Teacher misconduct cases went unreported, breaking state law. Joseph blames ex-employee

According to various news reports, 26 teachers were suspended, fired or resigned after investigations last year and two other teachers were recommended for review for termination by Metro Legal. Only one case was reported to the state as required by law.  Some of these cases involved teachers getting physical with students, such as putting a student in a choke hold and in one case a teacher broke a students bone. Other cases involve teachers caught drinking on the job. It is the responsibility of the Director of Schools to report these cases to the State. Dr. Joseph is blaming a former employee for the failure to follow the law. 

For more on this story see this link, this link, and this link.  

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Unemployment Rate Lowest in 49 Years

Unemployment Rate Lowest in 49 Years. Wow!

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51-49 vote advances Judge Kavanaugh's nomination. Lisa Murkowski joins Dems; Joe Manchin votes with Repubs.

10/5/2018 - In case you missed it elsewhere, the Senate voted this morning to end debate on Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court Friday morning, which will be followed by a final confirmation vote this weekend.

The motion passed on a 51-49 vote. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined with Democrats in opposition, while Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia voted with the Republicans.

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Metro Nashville Government Earns Strong Bond Ratings Again from Moody’s and S&P

Metro Press release, 10/5/2018 - Within the past 48 hours, Metro Nashville Government has received strong bond ratings from both Moody’s Investor Services and Standard & Poor’s Financial Services (S&P).

Moody’s affirmed its Aa2 rating, while S&P affirmed its AA rating for Metro’s general obligation bonds.

“This underscores my frequent assertion that the city’s financial health is strong,” said Mayor David Briley. “The decisions we had to make in the budget this year were tough. Our budget challenges, however, were not an indication of financial vulnerability.”

Metro Nashville Government is rated by both agencies in conjunction with bond offerings. Both look at factors such as revenue, debt, liquidity and governance to determine their ratings.
“I am perhaps most pleased that both agencies cited prudent financial management and the city’s rapidly growing tax base as reasons for their ratings,” Mayor Briley added. “We will only benefit from our growth and prosperity if we manage our finances well, and I want to thank the Metro Council for their partnership in this effort.”

The news was shared with Metro Council Budget and Finance Chair, Tanaka Vercher.
“These ratings confirm our city’s strong economy, and it is even more powerful when outside agencies validate this,” Vercher said. “The decisions we had to make this year were difficult, no doubt. However, we have great hope that this will be a strong year for budget planning and revenue growth.”

In its ratings outlook, Moody’s states “the stable outlook reflects the expectation that Metro's regional tax base will continue to grow and provide the necessary revenues to support ongoing capital needs and governmental operations, including annual financial support to Metro's Hospital Authority.” S&P cites that their rating reflects their assessment of Nashville’s strong economy; strong fiscal management; good financial policies and practices; adequate budgetary performance; strong budgetary flexibility; very strong liquidity; and very strong institutional framework score.

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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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U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Pro-Abortion Challenge of Pro-Life Amendment 1

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Unanimous Decision Upholding Amendment 1 Stands Today, 

From Tennessee Right to Life - Monday, October 1, the U.S. Supreme Court has announced they will not take up the pro-abortion legal challenge of Pro-Life Amendment 1.

“Today’s announcement is cause for great celebration among Tennessee’s pro-life movement,” said Brian Harris, president of Tennessee Right to Life. “This is the culmination of many years work and Tennessee Right to Life is especially grateful to our state’s voters, legislators, election officials and Attorney General Slatery for staying the course. “

“The people’s voices have been heard and their votes have been counted," said Harris. "Now we have to continue to work for the day when every life is again protected by the laws of our state and nation.”

 Background: For most Tennessee voters, pro-life Amendment 1 was decided on November 4, 2014 when it was approved 53-47%. But several days later former Planned Parenthood board chair Tracey George joined 7 other pro-abortion activists in filing a legal challenge in Federal Court contesting the manner in which the state tabulated the votes and claiming discrimination against pro-abortion voters.

In April 2016, former U.S. District Court Judge Kevin Sharp agreed with Planned Parenthood and demanded a recount of the votes. In his ruling, former Judge Sharp threatened to throw out the votes of those Tennesseans casting a vote on the Amendment but not having also voted in the 2014 governor's race. Appealed by the Tennessee Attorney General, the case ultimately made its way to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals which heard oral arguments in August of 2017. Tennessee Right to Life and YES on 1 coordinated a Friend of the Court brief containing the signatures of 8,850 Tennesseans urging the court to uphold their votes on the Amendment. A three judge panel of the Sixth Circuit issued its unanimous ruling on January 9, 2018, in support of the vote count saying, "... it is time for uncertainty surrounding the people’s 2014 approval and ratification of Amendment 1 to be put to rest."

