Nashville Chancellor To Rule On Tax Referendum By Election Day

Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle is planning to issue a decision on the fate of the city’s tax referendum by Election Day on Nov. 3.

The ruling would come at the request of the Davidson County Election Commission, which has asked for clarification on whether the referendum meets the requirements to be placed on a ballot.

The citizen group 4GoodGovernment is attempting to change the Metro Charter through a special election in December that would roll back a 34% property tax rate increase, cap future property tax increases and limit the power of city government in other areas.

“We’ve got the citizens group that says, ‘You’re violating our constitutional rights, election commission and Metro, by not going forward with this election,” says Lyle. “We’ve got the election commission who says, ‘Court, we need you to look at this and give us a declaratory judgment about whether this has been done validly by the citizens group.”

The Davidson County Election Commission isn’t opposed to the group, but Metro government is trying to prevent the  special election from happening. Lyle says a decision needs to be made on the legal separation between the election commission and Metro.

The city, which is not formerly named in 4GoodGovernment’s lawsuit, is filing a motion to intervene this afternoon. A trial date is tentatively scheduled for later this month.