Yesterday, Mayor Barry made some last minute tweaks to the $275 million soccer stadium project but they still do not satisfy two major concerns. One remaining concern with the project is that the guarantee that the owners of the soccer team would be responsible for the lease payments which in turn pay the bonds which finance the stadium. Ultimately revenue bonds are a responsibility of the government and if revenue is insufficient to pay the bonds then the local government must make up the difference. As if often the case in deals like this however, the team owners are on the hook to guarantee the payments will be made to the city even if the revenue is low and the team loses money or, in the worst case, the owners lose their franchise. The bonds are for 30 years and the team agrees to sign a 30 year lease. The resolution says the team owners would guarantee the lease payments. That is a problem. No individual team owners are named. "Team owners" is most likely a legal entity that could bankrupt if they lost their franchise. If individuals team owners are not on the hook for the commitment to the city, then the commitment is not worth much.
On Tuesday of next week the Council is set to vote on the $225 million bond resolution to fund the soccer stadium at the fairgrounds. This will be a resolution and only requires a majority of those present to pass. Part of the deal to build the stadium is a replacement of the exhibition building at the fairgrounds, however to demolish a building at the fairground requires a bill to be passed that must win approval of 27 members of the council. Should the resolution pass but not the bill authorizing demolition, then we could see a situation in which the soccer stadium gets build but not the rebuilding of existing buildings. The mayor office confirmed this is true in a statement issued by her office. The mayor says she planned on bringing the demolition bill to the council in December after it was determined if Nashville was one of the cities awarded an MLS franchise.
Councilman Cooper has filed a bill to approve the demolition which will be on first reading on Tuesday night. Almost all bills pass on first reading which is really a formality and simply gets a bill on the agenda. If Cooper's bill should pass first reading on Tuesday but never be finally adopted and the resolution approving the bond sale should pass, we would still be in a situation were we get the soccer stadium but not the replacement of old building on the fairground. Nevertheless, this at least gets the bill in the pipeline. The mayor's office is opposing Cooper's bill. I would advocate waiting until the demolition bill passes before passing the bond resolution. The problem with thus is that the city must have a commitment to building a soccer stadium in order to have a chance at being awarded a soccer franchise.
If the Council passes the bond resolution without first passing the bill approving demolition then the council is simply trusting the mayor. The Council is in a tough spot. To read The Tennessean's report on this development, follow this link.
From Betty Hood:
Dear BRBC Friends,
The breakfast club will meet at 8 am on Saturday, Nov.4 at the River Art Studio, 8327 Sawyer Brown Rd,
two doors down from the Plantation Pub. This will be my 19th
anniversary of serving as the coordinator for this breakfast club
Our guest will be House Speaker Beth Harwell, gubernatorial candidate
for next year's November election. Join us and bring others to hear the
Speaker's ideas for the future. We plan to have time for Q & A.
Coffee and pastries will be served.
Hope to see you soon!
PS Be sure to join our new Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/BellevueBreakfast
The University of Tennessee announced they would not be participating in the proposed outsourcing of campus maintenance jobs. The plan pushed by Governor Haslam is estimated to have saved the University of Tennessee $6.8 million dollars. Apparently, UT does not need the money. The State legislature should cut UT's budget, alumni should withhold funds and the governor should work to replace existing UT trustees with those with a concern for the taxpayers.
UT had already alienated many supporters by pushing a ridiculous diversity program that attempted to institute new made up pronouns to replace "him" and "her" and to make sure that "holiday" parties were not really disguised Christmas parties. After push back from State legislators, UT returned to a semblance of sanity.
While I did not expect support for wise use of tax dollars from Democrats, I am disappointed in Republicans who have fought against saving taxpayer's dollars. Sen. Richard Briggs, Republican of Knoxville said,"I'm delighted by the decision. I think
it was the right decision for two reasons — it will continue to provide
jobs for our state employees without any anxiety over their future, and
it was the correct financial decision. The proposal promises to save
money, but that's only if everything goes perfectly. If things didn't
work out perfectly, it could turn out worse — it's not worth the
financial risk."