Planned Parenthood activists immediately sought a re-hearing of the case before the full 6th Circuit which rejected the request. Tennessee's pro-abortion leaders had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up their challenge of the people's pro-life vote on Amendment 1. On Monday, October 1, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the case thereby leaving the lower court's decision in effect and affirming Amendment 1.

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Bellevue Republican Breakfast Club with guest Steve Gill meets Satuday Oct. 6th

Dear BRBC Friends,

Next Saturday, October 6 at 8:15 am we will be meeting at the Corner Pub in the Woods at 8058 Hwy 100. Our guest speaker will be Steve Gill, Conservative political activist and Tennessee Star broadcaster on WLAC 1510.  Hope you will join us next Saturday

See you there.

Betty

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Senator Jack Johnson's Boots and Jeans BBQ and Beans, Sunday October 7th

To order tickets click here.

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City imposes moratorium on new TIF deals while Council studies the issue.

The Tennessean reports that  Metro Nashville leaders have agreed to place a moratorium on issuing new development incentives known as tax-increment financing (TIF) over the next year as part of a compromise with the Metro Council, where the development tool is under scrutiny. 

At-large Councilman Bob Mendes, who has led a legislative attempt to overhaul Nashville's TIF system, made the announcement at the Budget and Finance Committee meeting Monday night. In fiscal 2018, Metro diverted $31.5 million of property tax revenue to help pay off loans for developers, according to the Metro Finance Department. The reason there is a revenue shortage at the same time that Nashville is booming is because so much tax revenue diverted to repay TIF loans. 

This is a positive development. For more on the story follow this link.

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Lonnie Spivak: Phil Bredesen was a good govenor but Marsha Blackburn should be the next senator for the state of Tennessee.

Lonnie Spivak

by Lonny Spivak as posted on Facebook, Oct. 2, 2018 - So you like Phil Bredesen—even though you typically vote for the republican candidate, you’re thinking about pulling the lever, punching the button or casting your vote for ole Phil. I personally like Former Governor Bredesen. I’ve met him on several occasions. Heck, I even had breakfast with him as we sat at the Waffle House high-bar while discussing this election.

As Tennessee Governors go Phil was not the worst governor we’ve had in the state of Tennessee, but there is a HUGE difference in being the chief executive of a state and the state’s representative in the U.S. Senate.

As you know, Tennessee has it’s own constitution which includes a Balanced Budget Amendment. This means that no Governor can present a budget to spend more money than we as a state plans to take in via taxes and fees. As governor, Phil had no choice but to cut spending and kick hundreds of thousands of people of TennCare, in order to balance an upside down budget. In addition, during his term as governor, Tennessee started it’s shift to a “Red State” which now sees republican super majorities in both the state house and senate. But as we all know this is not the case in D.C. as we face a $21 Trillion national debt.

In the senate, Phil can be decidedly more partisan and liberal than he ever could as the chief executive of Tennessee. With six year terms he would be part of the “Resistance” as he voted with Senator Schumer and gang to repeal tax cuts, cut military spending, block judicial nominees, block the border wall and continue the social spending spree driving our national debt even higher.

I first met Congressman Blackburn during the Tennessee Income Tax Debate, when GOP governor Don Sunquist pushed for a state income tax while Marsha served in the State House. Representative Blackburn was one of those champions who fought for everyday Tennesseans and led the charge against the income tax, and was one of the main reasons Tennessee remains a low tax, low debt state.
In Washington, Congressman Blackburn worked to prevent human trafficking. Her legislation kept the internet free. She worked to cut taxes for the middle class and stood strong for the sovereignty and security of Tennessee and the United States.

To me there is a clear choice. Marsha Blackburn should be the next senator for the state of Tennessee and she is clearly the best choice to keep the United States and Tennessee moving on the track of peace and prosperity.

Lonnie Spivak is a conservative political activist and former Republican candidate for congress. 

Rod's Comment: This reflects my thoughts on the matter. I could not say it any better than has Lonnie so I am reposting his Facebook post. Phil Bredesen was a good governor. One may even argue that he governed in a more conservative manner than the Republican governor who preceded him. However, a vote for Bredsen will elect Chuck Schumer as the Senate Majority Leader, Elizabeth Warren as the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and Diane Feinstein as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

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What are "Tennessee values?"

President Trump campaigning in East Tennessee at a rally to help Marsha Blackburn in her Senate bid said,"She’s got Tennessee values.” He "roared it," said Politico. That made me stop and think. I have heard other campaign's claim their candidate had "Tennessee values," or in other state's candidates say their candidate has  "West Virginia values," or "Texas values."  In the recent Republican campaign for governor, Diane Black said her aim was to “protect our Tennessee values.”

