In his State of Metro address, Mayor Freddie O’Connell described his vision for a Nashville that’s affordable, safe, healthy, welcoming, and prosperous. A city for everyone. O’Connell announced several steps his administration will take in the months ahead to make Nashville more affordable, including cutting the grocery tax and announcing two new programs for small businesses and their employees.
“Progress will not always be loud or linear. But it will be purposeful,” O’Connell said in the speech. “Every decision we make – to cut the grocery tax, to have more childcare available, to support our small businesses, to add more jobs, to turn more lights from red to green, to build enough housing, and to support our kids from the day they’re born – is a statement about who this city is for. I intend for the answer to be loud and clear: this city is for everyone.”
In his budget to be filed on Friday, Mayor O’Connell will propose cutting the grocery tax by a half cent. The tax reduction is expected to save the average Nashville family of four $72 per year on their groceries. In announcing the cut, O’Connell committed to tightening the Metro budget and declared, “In a time when everything costs more, in Nashville, it will cost a little less to feed your family.”
For small businesses, O’Connell announced two new programs.
“Our incentive programs aren’t simply grants. They’re a statement that this city stands behind the people who take the risk of building something,” O’Connell said. “By expanding eligibility, we’re leveling the playing field so that a family-owned bagel shop or a corner hardware store has the same ability to invest in their future as any large business.”
Since the launch of Nashville's Unified Housing Strategy, the city has funded the creation or preservation of nearly 3,000 homes.
Mayor O’Connell will build on this momentum in his upcoming budget by making a 40% increase into the Unified Housing Strategy - the city’s largest ever cumulative investment in housing.
In addition to the largest investment from the city’s general fund in the Barnes Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the mayor announced a new housing finance tool, a revolving loan program that will serve as a first step in setting up a durable affordable housing bond.
“So, when I talk about my vision for a Nashville where everyone belongs, we know that it’s made possible by lowering the costs of housing and transportation,” O’Connell said. “Rents are curving down—and transit ridership is up. And soon, groceries will cost a little less.”
Caring for children from birth to graduation is a key priority for the mayor and he highlighted major success in the areas of pre- and post-natal healthcare with the Nashville Strong Babies program.
“During the pilot and since countywide expansion, we haven’t lost one mother, not one baby,” said Mayor O’Connell. “The federal government cut its funding, but we stepped in to sustain it. And this year, we’re expanding our investment.”
In his upcoming budget, O’Connell will expand funding for Nashville Strong Babies to enable the Metro Public Health Department to continue expanding support for mothers and babies from pregnancy through the first 18 months of life.
The first several dozen Begin Bright little libraries are in place across the city with more on the way thanks to investment from the city of Nashville. When fully implemented, the Nashville Public Library and Nashville Public Library Foundation program will put little libraries stocked with books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in every childcare center in the city. Nashville is the first city to do this.
Childcare will also be easier to open and operate in Nashville as a result of recent legislation. Mayor O’Connell last week signed the first of two pieces of legislation to give childcare centers a fast track in the permitting process. The second piece of legislation will be before the Metro Council for passage in May and will make access to home-based childcare easier.
Metro students are achieving historic gains, and this fall, following unanimous approval by the Metro School Board, MNPS will implement a new start time for high schools for the first time in 40 years. The move is based off evidence which shows student mental health and performance improve with more sleep.
Metro Schools will also welcome a new partner to its University MNPS program. The University of Tennessee – Knoxville will be the nineth university to join the program which helps make it easier for Metro students to go to college.
“This is a city where a family can put down roots. We know that the next generation of entrepreneurs, innovators, artists, teachers, and great thinkers, build their foundation when we support them throughout their earliest years of life.”
O’Connell highlighted the first-year success of Choose How You Move and looked to more deliverables in the year ahead. Already, WeGo has more buses running more frequently for more hours of the day, and in July will make their fourth expansion of operations thanks to Choose How You Move funding. The first Choose How You Move funded sidewalk is complete and five more will be under construction this summer. Work is currently underway to upgrade 115 signals to smart signals, which includes the instillation of fiber on key travel corridors.
Mayor O’Connell also highlighted Journey Pass, a first-of-its-kind program that’s lowering transportation costs for more than 10,000 people receiving social services. In just over six months, Journey Pass riders have taken more than 1 million rides.
In the speech, Mayor O’Connell declared, “The state of Metro is strong, and I will continue to lead the progress that gives us that strength.”
“I’ve already tackled many of the challenges the city hadn’t been able to solve for decades… We took challenges and turned them into accomplishments. Transit. The scrapyard. Healthier school start times. More housing. These are historic achievements, and we should celebrate them because we did them together. All of us. Today, I’ve laid out my vision to keep that momentum going.”