The purpose of the university, nor the state of Tennessee, is to provide government jobs. Maybe Randy Briggs needs a primary opponent who puts the taxpayers first. To read more n this story follow this link.
Under Haslam's administration, the state has reduced state payroll by 6000 jobs while improving the state's performance in education and industrial recruitment and reducing the unemployment rate to the point that for the first time in State history, all counties have an unemployment rate of less than 5%. In deciding who I will support for governor, I am seeking someone who will continue the path we are on. The next governor needs to be one who will persuade UT that they must participate in an effort to make government more lean and efficient.
Writing in The Tennessean today, reporter Mike Reicher reports the city allocated $30 million a year for each of the last two years for sidewalks and the city build only 3.5 miles of new sidewalks. You can read the story here.
"At that
clip," says the writer, "it would take more than a millennium to line
all of Nashville’s streets." The amount of new sidewalks built in the
last two years it only slightly more than build in previous years at a
lot less money. The article gives the city's officials and apologist an
opportunity to explain the failure to build sidewalks but there is no
good way to sugarcoat such a disastrous failure.
I
knew we were spending a lot on sidewalks and I knew we weren't getting
much for it but I had no idea we were doing such a poor job building new
sidewalks. I have seen perfectly serviceable sidewalks with only
hairline cracks, sidewalks I walk on, on a regular basis, get ripped out
and replaced. I knew something was wrong, but I had no idea it was
this bad.
It seems impossible to waste that much money. It seems like to waste that much money one would have to do it on purpose. This should be criminal. Mayor Barry should be impeached. There should be a through investigation. If money was misappropriated someone should go to jail. The council should hold hearings and the public should be outraged.
Thanks to the Tennessean for exposing this waste. Now, what if anything will be done about it?
From Governor Bills Haslam - Tennessee’s unemployment rate is continuing to break records. For the fourth consecutive month, we saw a historic low in the unemployment rate with 3.0 percent for September. Even more remarkable: the unemployment rates in all 95 counties dipped below 5 percent for the first time ever.
We’re proud of these numbers for Tennessee, but even more proud for
what these numbers mean for the hard-working people of our state.
When the unemployment rate is low and job growth is high, it means that Tennesseans like Ricky,
who works for Smith &Nephew in Memphis, can have high-quality jobs
and better plan for the future. The story of Tennessee’s low
unemployment rate is really the story of Tennesseans who are part of our
state’s workforce.
An International Spotlight on Tennessee
October saw thousands of new jobs come to Tennessee from companies
across the world, solidifying the Volunteer State’s place as one of the
top destinations in the United States for direct foreign investment.
Earlier this month, I traveled to Japan and South Korea with Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe
to meet with leaders of companies looking to invest business in the
Southeast. When we pitch the benefits of locating operations in
Tennessee, it’s clear that our state has become a leader in the
Southeast for attracting foreign companies to invest in our workforce.
While in Tokyo, Commissioner Rolfe and I visited with an old friend who certainly knows what Tennessee has to offer: U.S. Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty, who led the Department of Economic and Community Development during my first term.
The trip also gave us a chance to meet with and thank the companies that are already investing in Tennessee. We toured the DENSO headquarters in Kariya, Japan only a few days after announcing that the company would be investing $1 billion and 1,000 jobs in Blount County. Maryville will now be home to DENSO’s primary manufacturing center in North America. We also visited with leaders from Hankook Tire Co. in Seoul, South Korea. The following week, we welcomed Hankook executives in Clarksville to celebrate the grand opening of the company’s manufacturing facility, which is bringing 1,800 new jobs to Middle Tennessee.
On October 5th, we announced that German manufacturer Hörmann would be bringing 200 jobs and a $64 million investment the Sparta area.
Announcements like this demonstrate that Tennessee is making the case
to bring new business here, and as companies invest in Tennessee, our
state is seeing a return on those investments.
Other highlights from October:
--Last week, Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker joined me at the Economic and Community Development Governor’s Conference
in Gatlinburg. They both have a long history of helping to transform
our state and making Tennessee the economic leader that it is today.
