LOCAL & STATE GOVERNMENT INFLUENCE IN GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT

[TheRaglander]

17 minutes ago, DDIG said:

Agreed. No amount of money is saving the rural areas. Maybe you can get some manufacturing, but even those like to be reasonably near a population center. The tech companies we've been talking about want to be in a booming urban area, period. An Oracle isn't interested in anywhere in Tennessee but downtown Nashville (not even WilCo).

Definitely some truth to that.  Asurion stayed downtown because they want to attract that youthful techie population that isn't ready to settle down and move out to neighboring counties.  When I left Asurion to go to Accenture (in the Phillips building), many of the younger techie employees would walk or scooter in.  It's fun to work downtown.  Perhaps some companies seek out places like WillCo but I can't see large tech firms finding the burbs appealing. 

[tragenvol]

1 hour ago, Mr_Bond said:

It could be both. 

I disagree.  Lee's platform as a candidate was to focus ECD on rural and distressed counties; his actions have shown this over and over again as Governor prior to Cooper becoming Mayor. 

However, Lee appears to recognize and value the dynamic economic vehicle Nashville has become to bolster the region and to some extent the state.   Cooper and his actions/antics have nothing to do with Lee's administration spending more money for development in rural areas.

1 hour ago, smeagolsfree said:

As far as the distressed Counties go, the State can pour billions of dollars into them, but they can't keep the young people living there because of quality of life issues. Frankly there is nothing to in Podunk East TN or in  Sticksville West TN.

Good money after bad

I tend to agree, but it remains this administration's focus along with investing in education.

Edited February 4, 2020 by tragenvol

[Hushpuppy321]

FYI - truthinaccounting.org has some troubling numbers for Metro Government-Nashville.  What if anything can/should be done?

[DDIG]

7 minutes ago, Hushpuppy321 said:

FYI - truthinaccounting.org has some troubling numbers for Metro Government-Nashville.  What if anything can/should be done?

Property tax rate increase is the only way. It solves almost all of our problems. We traditionally do it with reassessment but decided not to because we were trying to pass a transit tax at the time. This transit died, we didn’t fix the rate, and our revenue did not keep up with growth.

[PaulChinetti]

19 minutes ago, DDIG said:

Property tax rate increase is the only way. It solves almost all of our problems. We traditionally do it with reassessment but decided not to because we were trying to pass a transit tax at the time. This transit died, we didn’t fix the rate, and our revenue did not keep up with growth.

Increase and nobody gets an adjustment except for seniors on fixed incomes. Everyone else, pay up. It's time, you want more money for teachers, cops, and etc. Open the wallet.

[smeagolsfree]

Here is a link to the municipal tax rates in the state. Nashville/Davidson County is just above 3% which is the lowest among the largest cities and about average for the state.

https://comptroller.tn.gov/office-functions/pa/tax-resources/assessment-information-for-each-county/property-tax-rates/2019.html

With the services that Nashville has to offer  and does offer it should be a lot higher.

They pay more in Goodletsville than in Nashville.

[titanhog]

4 minutes ago, smeagolsfree said:

Here is a link to the municipal tax rates in the state. Nashville/Davidson County is just above 3% which is the lowest among the largest cities and about average for the state.

https://comptroller.tn.gov/office-functions/pa/tax-resources/assessment-information-for-each-county/property-tax-rates/2019.html

With the services that Nashville has to offer  and does offer it should be a lot higher.

They pay more in Goodletsville than in Nashville.

Chattanooga 5%

Knoxville 4.5%

Memphis 7.2% 

Nashville 3.2%

[smeagolsfree]

1 minute ago, titanhog said:

Chattanooga 5%

Knoxville 4.5%

Memphis 7.2% 

Nashville 3.2%

I was hoping someone saw that rate. Shocking!

[donNdonelson2]

1 minute ago, titanhog said:

Chattanooga 5%

Knoxville 4.5%

Memphis 7.2% 

Nashville 3.2%

Nashville has two residential tax rate levels-general services district & urban services district. Do you know if 3.2 is an average of the two, or is that the lower of the two? 

[smeagolsfree]

3 minutes ago, donNdonelson2 said:

Nashville has two residential tax rate levels-general services district & urban services district. Do you know if 3.2 is an average of the two, or is that the lower of the two? 

I think the USD is 3.2 and the non is 2.75. What a steal, so does that mean they should get less voting power in thoses areas. One would think they need to pay their fair share. It cost a lot more to provide services to thoses outlying districts that the USD because of the distance involved.

[donNdonelson2]

11 minutes ago, smeagolsfree said:

I think the USD is 3.2 and the non is 2.75. What a steal, so does that mean they should get less voting power in thoses areas. One would think they need to pay their fair share. It cost a lot more to provide services to thoses outlying districts that the USD because of the distance involved.

