Metropolitan Council - Regular Meeting

Will the meeting please come to order? Today is Tuesday, June 16th, 2026. This is the 11th regular meeting of 2026 and the 63rd of the current term of the Metropolitan Council of Nashville in Davidson County. Will all members of the council, as well as the public, please rise for the invocation and remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. The invocation is being offered this evening by Ms. Sheba Azad. Ms. Azad is an MLK graduate and current Belmont University student leader, serving as the diversity, equity, and inclusion chair of the Phi Mu Theta chapter at the college. She is the guest of District 18 council member, Tom Cash. Ms. Azad, go ahead.

Good evening, council. Good evening, audience. My name is Shiva Azad. I'm a current Belmont University student, a member of Phi Mu Theta, and I have the immense privilege of calling myself a Nashville native. I want to thank you all for this opportunity today. When I think of Nashville, I think of community. When I think of the word community, I think of my pottery class, my friends, my roommates. I think of my parents who immigrated here in the 80s, and I think of my neighbors. And what would this community be without each and every one of us? It can be so easy to overlook the people in our community whom we do not know personally, but we can make Nashville a better community for us all with something as simple as a little bit of empathy. Empathy is defined as understanding a person from their frame of reference rather than one's own. I personally define empathy as a true devotion to the wellbeing of others. I believe empathy is a choice and it is one that we have a responsibility to make every time we make decisions about our home. Tonight, each of you are making important decisions about our city's budget. and about how to spend money on the wants and needs of a diverse group of Nashvillians. I hope that as you do so, you put yourself in the shoes of others to see needs as they see them by thinking more like your constituents, meaning all of your constituents. I hope you can practice empathy as a body too, working to understand each other's perspectives, even when you disagree, like the people of Nashville do every single day. I hope you, in the wise words of credit Scott King, freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it in every generation. Those words remind me that freedom is not only won in big historic moments, but also in the everyday decisions leaders make for their communities. You all have the opportunity to make decisions rooted in empathy and community, and thereby a chance to take one more step towards justice, one more step towards equity, and one more step towards freedom. I want to thank each of you for your commitment to the city and for all the hard work you do. It does not go unnoticed. And I hope that in every vote you take tonight, you remember a little extra empathy for the community you serve and for the neighbors whose lives in your decisions touch. Thank you so much.

One nation, under God, indivisible. Liberty and justice for all. All right, thank you, Mrs. Odd. Welcome council and community members to what some would say is our most consequential meeting of the year when the operational budget and tax levy ordinance are on their third and final reading. Without objection, I do plan to pull these ordinances, agenda number 69 and 70 forward on our agenda directly after the public comment period. Members have received a memo from me regarding two vacancies on the auditorium commission. I will take those nominations at the July 7th council meeting. So we encourage you to think about constituents who may be interested in serving and invite the community to put themselves forward to their council members if they wish to serve. Metro government will observe the Juneteenth holiday this Friday, and we wish everyone a happy celebration. Pride Month continues, and I hope everyone will make plans to join me and the LGBTQ Caucus of the Council for Nashville's Pride Parade on Saturday, June 27th. Pride is a celebration of our LGBTQ community and elected officials showing our support for this community continues to be very important at this moment in our country. And it's especially important for our trans neighbors who are sadly subjected to dangerous fear mongering by far too many state and federal officials. So I want to make a point to express that we stand with Nashville's trans neighbors during Pride Month and all year round. Before council meets again, our nation will celebrate its 250th birthday, marking the 250 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. on July 4th in 1776, when colonies of the British Empire said no to kings, monarchy, and autocracy, and then fought for many years to establish a government of laws and not of men with a clear separation of powers. The health of our democracy has declined precipitously in recent years, and thus this is a perilous time for our nation. So let us recommit ourselves to civic education and engagement and protecting and using our vote so that we may secure our messy, imperfect, and beautiful democracy for another 250 years. We hope everyone has a safe celebration and enjoys their time with neighbor and friends. All right, without objection, we will suspend the calling of the roll and ask the clerk to please record the names of the members present throughout the meeting. I want to recognize Council Lady Jennifer Gamble, who is celebrating her birthday with us this evening. Is there a motion for approval of the minutes of the meeting of June 9th, 2026? Okay, there's a motion properly seconded without objection and seeing no one seeking to be recognized for a change to the minutes. The minutes of the meeting of June 9th are approved. Mr. Clerk, are there any messages from the mayor? Mr. Clerk, would you say that again?

There is a message from the mayor.

All right, okay. So we invite you, Mr. Mayor, to come forward and address us. Thank you, sir. Good to see you.

Mr. Clerk, thank you. Sorry for stealing your seat.

Well, thank you, Madam Vice Mayor. Thank you to all the members of the Metro Council, to the staff from our office, the council office, and Metro departments who are represented tonight, and Nashvillians, good evening. Tonight, as you heard the Vice Mayor mention, is one of the most important nights on our annual civic calendar, passing a structurally balanced budget in the midst of spirited debate is the ordinary yet critical work of a healthy government. It's how government should work. I'm grateful for the leadership of the Vice Mayor, Budget and Finance Committee Chair, Quante Toombs, and all the members of the Metro Council who got us here. I appreciate the thoughtful discussion of the budget, and I especially appreciate all the Nashvillians who lent their voice to this year's budget process. We had extensive public comment on the budget this year, and those comments reinforce something we all know. Affordability is one of our biggest challenges, and it's why my recommended budget prioritizes addressing it. A budget isn't just a list of expenses, it's a statement about our values, the kind of city we are and want to be. My recommended budget and the Chair's thoughtful substitute both prioritize funding for more housing, better schools, higher employee pay, and tighten spending in recognition of slowing growth. I urge you to pass the chair substitute unamended. So our residents know we're the kind of city that uses the power of the purse to make life a little easier for the people who live here. The cost of housing is easily among our biggest challenges and we're meeting it by recommending the biggest investment of local dollars to date and housing affordability. Since we launched the unified housing strategy last year, we've created or preserved more than 3,000 affordable homes. We need many more, and I've proposed a 150% increase in funding for housing affordability to double down on those successes. But we don't stop there. We're boosting public education funding and building on the many successes we're already seeing from students in our public schools. The future of Nashville is being built in classrooms around the city, and this budget continues our commitment to supporting teachers and educators with improved pay, support to safely implement healthier school start times, and protecting programs we expanded during the pandemic. The budget is built around another important measure before you tonight, cutting the local grocery tax by 22%. Right now, inflation is hitting all of us when we buy pretty much anything. Lowering the grocery tax lets Nashvillians keep some of that hard-earned pay. So while the folks up the hill have balked at putting money back into the pockets of Tennesseans by cutting the state grocery tax or funding this reduction, I hope you'll support $9 million of economic relief for Nashville families and pass this reduction to local sales tax on groceries. We cannot miss this opportunity. Tonight, let's deliver for Nashvillians. Cut the grocery tax, invest in housing affordability, support quality schools, and deliver a balanced budget that supports our residents. Nashvillians are asking us to meet this moment with a decisive statement about who this city is for, and as I said at my State of Metro address, the answer is loud and clear. The city is for all of us. Thank you.

All right, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Roll right into our agenda. First is section E, appointees and nominees. This portion of the agenda shares all persons who are scheduled to appear before the rules, confirmations, and public elections committee for an interview this evening. Referrals back to the committee are by rule as part of the council's two-meeting process for elections and confirmations. No votes will be taken by the body in this section of the agenda other than for deferrals, or rather... may not even need to do that if we're gonna, Mr. Cash. But a brief report, sir, no vote totals necessary, simply the name of those interviewed and for which board and commission, committee or entity. And you are recognized, sir.

Thank you, I'm sorry, did you say no, don't mention deferrals?

No, you can mention deferrals, sir, but we don't in fact have to vote on them. I got you. We used to do that previously, but you can just share with us when those people will be with you again. Thank you.

Okay, Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission reappointment of Alvin Haney. the Central Business Improvement District Board appointment of Christopher Carlson, a deferral of the Employee Benefit Board reappointment of G. Thomas Curtis.

To which meeting, sir, to your next meeting?

I'm sorry, to the next meeting, to 7-7. Thank you. The next two have been withdrawn. Social Services Commission appointment of Will Acuff has been withdrawn. The Sustainability Advisory Committee reappointment of Jolynn Mazera has been withdrawn. And then we approved the Tourism and Convention Commission appointment of Darius McDonald for a term expiring June 30th, 2029.

Okay, so we did not confirm that appointment at this time. Sorry, yes. That person was interviewed. Okay. Okay. and will be re-referred back to your committee. So at next meeting, they will be on this next section of our agenda, F, confirmations. Chair Cash, you're recognized again for your committee report on the appointees in the second step of your committee's two-meeting process, this time with vote totals and a consolidated motion for the confirmation of those persons, or first for a deferral motion if there are any. Go ahead, sir.

Thank you. Contract and compliance board reappointment of Fabian Bedney for a term expiring July 27th, 2028, eight to zero to zero. The hospital authority reappointment of Alfonso Harvey for a term expiring July 11th, 2031, eight to zero to zero. And the social services commission appointment of Mandy Spears for a term expiring April 3rd, 2031, also eight zero zero. Move approval.

All right, there is a motion to confirm these three appointees in a consolidated motion properly seconded. Does anyone wish to remove an item from this consolidated motion for purposes of an individual abstention or no vote? All right, seeing none, all in favor of these three appointees for confirmation, please say aye. All right, council has confirmed these three appointees. To our confirmed appointees, if you chose to return to the council chamber this evening, which is not required, do please stand as I call your names. Council has confirmed the reappointment of Fabian Bednay, the Honorable Fabian Bednay to Contract and Compliance Board. Council has confirmed the reappointment of Alphonso Harvey to the Hospital Authority. And lastly, council has confirmed the appointment of Mandy Spears to the Social Services Commission. Congratulations to everyone, whether here in the chamber or watching from home, we appreciate your willingness to serve our city. Thank you. All right, we're gonna roll right on into section G of our agenda, which is the public comment portion. and period rather. Members of the public who are Tennessee residents wishing to speak during public comment may sign up at a table outside the council chamber from five to 6 p.m. on the day of a council meeting. Public comment is limited to 20 minutes total at council meetings and each speaker is allowed up to two minutes to speak. Person speaking on agenda items must be prioritized to comply with state law. And pursuant to Rule 28, all public comment speakers must present proof of Tennessee residency. All right. I will share the first kind of two or three and ask those folks to go ahead and come on forward so we can move timely through our public comment period. The first person for public comment is Deonte Williams. Deonte Williams will be followed by Shatika Davis and then Amy Lee Brown. Deonte is speaking on agenda item 69. This is our budget and the substitute budget regarding childcare in support. Go ahead, Mr. Williams, you're recognized.

Good evening, council members. My name is Dr. Deontay Williams, and I stand here on behalf of the Equity Alliance in support of the extending funding for childcare facilities. I support this investment because I know firsthand what is at stake. I was raised by a single mother in the country town of Macon, Georgia. My mother worked long hours, often more than one job. She kept a roof over our heads, food on the table, and opportunities in front of me. Like so many working class black mothers, she carried the weight of an entire household on her shoulders. The reason I stand before you today as Dr. Williams is not because the path was easy. It's because my mother had support systems that allowed her to work, provide, and create opportunities for me. When families have access to affordable, reliable childcare, parents can work. They can pursue education, they can build economic stability, and children can thrive. How can we celebrate Nashville's economic growth when many of the workers fueling that growth cannot afford or access the childcare they need to stay employed? Years from now, when working class families and black communities ask what did this council do to address the childcare crisis, will you be able to say you acted or will you say you had to explain as to why we did not? Thank you.

Thank you. All right, next will be Shatika Davis, also speaking on agenda item 69, the budget regarding childcare in support. After Ms. Davis will be Amy Lee Brown and then Lindsay Cranks will be next. Go ahead, Ms. Davis.

Hello, it's me, Shatika Davis. I live in council member Horton's district and the daycare that I own is in council member Kapp's district. Since last October, I've watched this council listen to providers, listen to families and each other to take meaningful, actions to address Nashville's childcare crisis. You recognize that childcare is not just a family issue, it's an economic issue, a workforce issue, and a community issue. Because of your leadership, we've begun removing barriers that have prevented providers from opening and expanding, but we know the work is not finished. Today, we have an opportunity to continue that momentum. Council member to substitute budget includes an investment in the childcare stability fund through the equity Alliance. This investment recognizes that if we want more childcare seats, we must help providers move from ideas to open doors and from surviving to thriving. I know I can count on this council because you've already demonstrated that childcare matters. You've shown that you're willing to listen, collaborate, and invest in solutions. Today, I'm asking you to continue that commitment by supporting Council Member Tum's substitute budget and the childcare investment included within it. Our families are counting on it, our providers are counting on it, and Nashville's future depends on it. Thank you.

Thank you. All right, next is Amy Lee Brown. She is also speaking on the budget related to childcare in support. After Ms. Brown will be Lindsey Krinks and then Kelly Ching. Go ahead, Ms. Brown.

Hello, I'm Amy Brown. I live in Council Member Ewing's district. I'm asking you to support Council Member Toombs' substitute budget and the childcare investment included within it. I'm also asking you to commit to partnering with the Equity Alliance over the next year to develop Nashville's long-term childcare affordability strategy and future investments. I'm a Nashville native, born in 1961. Nashville is a great city and will be an even greater city with more affordable quality childcare. Accessible childcare allows both parents to work and or pursue advanced college degrees. Higher degrees translate into higher lifetime earnings. Those earnings will be spent in Nashville This will increase the profits of local businesses, lift the local economy, and this will benefit all Nashvillians. Thank you.

