Shrinking The Metro Council Likely To Appear On August Ballot

It’s looking more likely that voters will weigh in on whether to shrink the Metro Council. A group called Council Next 50 has been collecting signatures to force a referendum.

The petition drive didn’t yield enough signatures to qualify to be on the ballot last November. But on Friday, council member Emily Evans turned in twice as many as needed — more than 14,000 – for the August election.

Evans, who represents affluent West Nashville, argues that a smaller council would spend more time debating bigger ideas like transit and education. Right now, she contends the council is spending too much time on individual zoning changes.

“That’s most of what we do and we’re not focused on these other things that I think are critical for the future of our city.”

The proposal would decrease the number of seats from 40 to 27. If approved by voters, the Metro Planning Department would draw up new maps that the council would have to adopt.

The referendum also allows council members to serve three consecutive terms instead of just two.