General services district gets fewer city services...no streetlights, no trash collection, etc. Fewer city services=lower taxes. The law of one man, one vote applies no matter your tax rate.

[PaulChinetti]

14 minutes ago, donNdonelson2 said:

General services district gets fewer city services...no streetlights, no trash collection, etc. Fewer city services=lower taxes. The law of one man, one vote applies no matter your tax rate.

Do those General Service areas pay for police, fire, schools?

[MLBrumby]

Goodgawd!! That tax rate explains why Nashville's infrastructure is crappy.  Even a 'half cent' would help them get out of the fix... but I suspect Cooper's victory (that's his constituency) has delayed that for some time. 

[smeagolsfree]

40 minutes ago, PaulChinetti said:

Do those General Service areas pay for police, fire, schools?

Police, Fire, roads, schools, parks, etc. They get everything but garbage collection, recycling  and a lot of those places have street lights here and there.

 

[donNdonelson2]

13 minutes ago, smeagolsfree said:

Police, Fire, roads, schools, parks, etc. They get everything but garbage collection, recycling  and a lot of those places have street lights here and there.

 

Any streetlights in the GSD are paid for by the individual (or group) that had it installed. And as you can see from the information below, they are NOT cheap.

Outdoor Security Lighting

Outdoor security lighting creates a safer environment for your home or business. Lights can be installed on existing utility poles or on specially placed poles based on the necessary level of lighting. NES will visit your property to design a lighting plan tailored to your needs. The installation cost is $125 per light and $175 per new pole up to a maximum of $600. In addition, a current security light may be replaced for another security light type at a cost of $125. 

What is the Rental Light charge included on my bill? 
The Rental Light charge covers the operation and recurring maintenance costs of NES-owned lights.

TypeCost Per Month

COBRA 

100 Watt High Pressure Sodium$12.41

150 Watt High Pressure Sodium$14.04

100 Watt High Pressure Sodium (Subdivision)$12.88

150 Watt High Pressure Sodium (Subdivision)$14.51

250 Watt High Pressure Sodium

$17.25

 

400 Watt High Pressure Sodium$22.14

5500 Lumens LED$11.67

10000 Lumens LED$13.38

20000 Lumens LED$17.82

35000 Lumens LED$25.88

250 Watt High Pressure Sodium (Contemporary Roadway)*$21.87

400 Watt High Pressure Sodium (Contemporary Roadway)* $26.68

250 Watt High Pressure Sodium (Teardrop)*$17.65

400 Watt High Pressure Sodium (Shoebox)*$24.45

175 Watt Mercury Vapor*$14.63

250 Watt Mercury Vapor*$16.80

400 Watt Mercury Vapor*$21.63

   

FLOODLIGHTS

 

400 Watt Sodium$23.38

100 Watt Metal Halide$15.14

250 Watt Metal Halide$20.32

400 Watt Metal Halide$23.93

1000 Watt Metal Halide$44.89

POLES 

30' Wood$6.96

35' Wood$8.40

40' Wood$10.15

45' Wood$14.72

12' Decorative Pole$7.10

33' Davit Pole$7.33

65' Wood*$30.59

70' Wood*$34.07

30' Metal*$21.96

35' Metal*$15.41

70' Metal*$72.04

16' Decorative Pole*$11.28

23' Decorative Pole*$14.28

Lifetime Maintenance

NES provides maintenance and repairs for the life of the agreement. For more information, call 615-736-6900.

*Lights and poles no longer offered, but maintained by NES.

 

 

[MLBrumby]

Nearly 60 years after Metro government was voted for... it's time to make the whole county the same. Equalize the services (as much as possible) and spread the tax burden equally across the whole county.  USD vs GSD... that just smacks of a compromise that helped Metro get across the finish line. 

[donNdonelson2]

7 minutes ago, MLBrumby said:

Nearly 60 years after Metro government was voted for... it's time to make the whole county the same. Equalize the services (as much as possible) and spread the tax burden equally across the whole county.  USD vs GSD... that just smacks of a compromise that helped Metro get across the finish line. 

Considering the cost of trash pickup and streetlights for individuals that we pay out in the GSD, I think we would come out ahead under your proposal. But even if the two remain as is, I think we all need to pay more to have the funds to run our city effectively.

Edited February 5, 2020 by donNdonelson2

[PaulChinetti]

1 hour ago, MLBrumby said:

Nearly 60 years after Metro government was voted for... it's time to make the whole county the same. Equalize the services (as much as possible) and spread the tax burden equally across the whole county.  USD vs GSD... that just smacks of a compromise that helped Metro get across the finish line. 

The outer parts of the county complain about getting less. I didn’t realize they paid less. Think they want to pay more to get more, I highly doubt it. 

[donNdonelson2]

22 minutes ago, PaulChinetti said:

The outer parts of the county complain about getting less. I didn’t realize they paid less. Think they want to pay more to get more, I highly doubt it. 

