Councilman Jerry Maynard wants to know if there’s anything the Metro Council can do to help the city survive the economic downturn. He’s holding a special meeting with city officials today.
Maynard says he hopes the meeting will be a brainstorming session. He says there may be certain regulations that could be changed to make Davidson County more competitive. But in the short term, Maynard is worried about boosting local sales tax revenue.
“And we’re going to encourage all Davidson County residents to spend their money locally here. Again, if you’re going to buy Christmas gifts at any level, or if you’re going to do any holiday shopping, if you’re going to go to any restaurants, do it in Davidson County.”
Maynard has asked the city’s Director of Economic Development and Finance Director Rich Riebeling to come to the meeting with their ideas. Riebeling says there’s not a whole lot the city can do at the local level to solve a national problem.
“Hopefully in the not too distant future, we’re going to release a capital plan which will help stimulate a local economic push–some money, some work in the local economy.”
The capital budget had been put on hold indefinitely because of the credit crisis. Riebeling hopes it will be released early next year.
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