Thank you. All right, next is Lindsay Cranks speaking on agenda item number nine. This is RS-2026-2033 regarding the downtown CBIT. in opposition. Go ahead, you're recognized.

Good evening, my name is Lindsay Krinks and I'm the co-founder of Open Table Nashville and I've been working on the streets for nearly 20 years. I'm here to tell you about why we're still opposed to the current CBID budget despite some good progress. On the evening of November 16th of 2024, an unhoused black 54-year-old woman was resting in her wheelchair on Broadway when she was approached by off-duty THP officers. They were working for a CBID-contracted private security firm. The woman was a friend we knew through our winter canvassing efforts who had been in and out of the hospital. That night, the THP officers didn't connect her with resources or help her access shelter. They arrested her under the state's felony camping law. She wasn't a threat to anyone, yet she spent several nights in jail for the crime of existing in public space. That week, CBID funded THP officers arrested 10 other people experiencing homelessness downtown under the felony camping law. These friends needed care but got cages. Fast forward to May of 2025. In collusion with ICE, THP officers made almost 600 traffic stops in South Nashville in one week, which resulted in the profiling, harassment, arrest, detention, and sometimes deportation of nearly 200 of our immigrant neighbors. Families were ripped apart and lives were destroyed. Turk recently launched a lawsuit against THP for their alleged constitutional violations and their appalling behavior. The THP officers that NDP's new private security contractor, Savicity, is employing to keep our downtown safe are taken from the same pool as the officers that have terrorized some of our most vulnerable community members and friends. You have a voice and power tonight. The CBED board sets their budget, but you are the public service representatives tasked with approving it. If you share our concerns about private security downtown and the THP officers who have like constitutionally violated our rights, please abstain or vote no. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Next is Kelly Chang. She will be followed by Christiane Buggs and then Frida Player. Ms. Chang is speaking on agenda item nine, resolution 2026, 2033 regarding the CBID in opposition. Go ahead.

Hi, I'm Kelly. I wanna talk about the CBID and Nashville Downtown Partnership as well. The first thing I wanna address is the pitting of NDP and block by block outreach workers against those of us who also work or volunteer with people experiencing homelessness and who ask for accountability for NDP and block by block. This is a disingenuous game fueled by executives and lobbyists at NDP. Some council members have even responded to our concerns around NDP's use of private policing with rebuttals about NDP's outreach team. To be clear, we have stated time and time again, our issue is not with NDP's outreach program. Our issue is with NDP and Block by Block continuing to utilize private policing to target people experiencing homelessness. the same people that NDP and Block by Block's outreach team worked so hard to connect with resources. In fact, some of us have in multiple instances uplifted and asked for more outreach funding for downtown through the MOU fight and even in this year's CBID budget. So I wanna make it clear, we are not against NDP's outreach team. We know them, we respect the work they do, and we know that they work hard to take care of our neighbors experiencing homelessness downtown. We often hear how great of a community partner NDP and Block by Block are. Last meeting, a council member who became very emotional over NDP's failed budget vote told us to look at the track record when we raised concerns about the brand new security arm of Block by Block, Civicity. At this point, it's about 10 weeks old. Let's review the most recent track record of NDP and Block by Block and what their version of safe and clean looks like. One lobbied for the removal of the Ninth Avenue cycle track, even threatening to go to the state legislators for anti-bike legislation. Lobbied for the removal of benches along Korean Veterans Boulevard due to the use of them by people experiencing homelessness. Through negligence, blew up the downtown library garage by storing dangerous fuel in a completely inappropriate manner. Most recently, we've heard NDP has considered suing Metro over their failed budget vote last meeting. That is probably going to pass tonight. These tantrums from people in power have to stop, and you all are the only body of oversight we have for them.

Thank you. Next is Christiane Buggs. She is speaking on agenda item 52. This is ordinance BL 2026, 1436 in support. Ms. Buggs will be followed by Frida Player and then Muhammad Gay. Go ahead, Ms. Buggs.

Thank you, Madam Vice Mayor. I am Christian Buggs. Thank you, council members. I have the privilege, the honor of being, or calling myself a fifth generation North Nashvillian. I am a former MNPS educator, former MNPS student, current MNPS parent, Former school board member. Yay, politics. But I am so excited to stand before you today as president and CEO of the Pencil Foundation, where we truly believe public education is everyone's business. We do so in three ways. We make sure that we advocate for and pull in volunteers to go into our schools. That totals more than 33,000 hours every year of volunteerism. We engage in the background checks. We just do anything to support and resource our schools. Secondly, we make sure that more than $3 million worth of school supplies are in the hands of students, educators, and schools across the city, simply by in-kind donations and us purchasing with the city at wholesale prices. Again, educators shop free of charge every day in our schools, I mean, in our shop. Lastly, we manage the background checks and elementary school tutoring for MNPS. The running theme here is that we see a barrier, we work with the school leadership, the district leadership, and then we actually work to meet that need. But even more importantly, I'm excited tonight to partner with Metro City Government and with MNPS to take over a decommissioned elementary school, one that's been sitting vacant for four years. We are happy to fundraise, to launch a capital campaign, to invest dollars into this building that I believe could eventually become an education nonprofit hub. Again, making sure we're identifying barriers and then using the community because we all love Nashville and know what it can be. We will leverage those resources that you all call your constituents to really pour into schools in a deeper and more meaningful way. So I thank you for even considering us. It is truly our pleasure to serve the district and to serve the city. And we hope to continue to see benefits to our students, including my own. So thank you for what you do. We look forward to working with you.

Thank you. Next is school board chair, Freda Player, regarding agenda item 69, the budget ordinance 1377. Go ahead, ma'am.

Thank you. As I said, I'm here, Freda Player, and my colleagues are with me. I'm here from the Metropolitan National School Board. The school board believes in transparency and accountability of the efficiency of our strategic initiatives that's vital to the health of our school district. We meet twice a month to perform this fiduciary responsibility and review various reports and evaluation of our district. This is how we conduct performance oversight. As I often say, we nerd out on data. On various types of topics from academic to performance and operations of our system. Considering the school board's fiduciary responsibility, the knowledge of MNPS strategic investments, we request a joint committee to oversee the proposed performance audit. We desire to work with you to understand what performance indicator that Metro Council prioritizes. In addition, the school board wants to work with Metro Council to deliver the most productive outcome considering the various wants of your elected body. The school board was not aware of any of the Metro Council's previous requests for performance information, nor return on investment details. Moreover, it has not been articulated precisely the performance audit will evaluate. Given the copious amount of data collected on our programs and initiatives, hundreds of nuanced performance areas that MNPS monitors, and the nominal education experience of most accountants, we believe a handout committee comprising of a few Metro Council members, school board members, and expert staff best supports the use of this taxpayer dollars. The school board's committed to providing council information, updates, and feedback that's outside the crunch of this budget cycle. We look forward to working with you to identify the performance indicators that is most important to the Metro Council to ensure the audit produces useful, actionable results on behalf of students, families, taxpayers, and the whole Nashville community. So I asked to read the letter that I submitted earlier today for more details of our suggestions for the audit and for what we have accomplished on the school board.

Thank you. Next is Muhammad Gaye. Mr. Gaye will be followed by John Cleveland and then Antonio Tomlinson. Muhammad Gaye is speaking on agenda item number nine, resolution 20262033, the CBID in support. Go ahead, sir.

Good evening, Vice Mayor Henderson and members of council. I haven't heard my government name called out in a while. My name is Muhammad Alhaj Malik Gay, known as Malik, and I'm speaking on behalf of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. We view the CBID budget as something that's an important extension of Nashville's business community. And with respect to the previous comments, I'd like to explain why. We see the CBID as a collection of property owners in the downtown core, both the residents and business owners coming together to pull money out of their pockets, their employees, and people who visit downtown in benefit of making downtown clean, safe, and all the things we heard previously. In that spirit, we believe that this is a partnership that helps Metro and Nashvillians work together to invest private dollars to make Nashville a better place. What we'd like to do is just encourage members of the council to keep the collaborative spirit that's been going on. And again, we urge support of the currency bid budget unamended. Thank you.

Thank you. All right. Next is John Cleveland, also speaking on agenda item number nine, regarding the downtown, the resolution regarding the downtown C bid in support. Go ahead, Mr. Cleveland.

Good evening, city council. My name is John Cleveland, and I'm here to speak on my role as a team lead with the downtown Nashville partnership. My role as a team lead could vary day to day from setting up a foam party event for the public to enjoy, to setting up a Pilates class at the Riverfront Park for 50 plus people to join all free to the public. But it doesn't just stop there. It's a little bit deeper as a native Nashvilleian growing up here in Nashville. I used to get out from I.T. Crestwell, catch the MTA bus downtown and hang out at the library downtown. And growing up, the library Church Street Park was not the safest place to be, especially back when there was a fountain. And since then, it's been a full 180 since I've. worked with the company and I seen the growth. Now I can set up lunchtime events, have families come out, take pictures. I've been a part of wedding proposals and flash mobs. But one of my favorite, favorite things ever working with the partnership was the holiday market that we just had this past holiday season, where we had a 30, 31 foot tall Christmas tree out. And I got to engage with the public and really show the heart of Nashville and our park ambassadors every day are out there greeting with the public, helping people navigate the city, giving great recommendations for live music and food. And it's essential to make Nashville feel warm and show the Southern hospitality. Thank you.

Thank you. Next is Antonio Tomlinson. Go ahead, sir. I'm sorry. He's also speaking on the CBID agenda item nine in support. Go ahead, sir.

Good evening. My name is Antonio Tomlinson. I'm the operation manager When people think of downtown Nashville, they think of the restaurants, they think of the events, they think of all the things that may go on in downtown Nashville. But our outreach team sees it from another perspective. We see people that are in need. They're suffering from mental illness. They're suffering from addiction. And sometimes they just need someone just to talk to. Our team goes out every day, walk the streets of downtown Nashville, just trying to be that ear, the person that they listen to, the person that we try to offer services to, to try to give them a hand up instead of a handout so that they can build a successful and clear mindset of trying to move forward. The partnership has equipped us, trained us to do these such things. And we come to work every day with the expectations of if we can only help one person, we have done something for our downtown Nashville. You have to think about behind every outreach contact is a person. Behind every person is the partnership. And behind the partnership is the CBD. The CBD is giving and doing their contribution to make sure that we can provide for everyone in downtown Nashville. I feel the utmost gratitude. glad and and passionate about what we're doing downtown nashville and with the help of the partnership and the cbid budget we can continue to do exactly what we come to work to do every single day is try to help one person to be better thank you for your time

Okay, folks, at this juncture, we have almost four residual minutes and as required by state law, once we dip into our wait list and even prior, we have to have a balance of support and against. And so at this juncture in the order of sign up, there were three persons speaking in support of the C bid legislation and two against. And so I'm going down the wait list to the next person seeking to speak in opposition to that legislation. And that person is Trina Huell. Ms. Huell, are you present? All right, again, we at present have two full residual minutes here, and then we will have a subsequent about one minute and 55 seconds, effectively two minutes for one other person. Go ahead, Ms. Huell, you are recognized.

Thank you. Crime is down, drones are up, pedestrian deaths are up, and we can't get crosswalks down. I was here two weeks ago raising concerns about the Nashville Downtown Partnership's criminal negligence and a council member echoed that NDP doesn't seem to consider pedestrian safety part of clean and safe. Then CMA Fest arrived, our single busiest pedestrian weekend of the year, along Broadway from 8th Avenue through 16th Avenue and along 8th Avenue from Broadway to Graham Veterans, freshly repaved, had and currently has no painted stop lines or crosswalks. during CMA Fest. I went looking for answers. A council member checked with NDOT. The bill sponsor elevated it to TDOT. TDOT told us the contracted completion date is September 30th. So tourists navigating Broadway on foot just had to figure it out. On June 8th, I started trying to get answers from NDP. Did they coordinate with TDOT to ensure crosswalks were repainted before CMA Fest? They have a documented working relationship with TDOT through the connection downtown initiative. I never got a call back. I visited their office under construction. I was directed to their shadowy unmarked office on Vine Street and was told to try the same website emails I'd already sent. I want to be clear that I oppose this budget, but since there's no public hearing tonight for 10 of you to avoid, you'll probably pass this budget. But before you do, this organization now faces official accusations of negligence from the city's own insurer, and they won't answer phone calls or respond to emails from constituents. It occurs to me we could keep pedestrians safer today with sidewalk chalk than all these agencies and corporations have managed with millions of dollars. So I'll ask again, what do they mean when they say safe and clean? Because it sure ain't people, just the cash machine.

All right, now, to maintain the state-required balance among the items on the agenda for purposes of public comment, on our wait list, we will go next then and lastly to Dr. Berthina Nabal-McKinney, who is the vice chair of the school board. She is speaking on agenda item 69, ordinance 1377, the budget. Go ahead, ma'am. Thank you.

Are we live? Okay. Good afternoon, everyone, or evening. I'm Dr. Berthine and Abba McKinney. I serve as the vice chair of the school board representing District 4 in the Donaldson, Hermitage, and Old Hickory communities. I also come today as the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee. I'm coming to have a conversation with Metro Council to talk about the spirit of collaboration. Throughout this budget process, I think we have missed an opportunity of collaboration and conversation to learn more about what Metro Nashville Public School does, what our board is responsible for as elected members of the body, and how we can come together as a body between Metro Council and Metro Nashville Public Schools to work together for the children of Nashville. So as we consider this performance audit that we're looking to do, I join our chair and our school board members, if you could all stand, that we're here together to ask that we do form a committee to have a conversation, a more detailed conversation to identify the scope objectives and outcomes that we are looking for in this audit. We did not have these conversations beforehand. There is still opportunity to do it as we continue to move forward. And I ask all members to please consider that as we have these conversations. Also, Also, the other thing that came out of these conversations was many of you received questions from constituents about Metro Nashville Public Schools. In the spirit of collaboration, we also asked politely and kindly and humbly if you could forward those to us CC us in that many of you do do that. And we could ask you to continue to do so that way we can better support you and help you and work together as a city for the children. Thank you.

