What happened at the Oct. 2nd Council meeting: Blue Ribbon Commission on Government efficiency advances, Tax Increment Financing reform advances.

Above is the video of the Council meeting of October, 2, 2018. If you are going to watch it, you may want to access a copy of the agenda, Council staff analysis and my agenda commentary which you can find at this link. Below is a summary of meeting highlights. I almost always watch the Council meetings but time constrains did not allow me to watch this meeting. My summary is derived from the reading of the minutes of he meeting.

Nominations to the Tax Increment Financing Study and Formulating Committee are made from the floor. To see the full list and who nominated who, see the Council minutes.  Among the nominees I hope to see elected are Council Member Bob Mendes and Council Member John Cooper. At the next council meeting, the council will select three nominees from among the eleven people nominated.

The Council elected Ms. Shia Hendricks and Ms. Becky Sharpe to seats on the Health and Educational Facilities Board.

Bills on Pubic Hearing

Bill BL2018-1183,  which would establish distances between automobile repair and automobile sales and related establishments passed by a voice vote. I oppose this bill. I am pleased to see that it is disapproved by the Planning Commission and will require 27 votes to pass on third reading.

Bill BL2018-1316 which would mandate screening of, placement of, and requirements for reinforced concrete pads for dumpsters was  passed by a voice vote.

None of the Resolutions were particularly important and nothing unexpected happened. One resolution winch passed unanimously was a resolution expressing support for continued auto racing at the fairgrounds.

Bills on Second Reading

Bill BL2018-1281   would require all metro employees and contractors doing business with Metro with contracts of over $500,000, to take a sexual harassment training course under the Direction of Metro Department of Personnel. There are a couple problems with this. It may be contrary to a state law that prohibits cities from imposing additional requirements on state licensed firms, Human Resources cannot say how much it will cost, and the city does not have the resources at this time to track and assure compliance. This was amended and then deferred. I don't know if the amendment fixed the problems or not.

Bill BL2018-1283  would prohibit the use of funds from the sale of Metro owned property from being used to fund the operating budget.  This was deferred.

Bill BL2018-1314   establishes the Blue Ribbon Commission to look for government efficiencies and cost savings. The Commission would be 15-member. This lays out how they are appointed and their duties. Approved by voice vote.

Bill BL2018-1328 adds transit oriented development plans to the type of areas eligible for Tax Increment Financing. However to be eligible for TIF, these new type plans as well as all plans would be subject to new transparency and reporting requirements. At the request of the sponsor this was deferred to the July 2nd meeting.
 
Bill BL2018-1329 establishes some rules for the residential parking permit (RPP) program. Some residential areas near popular commercial area have had a problem with parking. Visitors to the nearby commercial establishments have been taking all of the parking on neighboring streets and residents who rely on on-street parking can not park on their own street. This permit system attempts to solve that by allowing only cars with permits to park on that street. If however you want to have guest for a baby shower or family dinner, it means they would be illegally parking on your street. Residents could purchase two guest permits good for a year. While this RPP system is new to Nashville it is common in lots of larger urban areas.This wad deferred.

Bills on Third Reading 

Bill BL2018-1319 (as amended)  would amend the law regarding Tax Increment Financing.  TIF is a program that provides that property taxes generated in redevelopment areas and authorized by Council do not flow to the General Fund but instead are used to subsidize the development and repay the cost of infrastructure improvements in the area. Much of downtown development does not contribute to the tax revenue of Nashville but flows to MDHA because of this. This bill would impose a formula requiring that a portion of the property tax revenue would flow to the general fund to support schools. This is a step in the right direction.This was approved by a voice vote.

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