Americans for Prosperity – Tennessee (AFP-TN) released a statement Thursday in response to Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s proposed $3.1 billion transit referendum that will be presented to Davidson County voters on the November ballot.
AFP-TN State Director Tori Venable, noting how Nashville voters rejected then-Mayor Megan Barry’s $9 billion transit plan six years ago, acknowledged the dramatic cost difference in O’Connell’s plan while also pointing out the half-cent increase in the city’s sales tax that will be used to fund the plan.
“Six years ago, the Nashville taxpayers won by roundly rejecting the Transit Tax via referendum. Thanks to the hard work of our volunteers and Stop The Train partners, we were able to reject the ill-conceived boondoggle that would have given Nashville the highest sales tax in the nation without solving our traffic woes,” Venable said.
“At $3 billion dollars, Mayor O’Connell’s new transit tax plan is a third of the initial cost of the 2018 plan. It’s up to his office to make the case for a higher sales tax to fund more bus services, improved lights, and better city crosswalks. Ultimately, Nashville will decide if the transit services & improvements are worth the tax hike,” Venable added.
Venable further encouraged O’Connell to “continue looking to slash the budget and protect Nashville taxpayers from property tax hikes that are just down the pike.”
O’Connell unveiled his $3.1 billion transit plan, called “Choose How You Move: An All-Access Pass to Sidewalks, Signals, Service, and Safety,” last month. The mayor’s plan includes miles of new sidewalks, bus stops, transit centers, parking facilities, and upgraded traffic signals.
The mayor argues that the half-cent increase in the city’s sales tax as the funding source for the plan is warranted under the IMPROVE Act, which passed the Tennessee General Assembly in 2017.
Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party, has argued otherwise, saying that the transit plan appears to be illegal under the IMPROVE Act as the legislation only allows for the increase of taxes through a voter referendum for a mass transit system such as bus routes – not for the installation of simple projects such as sidewalks and traffic signals.
Cunningham has also pointed out that the transit plan will “inevitably lead to property tax increases” as the mayor attempts to leverage federal funding to fund portions of the proposed projects.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Freddie O’Connell” by Freddie O’Connell.