All right. That concludes 20 minutes of total speaking time for the public comment with the appropriate balance as required. And thus we will not dip any further to into our wait list and the public comment period has concluded. All right, as I stated off the top, without objection, I would propose to pull the budget ordinance agenda item 69, as well as the tax levy agenda item 70 forward on our agenda, such that next we would be taking up agenda item 69. All right, seeing no objection, we will now move to agenda item 69, ordinance BL-2026. Dash 1377, sponsor Toombs. This is a bill to be entitled the budget ordinance of the metropolitan government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee for the fiscal year 2027. Council member Toombs, Madam budget chair, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Vice Mayor. Committee report, budget and finance voted to recommend approval of the substitute by yours truly. 10 in favor, zero against, zero not voting. The committee also recommended to not approve the Evan Siegel amendment as well as the late file amendment. One in favor, nine against, zero not voting. and voted to recommend approval of the bill as substituted. 10 in favor, zero against, zero not voting. And with that, I move for approval. All right, back to you, ma'am.

I'd like to move approval of the tomb substitute. Okay, go ahead on your substitute.

Thank you, Madam Vice Mayor. First, I want to start by thanking Finance Director Janine Reed, Budget Director Erin Pratt and their staff, as well as Council Director Brian Wilson and council staff. Also, thank you to my colleagues, to the department heads and all of the community leaders that work together to create the content of the substitute. As chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, I really worked hard to create a transparent and collaborative process. Colleagues, if you've read through the substitute, which was shared early to get input from all of you, there are over 30 items in the proposed substitute. including adding an additional $2.1 million to eviction right to council, bringing that total investment to $4.5 million that allows that program to scale up and provide additional legal assistance to more individuals who find themselves in eviction court, $1.25 million for the hospitality hub to continue its services at Roadway Inn, that brings the total investment to $2.5 million, $1 million additional to the Barnes Housing Trust Fund, bringing that total investment to $23 million, $401,500 to the National Fire Department, which allows them to have a second fully funded shift for the REACH Program. $250,000 for our Workforce Development Program with the Urban League. money for $300,000 for the Office of Entertainment, $300,000 for a new affordable housing tool focused around community housing, $25,000 for support for child care technical assistance, and just a lot of stuff, a lot of stuff. The items that didn't make it into the substitute were because other funding sources were found. For example, Nashville General Hospital, there was a lot of concern. They had a funding deficit, and there was a lot of concern around employees getting promised raises. Thank you again to Finance Director Reed and Budget Director Erin Pratt for helping to find additional finance resources for Nashville General Hospital so that they can be taken care of, because we have to take care of the people's hospital, and so glad to say that that was accomplished. And one of the things that the substitute does as well is that it leaves the grocery tax reduction as proposed by the mayor intact. It was one of my goals to increase it. The numbers were not on my side, unfortunately, but it does leave it intact. And I know there is concern from some about foregoing $9 million in revenue. However, it is not uncommon for us to forego revenue We do that all the time when we do tax abatements for affordable housing projects because we have decided as a city that affordable housing is worth the investment. And I think that providing financial relief to every single Nashvillian is worth the investment. And with that, I ask for my colleagues' support for the substitute.

All right, there is a motion to substitute with Chair Toombs' substitute. It is properly seconded and you have heard a description of that substitute by Chair Toombs reflective of all her good work and collaboration with you all. So now we are on to discussion on the motion to substitute. Does anyone seek to be recognized specifically on the motion to substitute? Seeing none, this requires a simple majority and we can do it by voice. All in favor, please say aye. Any voting no, any abstaining? All right. So the substitute is on. And if you would please renew your motion, Madam Chair. Move for approval of substituted. Okay. There is a motion to approve as substituted. And now we are on to discussion for that. First in the queue for discussion is Council Member Evan Siegel. You are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. I would like to move my amendment.

All right, is there a second for the motion to amend? All right, go ahead, you're recognized.

Thank you, I filed this amendment. I spent a lot of time watching and participating in the budget meetings, thinking about the best way to help Nashvillians with the cost of living. crisis, frankly, that we're facing. If you look at the three, well, I guess we'll say four largest sort of expenses for families. You have housing, you have transit, you have childcare, increasingly eldercare, and healthcare. All of these are things that we need to live. And then following that, you have food. And we obviously, we've seen over the past year what food insecurity does to families. But we have also seen over many, many years what housing insecurity does, child care insecurity can do. We have very little power over health care at the local level, though certainly wish we could do more there as well for people. And When I weighed the conversations we've had around, is the juice worth the squeeze? And I thought, is the $6 a month that we're going to give to a family of four who's spending at the top of the estimates of there's a range of like 980 to 1200, well, 1175 a month, but we'll call it 1200. We'll round up. That family is going to save $6 a month. and that's all families, not just those who need it most, or whether we can recommit that money to building housing and putting it in the Barnes Fund, which would build housing for folks who are really struggling, but also by building that housing, we're taking the pressure off the middle income earners who are often going into that housing stock that those folks who really need it are looking for. We're creating more of that housing, and it actually lowers costs overall for everybody in the economy, pretty significantly. And it's not $6 a month. It's hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a month. And to me, that is where we need to do the squeeze to get the juice if we're going to help people here. So this amendment was filed in order to talk about this and to talk about whether lowering the sales tax half a percent, as opposed to say, removing all local option sales tax or the 1% the chair talked about, which would be a larger number and a different conversation, but whether this half a percent is worth it. When we raise taxes here or when we lower taxes, we always have conversations because they're around property taxes. We have to do a levy, and we talk a lot about that. Everybody gets their bill, but that's not the case with sales tax. It would just go through if there was no amendment here to talk about it and whether this is the right way to help families today. I don't think that this is the right way to help families today. It may be in bigger quantities later. Having said that, and I've got 15 seconds left, I would move to amend my motion to amend, to add, to move the late filed because an error was called by finance, even though they'd pre-proved it before, and I would ask for their objections to that.

You would need to move to suspend the rules.

Oh, move to amend my motion to suspend the rules to move a substitute.

You would just need to move to suspend the rules.

That, that.

Okay.

Thought I had to amend my motion based on.

You can withdraw your motion while you still have the floor, as I understand it, and then move to suspend the rules while you still have the floor. Okay. Special counsel, is that a proper motion at this juncture? The motion that I described, I think she was refining her motion there at the end. Her intent was, she expressed suspension of the rules prior to the time expiring. But if you could just speak to if suspension of the rules at this juncture with that other motion pending is appropriate.

Okay, first- We thought we'd played this out folks.

To answer your question, Vice Mayor, a withdrawal and a request to suspend the rules to consider a late filed amendment, which is balanced, would be valid. And Council Member Ivan Segal, I heard from you a motion to amend your motion. to consider a late file, essentially that would require suspension of the rules as well, so the best step forward at this point would be to move to suspend, and then we can go from there.

Yep, as long as that's the prevailing motion, I just wanna make sure.

The motion will still be on the motion to amend the substitute, it'll just be a motion to amend your previous motion.

a motion to amend my previous motion to suspend the rules to move the delay file? Whatever you just said. Can we go with whatever you just said?

All right.

Yeah.

Where we are with time still available subsequent to Ms. Evan Siegel moving to amend with her timely filed amendment prior to the expiration of her time, she endeavored to express a request to suspend the rules for purposes of taking up her late file amendment. So there is a request to suspend the rules. Is there any objection to the suspension of the rules? Okay, the rules are not suspended because there are multiple objections to that suspension.

So parliamentary inquiry then, so the motion to suspend fails, but so the motion for the amendment is still the prevailing motion?

That's correct. You have replaced your initial motion with the motion to suspend, or with the request to suspend the rules, and that request has failed. There is no residual time. Council, go ahead. In my estimation, before her time expired, maybe imprecisely, she requested to suspend the rules. Once we figured that out, I put it to the body, there were multiple objections, so the rules are not suspended and her time has expired. All right, special counsel, go ahead. You're recognized for clarification. There's a parliamentary inquiry as to the status before us at this juncture.

Vice Mayor, at this point, I would, at this point, we are still on the original motion to amend. There was a request to suspend the rules to change that original motion that failed for multiple objections. We are still on the original motion to amend the substitute.

All right, I appreciate the clarification. I appreciate the parliamentary inquiry. The motion that is presently before us is a motion to amend with the timely filed amendment, which was followed by a late filed amendment for the purposes of addressing a technical or mathematical error that I do understand to be an issue, okay? So where we are is on a motion to amend with the timely filed amendment. And so we continue on discussion on the motion to amend. First in the queue is Council Member Stiles.

Yes, ma'am. Madam Chair, you're recognized. Madam Vice Mayor, given that the timely filed amendment is not structurally balanced, can we vote on that?

So, I'm gonna take that a little more in the space of a parliamentary inquiry point of order is kind of where we are in the order of operations. Special counsel, can you speak to that, sir?

Yes, Vice Mayor. This amendment is not structurally balanced. It is, to answer the question, yes, it is something the council can consider. However, if a budget...

Okay, so respectfully, I think what we're trying to understand, it is proper at this time to discuss this motion to amend. It is a proper motion and we will, discuss it. As I understand, you are asking particular to our rules of procedure. Is there anything that specifically precludes debate on a amendment? And I did not get the rest of your words of, were you asking particular to the passage of this? Because where we are now is on debate. Okay.

I don't have a question regarding debate. I have a question about the,

actual pass in it. Okay, so in the substance of our discussion, anyone can elevate that question or address a question to the special counsel, okay? So there is a proper motion before us. Even if that motion has... some challenges or problems inherent in it, we will proceed with this. And then at the end of that discussion, you all can make the determination on how you choose to vote at that time, okay? Next in the queue is Council Member Stiles. Ms. Stiles, do you seek to be recognized on the motion to amend?

No, Vice Mayor actually was getting in the queue to speak on the bill.

Subsequently, okay. Is there anyone that is in the queue specifically on the motion to amend with the timely filed amendment? Budget Chair Toombs, you're next in the queue. You're recognized.

Thank you, Madam Vice Mayor. Colleagues, this is not a friendly amendment. We have many tools in our toolbox for affordable housing. We have the Barnes Fund. With passage of this budget, we'll have a new revolving loan fund. We have the new investment in community housing. We regularly do pilots for workforce housing developments. And later this year, we will hopefully have in place the use of bonds for affordable housing. So there are many tools in our toolbox. I am a big proponent of bonds, but it is not the single tool that we have. We have many. Yes, it's true that it's really expensive to purchase homes, to rent homes. The folks who are in the middle are buying lesser priced homes and that's really pricing people out. And if we build new units eventually, that is hopefully will bring the prices down eventually somewhere in the future. We have the opportunity today to provide tax relief to everyday Nashvillians. That's important. We already have instances, as I've stated, where we forego revenue. When we do our tax abatements, we're saying we will take less property tax on a property because we believe in affordable housing. Let's believe in people being able to afford groceries and forego this $9 million, which is not a huge investment. And I wish it was more. I wish it was more. I tried to make it more. $6 matters. I can tell you as a mom of three, I coupon, I watch grocery prices. That's a spaghetti dinner. I could buy my box of noodles. I'm a Kroger girl, so I could buy my Kroger brand spaghetti sauce and some ground turkey. That is a meal. So it's not a small thing. And so over time, it could be a tank of gas, it could be school supplies, it could be much needed relief for everyday families, and we can do it now. So I encourage my colleagues to vote against this amendment.

All right, debate continues on the motion to amend. Next in the queue is Council Member Suara. You're recognized, ma'am.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. I'm also rising against the amendment for some of the reasons that Council Member Toombs highlighted. We started this meeting with a prayer and what the guests talk about empathy and putting ourselves in the shoes of others. While $5, $6 may not mean nothing to most of us, it does for some people. I want people to realize that when people file for unemployment in the state of Tennessee, the check that they get weekly is around $30 to $300, depending on your wage. For somebody that is getting unemployment check of $30 a week, imagine what $5 means to them, right? So we cannot, we cannot use our own lives, our own experiences to determine what works for everybody. We have to think about all of our constituents. And so there are people that this matters to. And we have received emails from folks that said it does. The other reason, which is also one of the reasons why I shared yesterday that initially I was against it too, because yes, I am privileged. And that $5, $6 doesn't mean much to me. That is a fact. But when people started contacting me, and then I have to pivot. and think about the people that I represent. One of the conversations that we also had, our teachers, our union members, when we're talking about compensation this year, where we have an increase in cost of living, but we also have an increase in benefits. That is $5 off of insurance premium that somebody would not have to pay. And so let's take a look at all of it that way. I wish it's more. I wish we could do more. I wish we could increase it. I support Barnes, I think it's a good thing, but like Chair said, we have other tools in the toolbox we're using for housing. And let's look at things that is not just for everyone. It's just for a specific group, but it's for everyone, okay? I read a quote yesterday about being privileged is not looking at the other people. I appreciate my colleague for bringing it. I think her heart is in the right place. I thought the same way initially, but I want us to listen to the voices of the other side. And that's a lot with the social services spoke here during one of the committee meetings. And so the people that are struggling the most in Nashville, our teachers, our firefighters, people that actually have a job that don't need the bonds fund, but need every dollar that we can give them. And so with that, I am in opposition of that amendment. And I hope that you will vote against it as well. Thank you.

