A group formed to oppose the Nashville transit referendum proposed by Mayor Freddie O’Connell warns the plan will have the largest financial impact on the city’s poorest population while boosting a bus system “plagued by crime” and offering minimal decreases to the city’s traffic congestion.
The Committee to Stop an UnFair Tax was organized in August when Axios reported former Metro Council Member Emily Evans, Davidson County Republican party leader Beth Campbell, and attorney Ferrell Neal were behind the effort.
On its website, the group now lists three major areas of opposition to the Nashville referendum, calling it unfair, unsafe, and unnecessary.
“The proposed ‘transit’ TAX is a sales tax, the most regressive of all,” it declares. “Nashville is a VERY expensive place to live now and this tax will just make Nashville EVEN More UNaffordable.”
The transit referendum would be partially funded by a half-cent increase to Nashville’s sales tax, which is considered regressive because sales taxes consume a higher percentage of a lower-income person’s income compared to a wealthy person.
According to the website, O’Connell also seeks “to expand a bus system already plagued with crime,” which “will continue to keep ridership low.”
At least three crimes were reported involving Nashville buses, transit stations, or bus stops in a ten-day period in May, which involved the stabbing of a bus driver and two shootings. The violence prompted O’Connell to order a full safety review of the city’s bus system.
The group calls it unnecessary in its third reason to oppose the referendum.
“Expanding a bus system that carries less than 1 [percent] of Nashville area commuters will NOT reduce traffic congestion,” the committee argues on its website. “Nashville voters overwhelmingly rejected a transit proposal in 2018 and they should REJECT this transit proposal in 2024.”
While government officials point to record ridership, Nashville’s bus system only recently recovered to pre-pandemic ridership numbers.
The group’s previous transit plan failed in 2018 after 64 percent of Nashville voters cast a ballot in opposition. Despite the proposals’ stark differences, O’Connell recently stated they would have been “pretty useful” to the city.
The Committee to Stop an Unfair Tax also began a digital advertising campaign targeting Nashville voters this week. NewsChannel 5 reported Monday that Evans highlighted the financial burden of the half-cent sales tax.
“If you’re a lower income person, you’re spending most of your paycheck on rent, gasoline, etc, so a bigger portion of what your paycheck is going to, will go to pay the tax,” Evans reportedly said.
In addition to the group’s criticisms, Nashville Tea Party founder Ben Cunningham has called the referendum illegal. Cunningham has repeatedly noted the 2017 IMPROVE Act, which authorizes the half-cent sales tax and requires the money to be used on a transit package.
According to Cunningham, O’Connell’s proposal’s sidewalk, traffic signal, and other infrastructure improvements are not considered transit, making the referendum illegal.
Cunningham has similarly argued the transit plan’s reliance on federal funds could lead to a property tax hike if the government money should dwindle or disappear.
O’Connell originally estimated the referendum would cost $3.1 billion, but an independent financial analysis determined it would actually cost Nashville $6.9 billion over the project’s lifetime.
Nashville voters will determine in November whether the proposal moves forward.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Freddie O’Connell” by Freddie O’Connell, Mayor of Metropolitan Nashville & Davidson County. Background Photo “Nashville Traffic” by Cheryl A. Austin. CC BY-SA 4.0.
