, or other real property shall be transferred or conveyed without 31 votes of Metro Council. All transfers of interest in real property shall be at fair market value based on an independent appraisal. Public referendum shall be required for transfers of interest in such publicly-owned properties valued over $5,000,000, and for leases exceeding twenty (20) years, unless prohibited by state law.”

Metro Government has a bad habit of giving away OUR most valuable assets for free to people or entities who could afford them the most, billionaire developers.  The People stopped Metro from giving away Ft. Negley Park, but unfortunately, Metro got away with destroying Nashville’s historic fairgrounds for the next century.  Time after time, politicians have given away the Peoples' parks and greenways to enrich campaign donors and well-connected friends.   This Amendment will require a fair deal for the People when politicians are giving away our heritage.  If a property’s fair market value is $10,000,000.00, then the people should get $10,000,000.00 in exchange.  Let’s stop sweetheart deals at taxpayer expense...

 6. If a professional sports team leaves Nashville, or ceases playing professional games for more than twenty-four (24) consecutive months during the term of a team’s ground lease, all sports facilities and related ancillary development related to the defaulting team shall revert to public property, and all related contracts shall terminate, including land leased from the Nashville Fairgrounds, and just payment shall be paid, if required by law.

Taxpayers are often forced to spend and to be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars to build sports complexes for wealthy developers and sports promoters.  This Amendment simply requires IF, and only IF, a team leaves Nashville that all the benefits the taxpayers gave as an inducement will return to the taxpayers if they want.  It is reasonable if the Titans leave Nashville, we the citizens should get our stadium and land back.  Additionally, if MLS abandons the Nashville Fairgrounds, the citizens should get all of their fairgrounds property back.  It is only fair the taxpayers get their property back, if a team breaks its promise to the citizens and leaves.  Under the Tennessee Constitution, we may have to compensate the billionaire developers, but at least we get our parks and greenways back!