All right, next in the queue on discussion on the motion to amend is Council Member Sepulveda. You're recognized, ma'am.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. And I do appreciate where the mayor is coming from and where our budget chair is coming from. However, I'm not on the same side of this issue. Having worked on this for a very long time now, the only reason this is an option for us is because the state of Tennessee is passing the buck. $6 means everything to me. Today I've had cereal. I save where I can. I've had cereal and I'm munching on crackers, right? It's hard to make a living in this city. They have the opportunity to pay for this by closing the corporate tax loophole and they choose not to. They choose not to. Quiet, please. Instead, they have given corporations $1.5 billion in refunds and incentives. FedEx has filed 13 tax returns in the state of Tennessee. We only file one. Only one, that's an average of $400 a year in groceries for Tennessee families, $400 in groceries. We as Nashvillians still pay at the end of the day when we are asking our departments to save We're still paying at the end of the day. I understand what we're trying to do. I really do understand. But at the end of the day, there are Davidson County residents who cross into Kentucky to go buy groceries because they don't have a grocery tax there. And they're trying to save money. And I can't ask them to do that. I really can't. So yes, I would have voted for this amendment if it would have been balanced. Right now, I don't know what to do because I wish that we wouldn't have voted to not suspend the rules. I wish we would have had this option. Because it is absolutely shameful that the state of Tennessee continues to do this because they want to give free rides to corporations. I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to do the state's bidding. And so when they air this, when they write about this, I want them to get this right. This is on the state of Tennessee. The state of Tennessee should end the grocery tax and they keep putting a fake bill before the state legislature that has no source of funding. When there is an option to close a corporate tax loophole and give an average revenue of $891 million to the state of Tennessee that is helping Tennesseans and not corporations. So No, I don't want an option to end the grocery tax for counties, cities, municipalities. I want the state of Tennessee to end the grocery tax and it is shameful, shameful that they don't.

All right, next in the queue is council member Porterfield. You're recognized.

Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Porterfield. Go ahead, ma'am. Thank you, Vice Mayor. How am I supposed to come behind that? Jeez Louise. Can you come back to me? No, seriously. I agree with a lot of the sentiment of my colleague, Council Member Sepulveda. I don't know that we've ever actually been on the opposite side of an issue. So this is a little painful for me right now. I'm having an emotional reaction. But I'm standing in opposition to the amendment and in support of cutting the grocery tax. Tennessee is one of, I believe we're one of 11 states that is actually still taxing people for groceries. And I agree with everything council member Sepulveda said. It is on the state. The state should cut the grocery tax, just like the state should be funding more for our public schools. And just like for our public schools, we as a city are having to pick up the slack when the state does not do their job. She's absolutely right. They are doing a bidding of businesses and corporations. They are giving tax breaks to, that we, the citizens and the residents should be getting. They're not doing their job, so we're having to pick up the slack. And that totally sucks, but we cannot absolve our responsibility to take care of our constituency just because the state isn't doing what they need to do. So for that reason, I am standing against the amendment and I am standing for, I want to stand in support of the current budget. I remember I shared a little bit yesterday about a friend that I know that is a business professional and by no fault of their own based on some federal cuts, This is a person with a professional degree in the medical field, and they're currently unemployed. And I watch them week after week, try to figure out how they're going to feed their family. And there are literal times when they're like, I have $5 and I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to eat this week and how I'm going to feed my kids. So for us, $5 is nothing, $6 is nothing. But for many people that are struggling to make the ends meet, I vividly remember when I was 22 and And I just graduated from TSU and I was working in a call center and my colleague and I for lunch, we would go to Mrs. Winner's all the time and get this $1.99 chicken meal because that was literally all we could afford. So that $2 literally stretched for us. $6 would have been three times that we could have ate that week. And now it's hard to find a $1.99 meal, but you can still get a Wendy's 444. So it may not be a lot of money for a lot of people, but for the people that need it, this does make a difference. We never get the opportunity to put direct dollars back into the hands of our constituents. And this is one of the only opportunities that we have to deliver a real impact, real dollars that we're giving back to the constituents. So I respect my colleagues position. I adore my colleague council member Sepulveda. I respect their position, but I have to be against the amendment this time.

All right, next in the queue on the motion to amend is Council Member Benedict, you're recognized. All right, Ms. Benedict has called the previous question, is there a second? Okay, this is a non-debatable motion that requires two thirds of those voting. That call in the previous question ends debate on the motion to amend, okay? And so we will move then to the vote on the motion to amend with the timely filed amendment of Ms. Evans-Segal. We will try this first by voice. As I remind folks, every time it is number, not volume, please. So if you are in favor of the previous question, you'll say aye to end the debate. If you want the debate to continue, you will say no. All in favor of the previous question, please say aye. Any voting no. All right, the ayes have it. And so the previous question is called and so we will move to the vote on the motion to amend. We can take this also by voice. All in favor of the motion to amend, please say aye. All against the motion to amend, please say no. Any abstaining? The no's have it. The amendment fails. All right, now we are back on debate of the motion to approve as substituted. Next in the queue for that discussion is Council Member Stiles. You're recognized, ma'am.

Thank you very much, Vice Mayor. I just wanted to take this moment and I said this during the budget work sessions, to share what a great job council member Toombs did on this budget, but also the budget process itself, holding the department hearings, allowing for the budget work sessions, allowing council members to bring whatever their cares or concerns were and allowing them to share them and let colleagues listen to them and give feedback in a very fair manner. I appreciate Council Member Toombs and her integrity. It was very nice to have it. And congratulations, Chair Toombs. You have done an amazing job. You should be proud.

All right. We continue on discussion on the motion to approve substituted. Next in the queue is Council Member Johnston. You're recognized, ma'am. Thank you, Vice Mayor.

Every year, this I think is my seventh budget to work on. And I get frustrated every year because our process is incredibly complicated. it's just a frustrating process. And especially in a, from a, coming from a body that is part-time that doesn't have access to a ton of information. And I think we've had, I've been watching, I haven't been able to be here cause I've been recovering from surgery, but I've been watching and I, we've had a lot of conversation around affordability. The largest bill that Davidson County sends Nashvillians is their property tax bill. and we've been talking about the grocery tax, and I feel like we're majoring in the minor talking about, well, we need to have a little bit of relief here and a little bit of relief here, when meaningful relief could come from really putting together an efficient budget that has as little waste as possible. And where is that work? I really appreciate Council Member Evan Siegel's thought processes around what is the best way to provide affordability? Is this the right thing? And really digging into it because that's the work that needs to be done. When you take away a small source of revenue, that revenue has to be found somewhere. And next year we're gonna have to find it. And then a year after that, we're gonna have to find it. And what that does is apply pressure to then increase the property tax again to make up for it instead of pulling, robbing Peter to pay Paul. We have businesses that are shuttering. When businesses close, people lose their jobs. That's not adding anything to affordability. When mortgages go up, so do rents. Housing is the most expensive thing that people pay for every single month. That is where I think the work should be put into is figuring out how can we as a government become more efficient. I haven't in my seven years seen us cut one thing. We continually add and add and add. And are we really looking at the programming that we're investing in to see where is that ROI? Are we really getting from this programming what we should? Are there contracts that we're paying every single month? year after year that we're not even utilizing that product? Are we negotiating the pricing of our contracts the way that we should? Do we even know what we're paying for? Because a lot of this gets gone through professional services. So many contracts people don't even know in this room don't even know that we're paying for. That's where the work needs to go, where we can meaningfully reduce the largest bill that we send to our constituents every single year, which is their property tax bill. So this budget is extremely frustrating to me, but it's frustrating every single year. So I can't in good conscience vote yes for it.

All right, next in the queue is Council Member Nash. You're recognized, sir.

Thank you, Madam President. Very short. I know that this small cut in grocery tax means a different, will have different impact on different families. And it's not real large, but it's the first time in my 74 years that I remember any tax being cut. And I think that's important. It might show the state how it's done and maybe we can do better again next year.

All right, next in the queue is Council Member Benedict. All right, Council Member Benedict has called the previous question. I have heard a second. We have a rule relative to the amount of time of debate on the operating budget. We have achieved that number, okay. All right, so that is a proper motion at this juncture. Again, non-debatable requires two thirds of those voting. If you vote yes or aye in favor of the previous question, you want to end debate and move to the vote on the budget. If you vote no, discussion will continue. All in favor of the previous question, please say aye. Those against the previous question, please say no. The ayes have it. All right, we will now move to the vote on approval of the operating budget as substituted. This, by our rules, requires a roll call vote. And so Mr. Clerk, if you would please load the vote. With all votes in, Mr. Clerk, please show the vote. All right, the budget has passed its third and final reading as substituted with 35 votes in favor, two against and zero abstentions. All right. Next, we move on to agenda item 70. This is ordinance BL-2026-1378 sponsored tombs. This is an ordinance establishing the tax levy in the General Services District for the fiscal year 2026-2027 and declaring the amount required for the annual operating budget of the Urban Services District pursuant to section 6.07 of the Metropolitan Charter. Budget Chair Toombs, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Vice Mayor. Committee report. Budget and finance voted to recommend approval, nine in favor, zero against, zero not voting.

All right, with that report in, it's back to you. Move for approval. All right, there's a motion to approve 1378, the tax levy, and we are on to discussion. First in the queue for discussion, Mr. Eastlick, do you seek to be recognized on the tax levy? Gallery, audience, folks, quietly please depart the chamber. Very quietly. No speaking, please. Thank you. Go ahead, sir.

Thank you. I will not be able to support this agenda item as it continues to use the same weak study done by Raftelis last year as the guide for the USDGSD tax. The way this worked, there was no real data used. It was assumptions and... just really assumptions that everybody was getting everything equally when it came to the USD GSD. What it allowed was the USD to grow and the GSD to pay for it. The people in the all GSD districts are paying more. They got a double bump on the tax increase last year, not just the property tax increase, but the actual shift from USD to GSD happened as well. So, We in the outside areas are not getting the same amenities. We don't get the same services, nor do we use the same services. We don't have streetlights, we don't have sidewalks, and we don't have trash collection. I understand the trash collection was... subtracted from the usd and it's basically what the usd pays at this point but it is not separate and equal throughout this whole area and the gsd people are carrying the weight of the growth of the usd i ask that in the future we study this to make sure that the raft hillis data is real and that it's an actual good plan for the gsd people i get it if you're one of the council members that has usd or is all usd you're not going to do this there's no reason for you to support having your people pay more to get nothing. But that's what happened to us in the GSD last year. We didn't get anything else, but we had more tax burden shifted to us. And we should look at this before we go forward. It certainly doesn't make sense if you read the ref till this report. Thank you.

All right, discussion continues on agenda item 70, ordinance 1378, the tax levy. Next in the queue is Council Member Kupin, you're recognized, sir.

Thank you, Madam President. And I wanna say first that I deeply appreciate Councilman Toombs and the fantastic job that she has done to make sure we are all welcome. had our opinions heard and our voices heard in this process. And as Councilwoman Johnston said, the budget process to me continues to feel backwards and out of order because we do the best we can. I think we've done a really great job this year shifting things around a little bit to get the best impact, but we don't have the time or resources to really dive deep into The meat and potatoes of the budget. I get calls, texts, emails every day as recently as this morning learning that Burger Up after 16 years is shutting its doors. Watching Nashville Staples, watching the soul of our city close, close, close, close, close. due to taxes due to do the property taxes I get phone calls from Families that are getting kicked out of their homes because they just got their new tax bill I support the grocery tax reduction or support we did there And I looked at could we do more before we went to the budget process. I looked at an 18 cent Property tax reduction it would have cost 130 million in revenue that light turning off was part of the cuts uh-huh It would have cost $130 million in revenue, which I didn't want to find on the backs of our workers, which are already substantially underpaid or cutting essential programs. I would have wanted to look through contracts and ways to be more efficient, ways to deploy resources better. And that tax reduction would have saved $450 a year for a residential home valued at $1 million. So six times this grocery tax reduction. So there's a way to really substantially reduce this burden. But the issue is that by the time I get to that, by the time the budget is out, as a district council person, there is no space for that. There's no time for that. There's no resources to dive that deep. Even a budget chair who would want to do that is not able to with the time and resources we have. And I know we've looked at salary, we've looked at salary savings, we've looked at contracts, but still, I can't just continue to stand here and support a tax levy that I know is breaking the backs of our city, breaking the backs of our residents, and that runs the risk. Again, we talk about revenue reduction, we talk about grocery tax, sales tax, revenue dropping. Well, at the rate we're going with these businesses closing with residents getting pushed out, we're going to see a substantial reduction. So sometimes there's a short-term pain, long-term gain process. So I'm going to vote against the tax levy. I understand there's a lot of parameters. I understand that we do the best we can with what we've got. But I need to stand up for my constituents and recognize the challenges that we are facing. And hopefully going into next year and starting to go into another reappraisal cycle, we can look at how we can ease this burden, but still deliver the services we need to deliver.

All right, next in the queue is Council Member Erin Evans. You're recognized, ma'am.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. So I think there's a lot of sentiments that some of my peers have shared tonight that I would like to echo in a very succinct way. But I think the underlying cause is we really do the best with the bandwidth that we have as a council. And the budget chairs process was really strong. But the reality is we're... We're essentially between a rock and a hard place when it comes to setting the rates and how we navigate a rate that is higher than optimal. In particular, my colleague from Old Hickory reiterated his feelings around the original study that got us to the differential between the USD and the GSD. And I want to just reiterate that we are about 3 cents difference between USD and GSD. there is a difference in the services that you get in the GSD. Some of it is warranted, some of it I do not feel is warranted. Essentially by the time we get to the next reappraisal period, we will not have a GSD anymore for better or for worse. And so there needs to be a plan and I appreciate my council member colleague from Bellevue who was renewing kind of that call for what's the plan for the GSD areas. Because when we start making these rate adjustments in the future and somebody in the next council can mark this conversation, you know, we're going to have a conversation about trash collection, streetlights, sidewalks, all those things. And there's going to be an expectation that we're brought up to the same standards. So I'm just flagging it again with my vote in opposition for the rates. Thank you.

