Speaker: Burkley Allen, Metro Councilperson-at-Large
What a year this has been! Nashville has been rocked by a devastating tornado, summer marches and demonstrations, and a Christmas Day bomb on historic Second Avenue, all while a global pandemic rages and Metro’s budget is pinched.
Councilperson Allen shared her thoughts about the city’s current challenges and how city officials are working to address each one. Ms. Allen brings several years of experience to her work, including earlier terms as a councilperson and service on several committees. The pandemic has affected many aspects of Nashville’s normal operations. The hospitality industry, which produces much of Metro’s revenue, has reeled as out-of-town tourists stopped visiting the “It” City. Schools have been closed for in-person learning for nearly a year. With assistance from a $121 million federal grant, the Metro Government has responded by setting up assessment centers to test for the virus, providing hot spots and laptop computers for every student to make on-line learning possible, and helping small businesses through various organizations. The Metro Government is also reducing staffing through attrition to save money, but because the city still must provide essential services such as trash pick-up, and police and fire protection, it’s not possible to just “close down.” The city is now coordinating vaccination efforts at the Music City Center. Councilperson Allen noted that Davidson County has somewhat lagged behind other counties in vaccinating its population in part because the disproportionately high numbers of health care workers working at our numerous hospitals take
priority over other categories.
Councilperson Allen discussed the damage inflicted on Historic Second Avenue by the Christmas Day bombing. Although it will likely be at least a year before 2nd Avenue can get back to normal, proposed plans will respect the area’s historic integrity but make buildings more
adaptable for today’s uses. Several charity events are planned to raise funds for the restoration. Isolated incidents of violence coincident with the protests in the Summer of 2020 caused damage to many storefronts, as well as major damage to the Metro Courthouse. Councilperson
Allen noted, however, that those events have led to the naming of a new police chief and to policing reform. In addition, the events raised awareness of a need to review all of Nashville’s diversity policies and their implementation. That review has caused some changes in
procurement and the way minority and women-owned businesses are treated.
Councilperson Allen explained that addressing some of 2020’s unexpected events has been further complicated because of some decisions made about raising revenue in years past. Metro had avoided raising property taxes for several years for various reasons, but in 2019 the State Comptroller of the Treasury, who oversees the financial health of local governments, notified Metro Nashville, that an increase in revenue was needed to have a structurally balanced budget. The Metro Council has responded by raising property taxes, as well as eliminating the capital spending plan to help reduce debt service.
Councilperson Allen briefly discussed “Vision Zero,” a transportation plan to help reduce pedestrian deaths in the city. In 2020, 43 Nashvillians were killed on city streets and thoroughfares