THE MAYOR'S BUDGET - NO LAYOFFS
We are in the home stretch of the Metro Nashville budget process. After three years of fighting, the city is on the brink of fixing the structural revenue problem that left us vulnerable to this type of crisis. Thankfully, the Mayor proposed a budget that made sure there would be no layoffs of Metro or MNPS employees. He achieves this with a $1.00 property tax rate increase. Outside of that, his budget left a lot to be desired. It has a complete freeze of employee compensation, leaves Metro Schools $15 million short - and Nashville General Hospital $3 million short - of what they requested, and makes large cuts to many important non profits programs in the city.
COUNCILMAN MENDES BUDGET
Budget and Finance Chair Bob Mendes has proposed an alternative budget. His budget changes the amount of property tax rare increase to $1.066. This is about $3.50 more per household per month, but his budget is much better for Metro and MNPS employees. We support the Mendes Budget. You can find a detailed comparison between the budgets by clicking here.
Raises everyone at MNPS to $15/hour
Provides an additional $7.5 million for MNPS on top of that for compensation of vital programs
Restores Metro employee step increases and provides a 1% COLA
Restores funding to Metro Arts Commission, non-profits and community programs
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
Call your Council Member and tell them to support the Mendes $1.066 budget
Find you Council Member's phone number - CLICK HERE
Instructions and Sample Script (Metro/MNPS)
Instructions and Sample Script (General Hospital)
Instructions and Sample Script (Nashville Resident)
Email your Council Member to Support the Mendes $1.066 budget