All right. Next in the queue regarding the tax levy ordinance is Council Member Spain. Go ahead, sir. Vice Chair, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. I share the concerns that my colleagues have expressed about the impacts of the changes we made in last year's budget cycle. SHIFTING EXPENSES BETWEEN, FROM THE USD TO THE GSD. I APPRECIATE THE COUNCIL'S OVERWHELMING SUPPORT OF A RESOLUTION TO CONTINUE THAT STUDY AND CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION. I APPRECIATE THE MAYOR INCLUDING FUNDING FOR THAT STUDY AND HIS BUDGET AND CHAIR TOMBS FOR MAINTAINING IT IN HER SUBSTITUTE. I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT CONVERSATION CONTINUING AS WE GO INTO THE NEXT BUDGET CYCLE. I ALSO WANT TO ADD MY THANKS TO CHAIR TOMBS FOR THE INCREDIBLY INCLUSIVE AND TRANSPARENT PROCESS THAT SHE HAS LED GOING BACK TO, EVEN BEFORE WE GOT HERE IN THIS CHAMBER, THE public budget 101 sessions that were held around the county back in May through the departmental budget hearings and the working group sessions that allowed everyone's voices to be heard and to advocate for things that were important to them. And as you saw by the vote, created a very inclusive substitute that truly reflected the priorities of this body. So I appreciate that and look forward to voting in favor of this. Thank you.

Thank you, Vice Chair. Next is Council Member Suara. You're recognized, ma'am.

Thank you, Vice Chair, and I applaud the Budget Chair, too, for a job well done. And since we're still speaking on the operating budget, for me, I always get a reaction when I feel like there is misinformation or inaccurate information that I feel like we need to address or speak to. I think it is very important to know that, yes, I agree with all the sentiments. We could do better. There's always room for us to do better. And we should keep looking at making the budget process a whole lot better. I have my concerns and I have things that I want to share. But to say that we never look at cuts is not appropriate. Because I think that starting with the mayor's budget, the departments were actually asked to put a... 1.5% cuts in their budget this year. And last year we did the same thing. There were cuts in the budget. We look at it. I also remember that there was a special work group that was set up by the budget chair last year. One was looking into salary savings and to look at how we can actually look at that through the budget process. Another, we're talking about we just don't look at spending. I remember we spent, the committee that work on procurement spent weeks, maybe months, looking at that process. So as we talk about what is not working, what we need to improve, I think it's also good that we acknowledge the work that we're doing and not make it look as if this body's not doing anything. Finally, I think it's important for everybody to also understand that the way it works, it's a majora budget. Think about it, it's a 3.8 billion budget. The chair is only able to move less than nine million. And so if people really wants to make an impact on the budget and they want the conversation to start, they start with the mayor before it's published on May. Everybody comes to the council and everybody wants the council to perform magic. And in all my years of being on the budget for seven years, I think the most we've ever done was the year that we have this surplus that we're able to do maybe 20 million. It's always been very minimal, less than 1%, very, very small amount. And so people put a lot of weight on the council and the council budget does a good job of moving around and trying to move it. But it is a mayoral system. It is a mayoral budget. And so everyone should start talking to the mayor, our head, of time so that whatever change needs to happen needs to happen at that point. I just wanted to put all of those in. I love the budget process, I read the budget process, I look into the process, and it can get better. But I also don't want us to discount the work that's gone into it. Council Member Toome did a wonderful job getting all the department head and the previous budget chairs. So this body is trying to do the best it can with what it got and with the time that it has. But we also have to understand the process and how things work. And we cannot just make claims, Just to make claims, I understand we want to get our constituents and we want to, you know, it's political and it's all of that. I get all of that, but we have to be factual in it as well. Thank you.

Thank you. Next in the queue again on the ordinance establishing the tax levy is council member Porterfield. You're recognized, Madam Pro Temp.

Thank you so very much, Vice Mayor. I appreciate that. I am standing in support of this. Everyone who just voted yes should be voting yes for this because, in essence, we just passed the budget. And this is the mechanism to fund the budget that we just passed. So if you don't pass this, there is no way to fund the budget that you literally just voted for to pass. So you are saying, yes, I believe in this budget. This is a great budget and I support it, but I'm not gonna support funding it. I also want to back up something that council member Sorora just said, because facts matter and it is important to get facts on the record. We did a 1.5% reduction to departments this year. We did a 1.41% reduction in fiscal year 25. So for the three years that this body has passed a budget, two of those years we did budget cuts. So it is factually incorrect to say that we are not cutting budgets and that we are not looking at cuts. And again, I think it's important that we put that on the record. So again, if you just voted for the budget, you really should vote for this because this is how we fund that budget. And then the last thing that I want to say is I completely understand, and I understood last year, the tension that people felt about having to pay more if they were in the GSD. This is not asking the GSD to pay more. This is asking the GSD to pay their fair share. That was the conversation last year from the results of the study is we are simply asking people to pay their fair share. If their services have been subsidized up to this point, we're saying that we're asking you to pay your fair share. So I'm asking my colleagues to please support the tax levy for the budget that they just voted to pass.

Thank you, Madam Pro Tem. Next in the queue is Budget Chair Toombs. You're recognized, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Vice Mayor. Obviously, I stand in support of the tax rate to fund the budget that we just passed. I do want to point out that the budget that we just passed does include 1.5% cuts across the board. I wanna lift up the work of our finance department and our budget office, both of whom have been working with department heads to help them identify how to absorb those cuts. Because in recent years, it's not often that we cut departments, that is true. However, when you think about reducing the tax rate, you're reducing revenue. And when you're reducing revenue, you're reducing the amount of money that we have to fund the government. And at a certain point, you're looking at cutting departments. If colleagues are comfortable with cutting departments and not knowing the consequences, then you can propose a reduction to the tax rate next fiscal year. When we raised property taxes, we didn't raise that to pay for lavish trips. We raised the property tax rate so that we could pay to fund government. Because if you look at our funding sources, we are very limited in the funding sources on the local government level. That's why when there was a conversation about capping the property tax rate at the state level, every local government across the state is unified and saying, please don't do that because it's going to cut off local government at the knees. Every other revenue source that we have grows barely at one or 2% a year. 57% of our revenue is property taxes. We get a lot of requests, a lot of requests coming to Hub. A lot of us deal with constituent services where people are wanting things and those things cost money. And I understand the hardship to folks. It's a hardship to me. My property tax bill went up as well. You have to make adjustments. I understand that. But we have to be able to fund government We have to be able to provide services, and those services are not cheap. Just as the cost of living increases for residents every year, the cost of governing increases every year. We have to pay for our schools, 80,000 kids, 11,000 employees, the thousands of employees that work for Metro and provide the services. People talk about public safety and affordable housing and all the different departments that provide service. All of that costs money. The bulk of our budget is personnel, the people providing the services. So I am all for efficiency. And again, lifting up our budget office and our finance department, so are they. And they are always looking at how we spend money, how to save money. and how to be responsible with taxpayer dollars. So I encourage all of my colleagues to meet with them and start that conversation. If you wanna look at cuts, you gotta be prepared of what the consequence is for that. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Eastlick, you have spoken before on this matter. I cannot recall if you've used the entirety of your time, but I would ask you please to be concise, sir. Thank you.

I generally don't. First off, facts do matter. And cuts versus... Savings temporary savings. I think it was 25 when there was temporary savings and then when the new budget came up with the tax increase those were given back to those apart those departments. I checked that I asked about it and they were said I was told they were given back for budget consistency. So that's the difference between a cut, a real cut, that it doesn't come back, and a temporary savings, which is what I found out the last time. Secondly, we talk about not being able to cut, and we're fighting over $6. We could cut the amount we pay. If you look at some of the things, the goods and services that Metro pays for, it is well beyond a premium versus what the general public pays for. If you've been in the Apple committee with me, you know I'm upset about the $100,000 outdoor bathroom prefabricated from another state, shipped here for $100,000. There's no one in this room that could convince me a general contractor, a regular person in our city, could not build that a whole lot cheaper. So we're spending money at a monopoly money rate. We could cut these departments without losing anything. Just pay what the regular public pays for the same exact good or service. And secondly, or last... We could talk about this all day long about the rate split. The rate split based on Raftelis does not justify their changes. They talk of broad concepts. They do not talk about individual statistics or usage-based data or anything like that. It is just a concept. And I believe Raftelis is used by this government because they tell the government what they want to hear.

All right, with no one else in the queue, we will move to the vote on the third reading, third and final reading of the tax levy to pro tems point, which funds the budget that has already passed. I will remind the body from a technical perspective that pursuant to the Metropolitan Charter, If the tax levy ordinance is not adopted on third reading, it requires 21 votes. A new tax levy ordinance if sufficiently funds this 2027 budget must be filed and heard at three separate readings prior to June 30th. So I would ask that you keep that in mind as we move to the vote. Our rules do require that this is a roll call vote. So Mr. Clerk, if you would please load the vote. With all votes in, Mr. Clerk, please show the vote. All right, the tax levy ordinance has passed its third and final reading with 29 votes in favor, seven votes against and zero abstentions. All right, that concludes our two budget items that we pulled forward on our agenda. And so at this juncture, we're going to go back to the top of our agenda and move on through in agenda order. All right. Section H, our consolidated consent agenda. All resolutions and second and third reading ordinances on this agenda are included on the consent agenda if recommended for approval unanimously by all committees to which the item was referred. Items on the consent agenda will be voted on at a single time. The item number along with the resolution and ordinance number of the items on the consent agenda will be read by me and members of the council may remove any item from the... from the consent agenda by request before the consent agenda vote is taken. All right, the first resolution proposed for consent is agenda item two, resolution 2026-2004. Agenda item three, resolution 2026-2005. Agenda item four, resolution 2026-2006. Resolution, or rather agenda number five, resolution 2026-2008. Agenda item six, resolution 2026-2030. Agenda item seven, resolution 2026-2031. Agenda item eight, resolution 2026-2032. Agenda item 10, resolution 2026-2034. Agenda item 11, resolution 2026-2035. Agenda item 12, resolution 2026-2036. Agenda item 13, resolution 2026-2037. Agenda item 14, resolution 2026-2038. Agenda item 15, resolution 2026-2039. Agenda item 16, resolution 2026-2040. Agenda item 17, resolution 2026-2041. Agenda item 18, resolution 2026-2042. Agenda item 19, resolution 2026-2043. Agenda item 20, resolution 2026-2044. Agenda item 21, resolution 2026-2045. Agenda item 22, resolution 2026-2046. Agenda item 23, resolution 2026-2047. Agenda item 24, resolution 2026-2048. Agenda item 25, resolution 2026-2049. Agenda item 26, resolution 2026-2050. Agenda item 27, resolution 2026-2051. Agenda item 28, resolution 2026-2052. Agenda item 29, resolution 2026-2053. Agenda item 30, resolution 2026-2054. Agenda item 31, resolution 2026-2055. Agenda item 32, resolution 2026-2056. Agenda item 33, resolution 2026-2057. Agenda item 34, resolution 2026-2058. Agenda item 35, resolution 2026-2059. Agenda item 36, resolution 2026-2060. Agenda item 37, resolution 2026-2061. Agenda item 38, resolution 2026-2062. Agenda item 39, resolution 2026-2063. Agenda item 41, resolution 2026-2065. Agenda item 42, resolution 2026-2066. Agenda item 43, resolution 2026-2067. Agenda item 44, resolution 2026-2068. Agenda item 45, resolution 2026-2069. Next for bills on second reading, proposed for the consent agenda. First among those is agenda item 64, Resolution or rather ordinance BL 2026-1393 and second reading short. So the second and last among those is agenda item 65 ordinance BL 2026-1394. For items on third reading proposed for the consent agenda. First among those, agenda item 66, ordinance BL2026-1328. Agenda item 67, ordinance BL2026-1356. Agenda item 68, ordinance BL2026-1358. Agenda item 71, ordinance BL 2026-1379. Agenda item 73, ordinance BL 2026-1382. And that is the last bill proposed for 2019. the Consolidated Consent Agenda. Do any items need to be removed from the Consent Agenda? If so, members would please join the queue to request that. Council Member Kupin, you are recognized, sir.

Thank you, Chair. Number 40, I believe was off consent, but just wanted to make sure.

That's correct, Council Member. 40 is not on consent. Next in the queue, Council Member Ellis, you're recognized, ma'am.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Two things, I wanted to confirm 2031, that's on consent.

Okay, is this an ordinance or res... resolution okay resolution number seven um or rather agenda number seven is on consent okay and then uh for resolution 2026-2065 i wanted to pull that off consent okay um do you have an agenda number ma'am okay agenda number 41 this is Resolution 2026-2065, and it will be removed from consent, okay? Next in the queue is Councilmember Gamble. You're recognized, ma'am.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. I'd like to remove number 45, RS-2026-2069. Okay, Agenda Item 45, Resolution 2069 will be removed from consent.

has been removed. Next in the queue, Council Member Suara, you're recognized, ma'am.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. Item number 73, bill 2026-1382, please.

All right, Council Member Suara has requested the removal of agenda item 73, ordinance 1382, and it has been removed from consent. All right, any other members seeking to remove an item from consent? All right, seeing none, Mr. Clerk, are all committee reports in for the items remaining on the consent agenda?