--A week ago, I met some of the inspirational graduates of the Dobyns-Bennett High School Transition School to Work program,
which connects students with disabilities to jobs in the local area. I
toured Food City in Kingsport where Caleb Peters, a graduate of the
program who works at the grocery store, presented me with the Employment
First Task Force report. The task force is focused on removing barriers
to employment for those with disabilities and ensuring that any
Tennessean who wants to be part of our state’s workforce has that
opportunity.
--Crissy and I joined Commissioner John Dreyzehner in Jackson earlier this month for the fall tradition of flu shots. As I do every year, I encourage all Tennesseans to head into the annual influenza season with the protection of a flu shot.
--We made a push earlier this month to recruit volunteers to serve as Tennessee Promise mentors.
Working with a Tennessee Promise student as he or she begins her first
year of college is a rewarding experience and one that doesn’t require a
major time commitment. I hope you’ll join the thousands of mentors who have already volunteered and sign up to be a part of Tennessee Promise.
Thank you for your interest in our work. If you have any feedback or just want to be in touch, email me at bill.haslam@tn.gov.
Bill
In a recent statement, Representative Diane Black, candidate for governor, criticized candidate for governor Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd for his failure to support Donald Trump before he became the Republican presidential nominee, for a $250,000 donation to Conexion Americas, for his past support of Common Core, and for a campaign contribution to a Democrat member of the state Supreme Court running in a nonpartisan race.
She also made a snide remark criticizing Boyd for short running shorts. As part of his campaign strategy Randy Boyd is running across the state. Read more about this at this link: Black launches latest broadside in Tennessee governor's race.
It is too early for me to make up my mind about who I will support for governor, but Diane Black was my preferred candidate at this time by a slim margin. This was a cheap shot in my opinion however, and she dropped a little in my estimation.
I am also critical of Randy Boyd's support of Conexcion Americas. Actually, I think the organization does a great deal of good work, but they did favor Nashville becoming a sanctuary city. If Randy Boyd had only contributed $25,000 I would overlook it but a quarter of million dollars is lot of money. Before making that kind of contribution he should have properly vetted the organzation.
The fact that he did not support Trump until after he got the nomination, in my mind is a plus not a negative. Many Republicans were early supporters of Common Core. It started as a state initiative and it was only after the Obama administration began an attempt to mandate it, that a lot of people turned against it. The short running shorts remarks is just silly and a cheap shot.
I want the candidates to try to convince me that they are the best candidate to continue the progress of the last eight years. I want them to tell me how they will govern the state. I do not want to see negative attacks against other candidates, at least not this early in the game.
Nashville Financial Empowerment Center and US Community Credit Union Will Partner on New Loan Option
Metro Nashville Press release, October 27, 2017
- Mayor Megan Barry’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee today unveiled
its report containing recommendations to build a more financially
inclusive city by increasing financial literacy, empowerment and
capability. Mayor Barry was joined at the announcement by committee
co-chairs Eddie George, managing partner of Edward George Wealth
Management Group, and Dr. Shawn Joseph, director of Metro Nashville
Public Schools, as well as Paul Johnson, President and CEO of US
Community Credit Union, which announced an innovative new small-dollar
loan for working Nashvillians who can’t qualify for traditional loans.
Since Mayor Barry launched the committee in September 2016, its
members have worked in subcommittees to produce a report with short-,
medium- and long-term actions. Mayor Barry charged the committee with
developing a “Nashville Vision” that provides a comprehensive approach
to empowering low-income and moderate-income Nashvillians toward
financial inclusion.
“Nashville has been experiencing terrific economic growth, but that
prosperity has not been shared by all. I asked this committee to come up
with ways to improve the financial well-being of all Nashvillians. The
recommendations in this report will help guide those efforts,” Mayor
Barry said. “I’ve instructed my staff to move these ideas to action and
complete implementation plans for each of them.”
Each subcommittee created a set of actionable strategies to (1)
increase financial literacy, (2) empower residents in their financial
decision-making and (3) increase access to financial capability. Their
recommendations fall under three target areas for improvement:
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