Back in April, Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced during his address to the city that he was working on a plan to create another consistent funding source for affordable housing.It would require that any revenue received by the Metro government from the convention center go to affordable housing each year.
Since at least 2014, city officials have known dedicated funding sources would be needed to create and preserve affordable housing to keep up with demand. The city will need multiple revenue sources in order to fund the different priorities and offer units to those with the greatest need.
In 2019, mayoral candidates were debating if there should be a referendum to create a steady stream for housing or transit. Shortly after getting in office, Cooper secured a deal that would require the convention center to pay yearly to the general city budget, which it wasn’t required to do before.
Right now, the only consistent funding for housing comes from a penny of Airbnb rental tax. In the last few years, housing has gotten more one-time money from the local and federal governments.
According to the city’s finance department, the Barnes Housing Trust Fund has received more money from the last three city budgets — $10 million in 2021, $12.5 million in 2022 and $15 million for 2023 — than from the Airbnb tax.
The Metro Council will discuss the proposal in early November. The issue had been scheduled to be discussed Tuesday night, but councilmembers want more time to refine details of the bill, like what income level they want to target and if this money will be specific to the Barnes Fund for affordable housing.
The Metro Council meeting will still meet to consider other legislation Tuesday night. You can watch on the city’s cable network or its YouTube channel.
Update: The story has been updated to reflect a delay in the Metro Council’s timetable for considering the proposal. It is now expected to be taken up in November, not this week.
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