Yes, all committee reports are in.

Okay, thank you, Mr. Clerk. Members, is there a motion for approval of the consent agenda? Okay, all in favor, please say aye. Council has passed all items on the consent agenda. All right, next we will move back through our agenda again in agenda order. First for resolutions that were not on consent. And first among those is agenda item one. This is ordinance, or rather resolution 2026-1961. This is a resolution reducing the local sales tax on the sale of groceries. Sponsors, Toombs, Coopin, Bradford, Huffman, Allen, Porterfield, Ellis, and Spain. Council member Toombs, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Vice Mayor. Committee report. Budget and finance voted to recommend approval, nine in favor, two against, zero not voting.

All righty. Nine in favor, two against, and zero not voting. Okay, with that committee report. Move for approval. Okay, there's a motion to approve and properly seconded. We are on to discussion on this resolution reducing the local sales tax on the sale of groceries. Is anyone seeking a discussion at this time? Okay, seeing none. Do we have a quorum in the room? I think we do. Okay. Just want to double check on that. Okay. Let's see. I guess we will try this first by voice, even though we did have some no's in committee. We'll try it first that way. All in favor of this resolution approval, please say aye. Any voting no. Okay. With that, because it is a resolution by rule, we will have to do a roll call vote. Mr. Clerk, if you would please load the vote. Ms. Hancock, do you seek to vote on this? With all votes in, Mr. Clerk, please show the vote. All right, this resolution has passed with 28 votes in favor, three against, and one abstention. All right. Next is agenda item nine. This is resolution 2026-2033, sponsor Coopin. This is a resolution approving the fiscal year 2027 Central Business Improvement District budget and accepting previous Central Business District improvement budgets. Council Member Coopin, you are recognized, sir.

Thank you, Madam President. Committee reports, please.

for the report of the Budget and Finance Committee, Chair Toombs. Budget and Finance voted to recommend approval, eight in favor, two against, one not voting.

All right, back to you, Mr. Coopin, for a motion to get this bill before us.

Move approval with a brief comment, please.

Okay, it's your second. Go ahead, sir.

Thank you. And, uh, no, we've, we've seen this before, um, but did want to highlight, um, some, some things that, uh, that have occurred over the last year with the central business improvement district. Um, first among those that, um, the CBIT and CBIT board I've encouraged to, and been happy to see them lead the effort. Uh, I've reminded colleagues that, Our relationship is not with national downtown partnership. It is with the district management corporation made up of board members that are downtown residents and stakeholders and business owners. Um, and so I want to make sure that those folks are here and engaged and knowing what's going on and they've done a great job of that. You, the letter you got today was signed by all of them. Um, and so, um, that's been, that's been a huge improvement, um, Again, thanks to Councilman Parker for elevating the fact that we do need to even have this budget process. We've got an activities and interaction report from Councilman Prepti's amendment. And then we've also seen progress on what the bid is allocating funding for, right? You've seen that NDP and the CPIT have committed to funding REACH mental health workers downtown. They are in the process of a commitment for funding Red Frogs, which is huge. So we're seeing a lot of movement, a lot of progress on that. The conversation's ongoing. I've said this a hundred times, I think the last couple of weeks that I am the ex officio member. I represent this council on the NDP board. on the C-Bid board, on the G-Bid boards. If there are concerns, questions, issues, come to me, share them with me. And specifically around the THP, private security issue, I've said this a number of times, but day, night, four o'clock in the morning, it doesn't matter, call me, text me. I'm available if there is an issue, if there is someone being harassed or treated poorly. Call me, let me know, I wanna know about it. I'll come down, I'll come address it. But again, we've got a new provider in that space. and keeping a close eye on what that looks like, but we've seen a lot of changes, a lot of progress. At the end of the day, this is about 22,000 residents, countless stakeholders downtown. This is the budget they want. This is the budget that they put forward, and I hope my colleagues will support it.

So we are on to discussion on the motion to approve this resolution. First in the queue is Council Member Parker. You're recognized, sir.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. First, I have a technical question, which I'd like to direct to our special counsel, if I may. Yep. So special counsel, the text of 2.177.070 reads that the annual budget shall be reviewed and approved by the Metropolitan Council, or if not approved, shall be returned to the Board of Directors for revision and resubmission until the Metropolitan Council shall approve the annual budget. This is precisely the same document they submitted before. We did reject that document and sent it back to the Board of Directors. They have not revised it. They have sent back the exact same document. So is this properly before us according to the Metro Code?

Special Counsel, you're recognized.

Councilmember, based on my review of the legislation considered last week and the legislation considered this week, there is a change between accounts of $1 And based on that, however minor, that is a revision.

That's very cute. And I think it shows how seriously the district managed corporation takes this responsibility. So I think, you know, members of this body, we've heard substantive concerns about this entity for the last 18 months from the public, from members of this body. We have rejected the budget they sent us. We sent it back to them. They did this cute little movement of a dollar, which I did not find. So thank you special counsel for digging through that and finding that movement of a dollar. We are tasked with oversight of this body. No one is coming to fix this for us. We are the oversight entity of this body. We need to be the adults in the room, vote this down and have them send us a budget we can approve.

All right. Next in the queue is council member Porterfield. You're recognized.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. I appreciate that. I second and echo everything my colleague, Council Member Parker, just stated. When I asked if this was a change in the budget, my interpretation of the email that we got, because we got an email that basically said, and I'm kind of paraphrasing here, that there were a lot of council members out So we're gonna bring back the same budget because we'll have more people. Not that we are looking to make the changes or addressing the concerns that several council members lifted up. Council member Evan Siegel brought up some really great concerns around safety. I hope she gets in the queue to talk about them again. She brought up some really great concerns. We brought up multiple concerns about THP, And the CHP is still in the budget, even though we shared those concerns and they, in essence, brought back the same budget because they believe that they don't have to make any changes because they just feel like they have the vote. And I think that that is very prideful. That is hubris. And I think that if you want to show that you are a good partner and that you truly are trying to work with this body and you want us to approve this budget, then you would have considered bringing in a revised budget. It's four positions. It is literally four positions. So they had the opportunity to remove THP and they did not. Yesterday, a comment was made by, I'm guessing this was one of their vendors, but a comment was made by a gentleman who accused the city of busing unhoused neighbors from downtown when there are big events like the CMA. And I went on the record and I asked the administration if that was true, and of course, the administration confirmed that that wasn't true. But I did a little digging, and in 2016, News Channel 5 actually wrote a story about a group pays to bus many homeless out of town. I'LL JUST READ THE FIRST LINE. THE NASHVILLE DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP, THAT IS THE GROUP THAT WAS BUSSING UNHOUSED NEIGHBORS. AND GRANTED, THIS STORY WAS BACK FROM 2016, SO HOPEFULLY THEY DON'T HAVE THAT PRACTICE ANYMORE, BUT I JUST THOUGHT THAT IT WAS VERY DISTURBING THAT THE ACCUSATION THAT ONE OF THEIR VENDORS MADE AGAINST OUR CITY is what they were the ones that were actually doing. And here we are again with a budget that hasn't been revised that we're asking to approve this budget. We have the opportunity to vote this down. They do a lot of good stuff. We want them to do the good stuff. We want them to keep downtown clean. That's an amazing use of tax dollars when you are keeping downtown clean. But what we're saying is we don't want THP And we want a more robust look at public safety. Public safety is not just policing. So we are, I'm standing again in opposition to this budget and I'm going to keep opposing it every time it comes back. If it fails today, I'm going to keep opposing it every time it comes back until they get it right.

All right. Next in the queues, Council Member Johnston, you're recognized, ma'am. Previous question. All right. Roll call for previous question. Okay, all righty. So there is a second for the previous question. This is non-debatable. It requires two thirds of those voting. There is a request for roll call. It is seconded multiple times as appropriate. And so rather than starting by voice, we will go straight to roll call machine. Mr. Clerk, please load the vote to call the previous question. With all votes in, Mr. Clerk, please show the vote. The motion to call the question fails with 18 votes in favor and 17 against and zero abstentions. So debate will and discussion will continue in the order of the queue. Next is Council Member Benedict. You're recognized.

Thank you, Madam Vice Mayor. So, colleagues, I'm mostly concerned about the financial burden that the C-Bid has put on all Nashvillians. The District Management Corporation has selected Nashville Downtown Partnership, and they contract with Block by Block. So block by block, as we know, had some responsibility in the library garage fire. The fire department, NFD, identified their storage room as the fire's point of origin. We don't know how much block by block, vis-a-vis, NDP, vis-a-vis the C-BID, we don't know how much they're liable for that's currently being litigated. However, last year, prior to any litigation, we were told by Metro Legal that the C-BID did not have enough insurance coverage for the damage. That means that all of our constituents across the entire county, from Bordeaux, Bellevue, Old Hickory, Hermitage, Englewood, Madison, all of us would pay for it. The CBID doesn't provide a backstop. We're the backstop. And we didn't sign up for that. This budget should include parameters requiring the CBID back all expenses incurred by their vendors. The CBID board has brought us a budget that still puts the financial burden on all residents of Davidson County. And there's nothing in this budget that fixes that. As a couple of my colleagues have said, it's pretty audacious of them to bring back the exact same budget, less $1 change. It's tone deaf to those of us who wanna work towards an improved CBID budget. I actually had a couple of good conversations with Downtown Partnership this week. I'm interested in collaborating to find a solution that works for all Nashvillians and it's a strong arm move to just bring the same budget back. And it erodes trust with this body. So I think that with collaboration, we could make this better. And before passage, I'd like the DMC to come to us and explain what they plan to do to remove this financial burden on Nashvillians. And so I'm going to move a one meeting deferral so there'll be enough time to get the CBID in front of us or DMC in front of us to review this request and provide updates to their budget that takes this burden off of Davidson County voters and taxpayers.

There is a motion to defer one meeting. Is there a second? Okay, so we are now on the debate of the motion to defer one meeting. There's quite a few folks in the queue. I'm just gonna go through and see if they seek to be recognized specifically on the motion to defer. Ms. Sepulveda on the motion to defer. Go ahead, ma'am.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. I'm gonna vote in favor of the deferral motion. What more can be said? There are so many questions that need answers. There are still... Concerns about THP, that was one of the biggest problems that many of us had in regards to the last budget proposal that was put in front of us, and it's quite frankly very arrogant for it to be proposed in this way, minus a dollar or plus a dollar, whatever it ended up being. And so I would encourage us to exercise our responsibility of holding these entities responsible. Because unless we do, it's going to continue to happen. And quite frankly, it is... I take it like a slap in the face, and I don't appreciate that at all. And so I'm going to be voting in favor of this deferral motion. What I do want to see, I want to see the board come before us. I want to see them answer questions. And if this doesn't pass, my next motion recommendation is that we hold accountable all of their recommendations that they bring before us, before the Rules Committee and before this body, for approval for their board. Because I had questions today in Rules Committee for their nominee in regards to, the budget that was put forward today, and if they agreed with the process that was happening today. And since I didn't feel like it was an adequate response, I did not vote in favor of that nominee. And so we have to take the paths of accountability seriously, and so I'm going to take this path seriously, and I'm going to vote in favor of the deferral.

All right, thank you. Next on the deferral motion, Ms. Toombs. Go ahead, ma'am.

Thank you, Madam Vice Mayor. So I have some concerns about the deferral. So there's language in the substitute that we just passed that grants the finance director the authority to withhold the assessment funds if the council does not approve the CBITS budget. My concern is whether or not on July 1, if there's no, because we don't meet again until July 7th, if there is no passage of the budget today, if they will have funding to pay their employees and continue to provide services downtown, My concern with a further with a deferral, you're talking about a two week time period, but what I'm hearing is a concern about how security is handled downtown. So downtown is not your typical neighborhood. There's 17 million people that go through downtown on a yearly basis. So you do need additional security. And we've heard from MMPD that they don't have the capacity to provide that additional security and, But I think that from hearing from some council members, there's a desire for there to be MMPD rather than THP. And I don't know if that can be resolved in a two-week period. So for that, I don't know if I'm going to abstain or vote no on the deferral, but I do have a concern regarding the financial resources come July 1 for the CBIT. Is there someone that can answer that?

Would you like me to address that question to the Department of Finance or Special Counsel? Finance. Okay. Special counsel can answer as well, but Ms. Wiggins. Okay. Let me see. You are at the planning table, Ms. Wiggins, and not in your usual spot. Go ahead, ma'am. Mary Jo Wiggins, finance. Thank you, Vice Mayor.

It is my understanding that the services downtown would cease on July 1st without the passage of a budget by that date.

Would you like me to have additional follow-up from special counsel? Special counsel, can you engage further in response to Chair Toombs' question?

Yes, Vice Mayor, I can. I have the language in the substitute in front of me. It says that when... Metro Code requires the District Management Corporation to submit its annual budget to Metro Council for review and approval. No portion of the appropriation for a special assessment revenues shall be made available until the budget has been approved.

All right, is that sufficient to address your question, Ms. Tames?

Yes. So that language was put in there so that to give the council the leverage to be able to approve or disapprove the budget. But I think that's important information for colleagues to have. The budget that we just passed does not include any additional funds for MMPD to provide additional security downtown. So I just want that information to be out there as colleagues are making their decisions.

All right, next in the queue on the motion to defer is Council Member Allen, not seeking to be recognized. On the deferral, Ms. Evans-Segal, no. Okay, on the deferral motion, Mr. Coopin, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. I appreciate all the conversation here. A couple of questions first, if I could, to Special Counsel. Special Counsel, the Library Garage and NDP, contractually, what is that relationship and which parties are involved in it? Special Counsel, you're recognized. Special Counsel.