In the Senate campaign in Texas, a Cruz spokeswoman called the Senator's Democrat opponent a "Triple Meat Whataburger liberal who is out of touch with Texas values." Wow! That must of hurt.

Tennessee values? Texas values"? What does that mean?  For one thing I assume it is the values of the people of that state as opposed to "Washington values."  "Washington values" are something of which we are to not approved. "Washington values" are bad.

Republicans currently have the presidency, and both houses of Congress so should not "Washington values" reflect Republican values? Maybe not. Maybe "Washington values" refers to the values of the entrenched  bureaucracy of government employees, the so called "deep state."  While more government employees are liberal than conservative, most are not deeply political, I would assume. They go to work and push paper in their little niche of the massive federal bureaucracy and probably are no more political than your neighbor who works as an insurance adjuster. I don't know that as a group they have in common a set of values that could be identified as "Washington values." So, I guess "Washington values" could refer to the values of  the upper level of entrenched public servants and the horde of lawyers and lobbyist looking out for their client's interest and all the people who work for media outlets and think tanks. I am not sure if the values of those people are the values that are called "Washington values" or not, but probably so. Anyway, someone needs to explain, what is a "Washington value," so I will know what it is I am supposed to be opposed to.

I wonder if it is ever said of a politician, he has "California values?"  What about, "New Jersey values?" Or, "New York City values?"  What about "Louisiana values?" Does anyone ever brag about having "Chicago values?"

Back to "Tennessee values" and Donald Trump saying Marsha Blackburn has them. Does Donald Trump know what "Tennessee values" are?  He is a New York real estate tycoon reality TV show star born to privilege who hung around celebrities, dated and paid off porn stars, bragged about groping women, and for years gave money to support liberal politicians.  He avoided the draft five times due to flat feet. He had numerous bankruptcies.  He has been married several times meeting and dating his new wife while still married to the old wife. As a real estate developer he used the power of eminent domain to take property from small people to build his casinos. He is brash, bombastic, rude and vulgar.  Do you really want Donald Trump touting your admirable "values?"  How would he know a "Tennessee value?"

I assume "Tennessee values" refers to belief in hard work, a sense of ethics, maybe a sense of fair play, at least a belief in God if not a regular church goer, and being patriotic.  I don't know but I think that must be part of it.  If you look at our state however, their are other values that might be "Tennessee values."  Such as, we are a state that likes drug abuse.  We are one of the states hardest hit by the Opioid epidemic and before that we were one of the states hardest hit by the Meth epidemic. So, maybe drug abuse is a "Tennessee value."

Tennesseans are one of the least healthy people in the country and it is not because we didn't expand Medicare. We are one of the states with the most obese people. We have high levels of physical inactivity. We have lots of people who still smoke. We have made improvements in recent years but still rank low in educational achievement and rates of high school graduation.  We also are near the top in states with large number of people who file bankruptcy. So, is being a fat, ignorant, deadbeat, smoker a "Tennessee value?"

I wonder what set of Tennessee values it is that Donald Trump knows that Marsha Blackburn has, that former Governor Phil Bredesen apparently, by contrast, does not have.  Also, could you list in numerical order the "Tennessee values" and tell me what makes them a Tennessee value?

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What's on the Council agenda for 10/2/18: Reforming Tax Increment Financing, looking for ways to save money, and gentrifying affordable parts of town

The Metro Council will meet Tuesday, October 2, 2018 at 6:30 PM in the Council chamber at the Metro Courthouse. Here is a link to the Council agenda and the staff analysis for those who want to watch the Council meeting and follow along. Below is a summary of the agenda highlighting what I deem to be the most important pieces of legislation.

There is an election to fill two vacancies on the Health and Educational Facilities Board. This board is a non-profit authorized to issue revenue bonds and loan the proceeds to finance the acquisition, construction, development, rehabilitation, and improvement of health, educational, and multifamily housing facilities. As I understand it, the citizens are not ultimately responsible for debt issued by this board. Revenue bonds are repaid from the revenue generated by the project developed. However, if revenue is not sufficient to repay the bonds the city can be forced to pay off the bonds, in most cases, such as bonds to build sports facilities or sewer expansions or parking garages.  Bonds issued by this board do not become an obligation of the government should the project revenue not be sufficient to pay the bonds. There are four nominees to fill the two positions. They are Anne-Marie Farmer, Shia Hendricks, Becky Sharpe, and Terrence Izzard. I don't know these people and have no preference but some in the financial sector and development sector care who serves on this board.

