Nashville Judge Strikes Down Referendum On City Government

A Nashville judge has ruled that there won’t be a special election in July after all.

In an order released Tuesday afternoon, Chancellor Russell T. Perkins struck down a referendum that could have dramatically altered the functioning of Metro government by restricting property tax rates, limiting how much elected officials should get in benefits and making a host of other changes.

The decision appears to derail the second attempt of local lawyer Jim Roberts and his group, 4 Good Government, to pass restrictions on city government. The ruling also comes a week after the Metro Council approved the city’s budget. If the referendum had passed, it would have immediately cut $40 million.

Mayor John Cooper released a statement praising the decision.

“We’re building a great city, and we’re grateful for a ruling that prevents a small group from hijacking Nashville’s future with an unconstitutional California-style referendum,” he said.

Response to 2020 tax hike

Last year’s steep property tax increase has been a driver in the momentum of the referendum, though officials say that tax hike has also stabilized the city’s finances. The higher revenue has been one of the factors behind increases in spending on schools, firefighters and other positions like animal control.

The referendum would not have entirely rolled back the 2020 tax increase, but it would have made future increases harder. And it sought to lock in those hurdles by barring the Metro Council from overturning voter referendums through future amendments to the city charter.

The referendum was approved by the Davidson County Election Commission on a party-line vote. Republicans ruled it could proceed because it met signature threshold to trigger a vote, while Democrats argued its provisions potentially conflict with existing state law.

Perkins determined the commission was correct that Roberts had gathered enough signatures. But, he ruled, some of the referendum’s interlocking provisions were illegal under state law, making it impossible to put any of it before the voters. He also said the referendum petition failed to set a clear date for the vote, a requirement under the Metro charter.

More: Read Perkins’ decision

“The Election Commission, therefore, committed prejudicial legal error in its May 10, 2021, final order placing 4GG’s second petition on the ballot,” Perkins wrote. “This decision by the Election Commission was fraught with essential illegality; the Election Commission’s decision was arbitrary, capricious and illegal.”