The parties in the contract you're referencing are the metropolitan government and Nashville downtown partnership.

And, um, from a liability perspective, my understanding was that, um, the department of transportation also was not carrying, um, full insurance on that garage. Is that correct?

Special counsel.

I'll have to defer to legal for an exact answer on that. Could legal answer that?

Um, uh, Ms. Amos, um, for, uh, the Metro legal department. Go ahead, ma'am. Councilman, Cuban, can you repeat your question?

Yes. So, so my understanding from a prior meeting was that the director of department of transportation shared that the department of transportation was not carrying adequate insurance on the library garage. And that was one of the fiscal concerns was wanting to confirm that.

I don't think that I'm in a position to weigh in on that now. I think we are involved in some litigation. And I would also share Mr. Kupan, you're on a deferral motion, sir.

So my point to that is that those are questions that were raised and by the individual asking for the deferral and my the the relationship between national downtown partnership regarding their library garage I understand here all those concerns but that is that the metro issue I would encourage transportation infrastructure chair who has concerns to call a special meeting to address those concerns. but we shouldn't be penalizing the District Management Corporation or the downtown residents because of that issue. And as we've heard, July 1st, if this is not passed, the C-Bid would just cease to exist and July 4th would be really tricky. You want to talk about a burden on Metro taxpayers. We're not going to let the city go to ruin, right? We're not going to let the streets go messy and trash everywhere. So that burden is going to come from the whole city. That's where $20 million worth of downtown investment goes to. I continue to get frustrated by these conversations because people downtown, when cost of living is so high, when it is hard to make ends meet, when it is hard to put food on their table, they put extra money in the pocket so that we can generate revenue and so that we can fund the budget we just passed. And so to shut this down for a deferral, because, and again, Councilwoman Porterfield, I think said it best, that she's gonna oppose it again and again and again until they do what we want them to do. And I continue to hear one issue and one issue alone, and that is THP and private security I'm looking at the budget now. If I moved $700,000 out of economic development into cleaning, if we move that, that wouldn't change anybody's vote here tonight, right? We can move hundreds of thousands of dollars that won't change the vote. So I urge everyone to vote no on the deferral. Let's pass this budget. Let's keep the work going. There's great things happening.

Your time is concluded. Next, moving through the queue, folks have declined as we get this time because we're on the deferral motion. Mr. Benton, do you seek to be recognized specifically on the deferral, sir? No, Ms. Porterfield on the deferral motion. Go ahead, ma'am, you're recognized.

I STAND IN SUPPORT OF THE DEFERRAL. I DID JUST HEAR THAT IF WE DON'T PASS THIS TONIGHT, THEN THEY DON'T GET FUNDED, AND I GO BACK TO SOMETHING THAT I HAVE ALWAYS HEARD, WHICH WAS LACK OF PLANNING ON YOUR PART DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN EMERGENCY ON MY PART, AND WE WERE VERY CLEAR ABOUT OUR CONCERNS, THEY CHOSE to play in our face and bring back a budget with a $1 difference. That was a choice on their part. If they wanted to work with us, they could have chosen to make better decisions or different decisions and come back and address the concerns. The email that we got didn't even address the concerns adequately about the concerns that were raised. And it was more than one issue. I just want to highlight that because, um, an issue that myself and others brought up with CHP, an issue that Council Member Evan Segal brought up was that the loss of lives was not, pedestrian loss of lives was not considered public safety. That's more than one issue. Also, MMPD is not pulling out of downtown. There's no way that we're not gonna have coverage downtown for the 4th of July. So, I mean, we just, that's not going to happen. So I would urge my colleagues to support the deferral and let NDP come back with a revised budget.

All right, next on the motion to defer, Council Member Parker, you're recognized.

Thank you, Vice Mayor, and I'll be brief. You know, this talk of a doomsday scenario on July 1st, if this entity of this size doesn't have two weeks worth of operating reserves, then the board has no place being the board, the governing board, the director has no place being the director. That would be completely absurd. If they don't have operational reserves, then I think we need to take a bigger look at what's going on over there. So I think they'll be fine on July 1st.

All right, we continue a discussion on the motion to defer for one meeting. Ms. Benedict, do you seek to be recognized? I think you made the initial motion, ma'am, right? Okay.

I still had about 38 seconds left, but I'm rising.

I appreciate you watching how much time you had left. Go ahead.

Previous question.

Okay. Pardon? Okay, yeah, got it. There are sufficient seconds for the motion to call the previous question. It is non-debatable. It requires two thirds of those voting. If you are in favor of the previous question, that means we will conclude the debate on this deferral motion. If you vote no on the previous question, that means you want to continue the discussion on the one meeting deferral motion. We will try this first by voice. I will remind you again, it is number not volume. So all in favor of the previous question, please say aye. All against the previous question, please say no. Okay, the ayes have it. And so now we will move to the vote on the deferral motion in an abundance of caution. Mr. Clerk, if you would please load the vote. This is a one meeting deferral motion. With all votes in, Mr. Clerk, please show the vote. The motion to defer has, one meeting has failed with nine votes in favor, 22 against and five abstentions. So we are at this juncture back on the proceeding motion, which was a motion to approve. And so the discussion now continues. Top of the queue for that discussion is Council Member Allen. You're recognized, ma'am.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to, again, acknowledge the important discussion that we've had. I appreciate the issues that have been raised by some of the council members here and the improvements that I think we have to acknowledge that have been made to the process, including this actual budget approval as opposed to simply a line item and the fact that we get the annual report now so that we can actually see what the encounters between law enforcement or security are in people downtown of all types. My understanding is that many of the encounters are with our visitors who are not behaving well. I understand the concerns about ensuring that our people experiencing homelessness are treated with dignity and respect. I think that is of the utmost importance. I appreciate the outreach team who says that they give their all to do that. And I hope that with the scrutiny that's on this, that continues to be, uh, the tradition that they move forward with. I would just say in a zoning process, when we go through and say, we want these changes to be made and the builder or the developer makes those changes, then we acknowledge that we have made a difference and we often pass it because we've had a good, robust discussion back and forth. I think that it is not in that same spirit to say we see these five issues and one of them is still remaining and so we're still gonna dig our heels in. I know that those are important issues. I think that the attention that's been paid to this hopefully has not fallen on deaf ears. I don't think it has. I would encourage the CBID board directors to continue to take our concerns about the THP very seriously and to work to solve that issue as soon as we can. But I am going to acknowledge the concern, the progress that's been made, and I would ask my colleagues to support this and to continue to push for the things that we still think are important. Thank you.

Right, discussion continues on the motion to approve. Council Member Benton, you're next in the queue. You're recognized, sir.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. I understand there's plenty of people in here tonight or colleagues that just don't like the downtown partnership. I want to remind my colleagues that CBIDs are not a standard municipal department. These districts exist under strict state frameworks designed to protect commerce and protect the commercial property owners who voluntarily tax themselves to fund the street-level safety, cleaning, and hospitality. Obviously, this body speaks, or many speak, like it prefers to provide all the dollars to keep the downtown Nashville to their standards, which is fine if you have the funds to protect our visitors where the goose that lays the golden tax eggs for the city and the state of Tennessee exist. This will cost us quite a bit more one way or the other. I'm just bringing up what we actually face. Let's pick our battles carefully. Realistically, we could lose all control over this entity.

All right. Next in the queue is Council Member Sepulveda. You're recognized, ma'am.

Yes, and if we lose control, I would think that we would sue the state and the Downtown Partnership, which we have been winning these cases lately. Thank you, Director Dietz, who has done a great job. In regards to that, I would say, I'm not gonna vote in favor of this. This doesn't make any sense to me. It has been, what now, seven years? Seven years with this body. Next meeting, I will be 33. And it will be my birthday next meeting. And it has been seven years. And in these past seven years, I have spoke to you all, not all of y'all, but a good number of y'all and three years to some of y'all about the importance of the immigrant community and the importance of workers and making sure that they are safe and taken care of. And I feel like it falls on deaf ears. THP is a group that partners with ICE. We have many service industry workers downtown in our hotels, in our restaurants, in our bars, and when ICE had the raids here in Nashville, a lot of those bars closed. A lot of those bars closed because their workers were not there. What message does it send when THP is on the streets? I have ridden the bus home from the council office back to South Nashville and the bus is packed, packed with workers with logos from the hotel they work for on their shirts and their sweaters. They're all going home, they're all immigrants. They are filled with people that look like me. It is important, it is not just for four people. It is much more than that. It is a message. It is a message. So I would have voted in favor of this budget if that would have been taken out. I am not an unreasonable person. I am asking for there to be collaboration, a partnership. This is not a partnership. And if the downtown partnership cannot work with us, then they shouldn't be in charge of the downtown. It is our responsibility as a city to take care of our city, just like we do in other parts of town and the county. And we could absolutely continue to do that. We don't need this.

Thank you. Next in the queue is Council Member Hancock. You're recognized, ma'am. Previous question. Okay, if you want to end debate and move to the vote on the motion to approve here, you will vote aye. If you want to continue debate, you will vote no. It requires two thirds of those voting. We will first try by voice. All in favor of the previous question, please say aye. All against the previous question, please say no. The ayes have it very clearly. And with that, we will move to the vote. This is a resolution. Several members have said from the floor that they are a no. Any one no vote requires a resolution to have a roll call vote and be on the boards. This requires 21 votes for passage. Mr. Clerk, please load the vote. With all votes in, Mr. Clerk, please show the vote. This resolution has passed with 23 votes in favor, 10 against and three abstentions. All right, next on the agenda is agenda number 16. 40, Resolution 2026-2064, sponsors Coopin, Druffle, Allen, Stiles, Ewing, and Evans. This is a resolution urging the National Department of Transportation and Multimodal and the Mayor's Office to renew and accelerate its commitment to Vision Zero initiatives to eliminate pedestrian fatalities in response to a sharp increase in pedestrian and cyclist deaths in Nashville and Davidson County in 2026. Council Member Coopin, you're recognized, sir.

Thank you, Madam President. Committee reports.

For the report of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Chair Evan Siegel.

We had one that was different, so I just want to make sure.

No worries. This is on Mr. Coopin's 2064 regarding Vision Zero initiatives.

Okay. It was a recommended two-meeting deferral. This was our one that was different with 10 in favor of that recommendation, zero opposed, zero not voting. Okay, got it. Back to you, Mr. Coopin.

Move a two-meeting deferral with a brief comment. All right. Is there a second? Second. All right, go ahead, sir. Thank you, Madam President. And as we have talked about earlier, we have folks dying on our streets. And since this resolution has come about, there have been even continued deaths, and I've continued to have to update this. And it's unacceptable that people should be dying on our streets, whether it is downtown or is it East Nashville or wherever throughout our city. And so this is asking NDOT to recommit to Vision Zero in the mayor's office to come up with a new plan a five-year plan which is expiring, and to present to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. I had some very good conversations with NDOT. They are currently in an RFP for a Vision Zero program and are in the process of hiring their new director. So I'm going to defer this for two meetings. But we need to do work, not two meetings, not two weeks, not two days, but now. And we'll continue to push on that work. There should be zero deaths on our street. Nobody should be getting hurt here. And it's important that we commit to that.

All right, there's a motion to defer two meetings. It was properly seconded. Is there any further discussion or any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor, please say aye. Any voting no. Any abstentions? All right, this resolution has been deferred two meetings. Next is agenda item 41, resolution 2026-2065. Sponsors Ellis, Gadd, Benton, Allen, Cash, Kupin, Prepti, Huffman, Voe, Gregg, Nash, Rutherford, Evans, Siegel, Spain, Bradford, Weiner, Gamble, Capp, Benedict, Toombs, Evans, and Suara. This is a resolution honoring Wallace W. Wally Dietz for his distinguished service as Director of Law for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Council Member Ellis, you're recognized, ma'am.

Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, some people spend a career chasing titles. Wally Dietz has spent his earning trust. After nearly 40 years at Bass, Berry & Sims, he didn't need this job. He took it because he loves this city, and you could feel that in everything he has done. When the state came after this city's right to control to govern itself, to control our sports authority, our own airport authority, the very size of this body, Wally Dietz stood in the gap. He defended, currently defending our home rule, he defended equal protection for the people of Davidson County, and he did that with a steadiness that made him indispensable across every department of this government. And in drafting this resolution, I came across an old Tennessean article about his father who covered the birth of the Metro Charter as a reporter for the Tennessean back in the early 60s. So for me, when Wally grew up around this government, he grew up around this government then, and now he has given the last half of his career to protecting it. There's a kind of love in that, a long, unglamorous climb. And when he had a stroke last March, he didn't step away. He kept showing up for us. And he will gracefully do so until he decides to drive off to that beautiful scenic area in Tennessee where Al Capone used to take his respite. Colleagues, this is what public service looks like. Thank you, Wally. Thank you for joining us tonight. Our city is better due to your service. Thank you for your wisdom, your decency, and for guarding our city like it's your own, because it is.

Well said, thank you. There are other members in the queue. First among those is Madam Pro Tem Porterfield. You're recognized.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. I echo everything that Council Lady Ellis said so eloquently. Council Lady, you did an amazing job. Just kudos to everything that she just said. And over the years, being a council member, there have been many times that I have had to call Director Dietz and he has always just been so available and accessible and he really has a heart for protecting our city. I really appreciate his willingness to stand up to the state and to stand up for Nashville and to protect Nashvillians. And one thing that I want to add is that it is one thing to be an amazing human being that does great things for the city. And it's another thing to also be a great parent. And not only does Director Dietz do amazing things, but he has two children that do amazing things. And if you look at Carrie and Scott and the things that they do and the things that they do for the community, I think there's a testament of Director Dietz and his morals and his principles that not only is he doing great work, but he is making sure that the people that come behind him do that great work as well. So I just wanted to congratulate Director Dietz on his retirement and thank him for his service.