In addition to the election of members to the Health and Educational Facilities Board, there are five mayoral appointments to boards and commission on the agenda for Council confirmation. As always expect all to be confirmed unanimously.

Bills on Public Hearing.  These are zoning bill or bills related to zoning policy. There are only 12 of them this time. I do not even attempt to understand the pros and cons of every zoning bill and they generally bore me and are of interest to only the people in the immediate vicinity of the rezoning. I am only pointing out the bills that I think will have an impact beyond the immediate neighborhood or  have been acting on by the Planning Commission and were disapproved or for some other reason are of interest.

Bill BL2018-1183  would establish a distance of a quarter of a mile between auto

repair businesses and used auto car lots and "auto services."  This seems like too much micromanagement to me. It also seems like an attack on poor people.  I know Nolensville Road is not very attractive and if you drive the road south of the fairground now, you will see used tire shops and used auto dealers and similar places clustered. A lot of these places are owned by immigrants. Those already operating would be grandfathered in, but if ownership changed the establishment could not continue. I assume that is the way that would work. That is the way it normally works with changes like this.  New used tire shops could not open unless they were 1/4 mile away from other such businesses.  I think we should let the market work this out. Poor people need jobs and places to shop too. Bills like this push out poor people and indirectly cause a loss of affordable housing.  To have affordable housing you need affordable communities. Affordable communities are going to have used tire shops and alternative financial institutions such as pay day lenders. You cannot gentrify all of Nashville and still have affordable housing. 

Bill BL2018-1316 would establish screening requirements and standards for waste

Speaking of unsightly dumpsters. Government is very good at not living up
the standards they want to impose on others. These stinky, leaking, ugly dumpsters
on a public sidewalk serve Hume-Fogg magnet school.

dumpsters. This is great for those of us who have to walk or drive by unsightly dumpsters but will add expense for the same people who might want to open a used tire shop on Nolensville Rd as described above. Well intention measures like this drive gentrification by making it difficult for poor neighborhoods to exist and if all parts of the town are aesthetically pleasing to middle class taste, you price poor people out of their neighborhoods and this leads to loss of affordable housing and makes it harder for struggling entrepreneurs to start new businesses. You cannot not have a lot of affordable housing without affordable neighborhoods and affordable neighborhoods may have unscreened dumpsters behind tire shops. 

Resolutions: There are twenty resolutions all of which are on the consent agenda A resolution is on the consent agenda if it passed the committees to which it was assigned unanimously. Since the committees have not met yet, some resolutions which are listed as on the consent agenda may not be on the consent agenda when the council meets. Resolutions on the consent agenda are usually not controversial and tend to be routine matters, such as accepting grants from the Federal or State Government or authorizing the Department of Law to settle claims against the city or appropriating money from the 4% fund. Resolutions on the consent agenda are lumped together passed by a single vote of the Council rather than being considered individually. Any member of the body may have a bill pulled off of the consent agenda. None on this agenda appear controversial. There are a couple of resolutions awarding sole source contracts to companies. I hope these get close scrutiny in committee. 

Bills on Second Reading: There are only nine.

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 will likely be deferred. 

Bill BL2018-1283  would prohibit the use of funds from the sale of Metro owned property from being used to fund the operating budget. While I do not think it is wise policy to use one-time funds for reoccurring expenses, I do not think it ought to be strictly prohibited. If this passes it would leave a hole in the current budget because the budget did rely on revenue from the sale of some property that has not sold yet. That problem could be easily fixed by changing the effective date of the prohibition to future budgets and exempting it for the current budget year. Nevertheless, I think this resolution should be voted down.  It should be noted however, that anything done by legislation can be undone by a legislation so if this did pass and a future council wanted to undo it they could do so.

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. I am pleased to see the council doing this. I hope some good comes from it. Despite Metro's rapid growth we have a financial crisis that is only getting worse. 

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. This is a positive development. 

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. No doubt this policy will be tweaked from time to time.  

Bills on Third Reading: There are only four and this is the only one of interest.

Bill BL2018-1319  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.

To watch the Council meeting, you can go to the courthouse and watch the meeting in person, or you can watch the broadcast live at Metro Nashville Network's Government TV on Nashville's Comcast Channel 3 and AT&T's U-verse 99 and it is streamed live at the Metro Nashville Network's livestream site. You can catch the meeting the next day (or the day after the next) on the MetroYouTube channel.   If can stand the suspense and just wait, I will post the video here the day after or the day after that and provide commentary.

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2018 Phil Bredesen-Marsha Blackburn Senate debate video

I have not yet watched this debate but plan to before the day is out. Please check back for my commentary. Also, I will call out the video  timestamp of the interesting parts if there are any.

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