I think if you currently live in the GSD and pay out of pocket for a streetlight on your property (at rates posted above) and for trash & recycling pickup (at about $350/year), you are currently paying MORE than if you were in USD and had those services provided by the city. That aside, all of us in Metro have to face the fact that WE are the only source of  funds to run the city. We get the city we are willing to pay for, after all!

[PruneTracy]

14 hours ago, MLBrumby said:

Nearly 60 years after Metro government was voted for... it's time to make the whole county the same. Equalize the services (as much as possible) and spread the tax burden equally across the whole county.  USD vs GSD... that just smacks of a compromise that helped Metro get across the finish line. 

Sixty years later, that still doesn't make a lot of sense from a geographic standpoint. Bringing USD services to communities like Joelton isn't cost-effective, and even at GSD rates, residents there are paying much more in property taxes than they would in neighboring counties for comparable services. People on here like to complain about GSD residents being free riders, but unless you're within walking distance of the USD boundary, you're probably giving more than you get.

The true issue is that the Metro government doesn't match the development patterns of the area. A good one-third of Davidson County can't support an urban or even suburban level of development, due to the terrain. It makes little sense for these areas to be governed by the same entity as the CBD, and it's going to be nearly impossible to distribute services to both equitably. Conversely, the boundaries between Metro and neighboring cities/counties to the south and east are de jure only, and fairly arbitrary. Brentwood is closer to downtown than Bellevue; Mount Juliet and La Vergne are closer than Goodlettsville. From a planning and infrastructure perspective, it would be much more efficient for Metro to extend halfway into Rutherford, Williamson, and Wilson Counties.

This is a problem that could be fixed by the state, in altering municipal/county boundaries, but it's hard to imagine that non-Metro residents would approve of that. They live where they live for a reason. On the other hand, perhaps Metro residents living along the Highland Rim wouldn't object to annexation by Cheatham County or Robertson County.

[Mr_Bond]

With the rapid development in Downtown and Midtown, the budget is being hurt by the delay in tax receipts because of the appraisal process.  Example from The Gulch: a building occupied in May 2020 will be appraised in January 2021 and the first tax receipts will arrive in January 2022.  In a small way, it's affecting the budget of the GBID (Gulch Business Improvement District) and CBID (Central Business Improvement District).  The people arrive in the district in May 2020, putting strains and demands on GBID's resources, but the funding to pay for those expanded resources don't arrive until 2022.

[MLBrumby]

1 hour ago, PruneTracy said:

Sixty years later, that still doesn't make a lot of sense from a geographic standpoint. Bringing USD services to communities like Joelton isn't cost-effective, and even at GSD rates, residents there are paying much more in property taxes than they would in neighboring counties for comparable services. People on here like to complain about GSD residents being free riders, but unless you're within walking distance of the USD boundary, you're probably giving more than you get.

The true issue is that the Metro government doesn't match the development patterns of the area. A good one-third of Davidson County can't support an urban or even suburban level of development, due to the terrain. It makes little sense for these areas to be governed by the same entity as the CBD, and it's going to be nearly impossible to distribute services to both equitably. Conversely, the boundaries between Metro and neighboring cities/counties to the south and east are de jure only, and fairly arbitrary. Brentwood is closer to downtown than Bellevue; Mount Juliet and La Vergne are closer than Goodlettsville. From a planning and infrastructure perspective, it would be much more efficient for Metro to extend halfway into Rutherford, Williamson, and Wilson Counties.

This is a problem that could be fixed by the state, in altering municipal/county boundaries, but it's hard to imagine that non-Metro residents would approve of that. They live where they live for a reason. On the other hand, perhaps Metro residents living along the Highland Rim wouldn't object to annexation by Cheatham County or Robertson County.

I see your point... but have the USD/GSD boundaries changed in that time?  Certainly parts of DavidsonCo that weren't urban back in 1963 are now very developed.

[Rockatansky]

11 minutes ago, MLBrumby said:

but have the USD/GSD boundaries changed in that time?

Yes. There have been several expansions of the USD since 196X. That being said, there are still several highly developed parts of town which are not in the USD (Hermitage, Bellevue, Rivergate).

[PruneTracy]

1 minute ago, MLBrumby said:

I see your point... but have the USD/GSD boundaries changed in that time?  Certainly parts of DavidsonCo that weren't urban back in 1963 are now very developed.

Metro expands the USD boundary on a continuing basis. It was last done in 2017:

https://maps.nashville.gov/ProposedUSDExpansion/

As you can see it largely captures the developed area of the county, with some exceptions (e.g., Bellevue, Hermitage, Old Hickory, etc.).

[tragenvol]

https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville-mayor-set-to-announce-legal-challenge-over-governors-school-voucher-program/