Thank you, Pro Tem. Next is Council Member Suara, you're recognized.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. I want to stand and give Mr. Ditz his flowers as well. And there was a time that there's a meeting, not in chambers, outside somewhere, where Wally Ditz was speaking about this chamber and this council meeting. and the states are planned for the reduction. And you just have to be in the room to see the passion and the knowledge, the history. He was there telling all of us about the votes and when it happened. I mean, it was just so beautiful to watch. And you realize that this was not just a job for him. This was something like Council Member Bailey said he grew up watching, learning, but he's come to respect, and for me, the diversity of this city. He spoke eloquently about why it was 40 members. He spoke eloquently about the plight of the minority committee spoke eloquently about why he became 40 so we can have that representation. And I was sitting there just staring at him like, and this was not just a lawyer speak, this was a human speak, knowing what Nashville needs, feeling for those of us that are crying about representation that did not want that to go away. And I felt that I heard that in that room that day. and my respect for you from that moment. I've always respected you, but when somebody can relate to what you're saying, put themselves in your shoes to that level that they can actually articulate what you're feeling way beyond what you said, that was what I felt in that room that day. And I felt like this man is actually going to do a very good job representing us because he gets what we're trying to say. Thank you for defending the city so beautifully. Thank you for being a wonderful human being. Thank you for being a brilliant lawyer. So it takes the knowledge, the spirit, but also the passion and the love. And please do know that you have the utmost respect of many of us and the love. And on a personal note, it's been a pleasure working with you as well. Yeah, we don't always do everything. We didn't sue them for the COB. And we will always talk about that. But the things that we did sue them for, And I know that's a separate conversation, but what I saw, what I learned, was that you do have a passion for the people, and you understand the plights of the minorities in this city, and you took it upon yourself to be something you want to champion. And for that, I'm very grateful. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Suara. Council Member Prepti, your rec master.

Thank you, Madam Vice Mayor. First and foremost, I want to associate myself with the comments of my colleagues who have spoken before me, especially Council Member Ellis, who very eloquently and I honestly could not have said it better myself. Over the past three years or so, I've had the distinct honor of being able to represent Director Dietz here on the council floor while he represents all of us. And it truly has been my distinct honor and privilege, especially being in a position where Director Dietz and I have had difficult conversations about legal theories, and we've been at odds at times. But i appreciate not only his passion for the law but his passion for nashville his passion to be an objective but zealous advocate for what this city actually needs um and so truly director dates you deserve all the flowers that that you are receiving both tonight um and in perpetuity because you truly have left behind a legacy that you your children and and your parents would would be proud of so well done and thank you for all that you've done thank you bad and Vice Mayor.

Thank you, Mr. Prepti. Council Member Toombs, you're recognized, ma'am.

Thank you, Madam Vice Mayor. I want to stand in support of this resolution and from one brilliant attorney to another, congratulate Director Dietz on a job well done. Thank you for standing up for Nashville and Thank you for being available to discuss legal issues and legal matters. I appreciate your wisdom and I appreciate your service. And I'm so glad you're getting your flowers so that you can hear them and smell them. And just wanted to say that I truly appreciate you. Thank you for what you do.

Thank you, Ms. James. Next, Council Member Evan Siegel, you're recognized, ma'am.

Thank you, Madam President. I think it says a lot that most of the lawyers on this body have either stood up or are still in the queue. To speak tonight, there's a phrase that you're told early in your career, oh, that person's a lawyer's lawyer. And there's nothing better as a lawyer to be called a lawyer's lawyer because that's the lawyer the lawyers trust. It's funny, when I got on this body, another lawyer who had sat in this row said, the hardest thing about being on the council, you can't be your own lawyer. You have to be a policymaker and you have to rely on the lawyers to be your lawyer. And I'm really bad at that. Like I am not improved. I heard the advice and I internalized it and I have not executed it. But I do know that when there is a really hairy thing that I'm very upset about, If I talk to Wally about it, I'm talking to the lawyer's lawyer and I feel better about it and I know that it's handled and I know that the advice that I'm getting is the right advice. And so I wanna thank you for dealing with all of us who are trying to be our own lawyers and being our lawyer's lawyer because it makes the city better, all the advice that you're giving and everything that you have poured into it.

Thank You miss Evan Siegel councilmember cap you're recognized sir Thank You councilmember Ellis for bringing this beautiful resolution and Thank You director deeds for all your service to the people this city it speaks more loudly than any of us can in this room when someone with the credentials and experience and Earning ability of someone like director DS decides to serve the people of the city That is not the choice that many people people in his position would make, and that resounds loudly for me, and I hope it does for all of us, to choose service. Courage is, I fear, in somewhat short supply these days in the United States generally, but Director Dietz has it, and his office has it. There's more than only his own work, but he's also led an amazing team of litigators and client advisors to coordinate across a gigantic range of issues with a lot of success, but critically courage. The cause of self-government is under attack in Nashville. It's under attack across the United States. Director Dietz is writing and has written a chapter of success in the struggle for self-government that is the struggle of our time. Thank you for that. Thank you for serving the people of Nashville. And we wish you all the best.

Well said, Mr. Kapp. Thank you. Council Member Hill, you're recognized, ma'am.

Thank you, Madam Vice Mayor. I want to just speak to you directly and be selfish and say that there are an awful lot of attorneys that all can talk shop with you. I want to talk to you directly and say what an amazing human you are and how respectful you are to every single person in this body. And especially myself, every single time I've come to me, you spoke to me as if I was just another human and that doesn't always happen. And that goes to your heart and what you are as a human. And you're also a great attorney. But as a human, you're a good person. And it's an honor to know you. And you deserve every bit of these good words.

All right. Well said, colleagues all. Okay. No one else in the queue. We're going to move to the vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any voting no. Any abstaining. All right, we have passed this resolution and we appreciate you so much, Director Dietz. We thank you for your service. All right. Next is agenda item 45, resolution 2026-2069, sponsors Gamble, Harrell, Prepte, Porterfield, Vaux, Suarez, Ellis, Stiles, Lee, Taylor, Toombs, Welsh, Coopin, Benedict, Ewing and Evans. This is a resolution recognizing June 19th, 2026 as Juneteenth in Nashville and Davidson County. Council member Gamble, you're recognized ma'am.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. I just really wanted to publicly thank the Nashville Public Library. You all have on your desk a pen, a Juneteenth Freedom Day pen. The Nashville Public Library, I want to thank them for partnering with the Metro Council Black Caucus in recognizing and honoring Juneteenth this year for 2026. Juneteenth activities, I want to remind everyone that Juneteenth activities are happening across the city actually have already started happening. Juneteenth is actually this Friday, June 19th, but it is celebrated on the day, the week, the entire month of June. Some of the activities that I hope you all might be able to attend and participate in, they are activities of culture, art, music, food, and business, including Black on Buchanan actually happened this past weekend. The Music City Juneteenth Freedom Day 5K, the Nashville African American Wind Symphony Juneteenth concert. It was wonderful this past Sunday at the Skummerhorn and they will also be performing this Friday at the Juneteenth 615 at Centennial Park and more. So just wanted to highlight the wonderful activities and the celebrations that are going on across the city for Juneteenth and ask for approval. I don't need a committee report, do I?

Yes, ma'am. I apologize, that's on me. I should have reminded you. Chair Cash, sir, for the report of the rules, confirmations, and public elections committee, please, sir.

Favor zero against zero not voting.

Okay, Mr. Cash, I apologize. I did not have your button pushed, but I heard your report. Thank you, sir. And Ms. Gamble?

Move for approval.

Okay. All right. Any discussion on this resolution? Seeing none, all in favor please say aye. Any voting no or abstaining. Okay, council has passed, adopted this resolution. Next is agenda section that concludes our resolutions. Agenda section J, bills on introduction and first reading. By rule, all items on first reading shall be voted on at the same time unless requested otherwise by a primary sponsor or by two other members. Do any items need to be removed from the collected Collective vote. Okay, Council Member Johnston, you're recognized ma'am. Item 54 please. Okay. Item 54 is Ordinance 1438. It will be removed from the first reading consolidated motion. Okay, anyone else seeking to be recognized? Okay, is there a motion for approval? Seeing none, is there a motion for approval of all items remaining on first consideration? Okay, properly seconded. And thus without objection, you have approved all items on first reading. Okay, so we'll go back to the one item that was removed. from the consolidated vote, and that is agenda item 54, ordinance BL2026-1438, sponsors Johnston, Huffman, Kupin, Evans, and Spain. This is an ordinance declaring a temporary moratorium upon the acceptance, processing, approval, and issuance of zoning, building, or grading permits for data center developments on property within Nashville and Davidson County. Councilmember Johnston, you're recognized.

Thank you. So this bill was filed so that it would be timely filed to meet that deadline just in case on the last meeting the suspension of the rules did not prevail. So this was my fail safe. The bill that we passed on first reading during the special meeting last week will be on second reading next meeting and public hearing. It's going to be at the planning commission next Thursday for public hearing there. So with that, I'm withdrawing this particular one because this was my backup. All right. It has been withdrawn.

All right, that concludes bills on introduction and first reading. And now we will move right into section K, bills on second reading of, nope, actually no, because those were all on consent. Okay, so now we're moving to third reading, agenda section L. And... We have, yep, several items here that were not on consent. First among those is agenda item 72, ordinance BL2026-1381, sponsor coupon. This is an ordinance approving the fiscal year 2027 Gulch Central Business Improvement District. Council Member Coopin, you are recognized, sir. Thank you, Madam President. Committee reports. You already had those last time, sir. Okay. There's a motion to approve and it's properly seconded. Is there any discussion on this ordinance on its third and final reading? Seeing none, all in favor, please say aye. Any voting no or abstaining? Okay. Okay, with the no vote for this ordinance on its third and final reading, that will require a roll call by rule. And so Mr. Clerk, if you would please, sir, load the vote. This requires 21 votes for passage. With all votes in, Mr. Clerk, please show the vote. This ordinance has passed its third and final reading with 32 votes in favor, one against, and one abstention. Next is agenda item 73, ordinance BL2026-1382. Sponsors Suara, Horton, Gadd, Allen, Porterfield, Ellis, Kupin, Ewing, Evans, Toombs, Voe, Taylor, Stiles, Welsh, and Benedict. THIS IS AN ORDINANCE TO MEND TITLE II OF THE METRO CODE OF LAWS TO CREATE A NEW CHAPTER ESTABLISHING AN EVICTION RIGHT TO COUNCIL PROGRAM TO BE ADMINISTERED BY THE HOUSING DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING. SPONSOR SWARA, YOU ARE RECOGNIZED.

THANK YOU, MADAM VICE MAYOR. I BELIEVE ALL COMMITTEE REPORTS ARE IN.

YES, MA'AM, THEY ARE.

ALL RIGHT. I'M MOVING FOR APPROVAL WITH A VERY SHORT COMMENT. Go ahead, ma'am. Thank you, colleagues. You know, we sit in this chamber and we talk about a lot of things, and I do respect that while we may disagree, sometimes we're all trying to do the best that we can. But it's also very great when we actually do something that we all come together to make happen. And this eviction right to counsel is one of those. It has been a true collaboration, not just with the people in these chambers, but also with the community. This program, thanks to all of you that we started about five years ago, got it into a pilot and now is going to be codified. The good thing about codifying is that at least you wouldn't hear me standing up and talking about ERTC every budget season. So that's a plus in that sense. But I wanted to thank the mayor for funding it. I would like to thank the budget chair for adding more to it. We're now at 4.5 million of the nine million that is needed. I want to thank Mr. Rosenberg and Mr. Sexton for their help with this. The housing department, Ms. Hubbard and his department, Kelsey. I want to thank the ERTC group that is actually working on this, that we're able to provide the results that allow us to support legal aid, Hispanic bar, Rooftop, Nashville Conflict Resolution, the American Muslim Advisory Council, and all of the organizations that actually lobbied and talked about it and asked us to vote for it, Stand Up Nashville, NOAA, the People's Budget Coalition, Equity Alliance, Open Table, there are just so many organizations. This is our collaboration work. This is all of us working together for the betterment of our citizens. And I'm so grateful that we finally got it here. Nashville now joins only four states and about 18 cities in the country that have an eviction right to cancel program. And as we talk about affordability and helping, this is one tool in the toolbox that we now, thanks to all of you, we're now able to carry to the finish line and hopefully we'll continue to help a lot of people in Nashville. And with that, Madam Vice Mayor, I renew my motion for approval.

Alrighty, is there any further discussion on this ordinance on its third and final reading? Seeing none, all in favor, please say aye. Any voting no or abstaining? All right, this ordinance has passed. That concludes this evening's agenda. I want to thank and congratulate Budget Chair Toombs again on her budget. By charter, the Urban Council, which is comprised of the three at-large members residing in the Urban Services District must meet down front here please with the clerk after the meeting. Our next council meeting will be on Tuesday, July 7th. The council office will be closed this Friday in observance of Juneteenth. Is there a motion to adjourn? Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Lee. Go ahead, ma'am. I'm sorry.

I would like to ask the council to join me in wishing Ms. Jennifer Gamble a happy birthday today.

Yes, ma'am. We did that off the top during our roll call, and we'll do it again. Thank you for spending your birthday with us. All right. We are adjourned.

This has been a service of the Metro Nashville Network. If you would like to see this presentation again or for more information on this and other programs, visit nashville.gov.