In his first State of Metro address, Nashville’s mayor highlights transit planning, the East Bank and his ‘do stuff’ budget

On Tuesday morning, hundreds gathered at the Nashville Fairgrounds for Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s assessment of how the city is faring.

For the location of his first State of Metro address, O’Connell selected the fairgrounds: a symbol, he said, of what the city is doing well — and where it could improve.

“We have a great opportunity to preserve so much of what we love about Nashville and make it better,” O’Connell said. “And I think all of this is evident here at the fairgrounds.”

One way he sees Nashville accomplishing this is through his proposed transit overhaul.

Mere minutes before O’Connell took the stage, he received news about the plan — a financial auditor had granted the green light, propelling the plan one step closer to a public vote.

It’s a proposal O’Connell has thrown a lot at over the last few months, as he asks voters to create a tax specifically for transit.

“More people deserve to have an option to get home on the bus when their late shift ends sometime after midnight. More people deserve to come to the fairgrounds without fighting traffic, just to fight for a parking space. More people deserve to walk to the schools and small businesses around the corner without being in a ditch or on a shoulder,” O’Connell said Tuesday. “It’s possible to do this. Most other American cities our size have figured it out. Now, we’ve got our chance.”

O’Connell touted the proposal itself as an accomplishment — one of four highlighted from his first months in office, along with the East Bank development agreement, a “buy-stuff budget” and a “do-stuff budget.”

While O’Connell mentioned the budget, it was not a key talking point. For the first time in years, the mayor shared budget details before the State of Metro. That $3.27 billion forecast — which is largely unchanged from last year’s spending, a consequence of plateaued tax revenues — will require Metro departments to reduce spending by 1.4%.

Tuesday’s address took on a more hopeful tone. Vice Mayor Angie Henderson lauded the mayor for his “optimism and pragmatism,” after he concluded his speech with a slew of resources to help Nashvillians live in the city more affordably.

These included:

• Property Tax Freeze and Relief program
• Financial Empowerment Center
• TennCare
• TVA’s Home Uplift Program, offered through the Nashville Electric Service
• Legal Aid Society’s Eviction Right to Counsel program

“We’re trying to make sure you have no wrong door if you need help,” O’Connell said. “We don’t have a program for everything, but we have a lot of people in this city who care about each other.”

Watch the full State of Metro address: