Should there be stricter rules to change Nashville’s constitution? Residents will decide in August

Nashville residents will vote in August on four items, including if they want to raise the bar on making changes to the city’s constitution.

The Metro Council is throwing the question out there as the city continues a lengthy legal fight over a resident-led referendum.

Two years ago, a conservative Nashville lawyer put out a petition to shrink the local government’s power.

There were questions about how many signatures were legit, if the language of the petition was too political and if some of the measures are constitutional. Despite losing two court battles over the petition, the Republican-dominated Davidson County Election Commission won’t stop fighting.

So far, this case has cost taxpayers’ over $700,000 and could increase in price as the commission asks the Tennessee Supreme Court to review the case. Altogether, a spokesman for the Election Commission says, Roberts’ efforts have cost the city over a million dollars.

Next time, Metro elected officials want to catch all these mistakes by doing legal review before residents get their hopes up and sign a petition.

“We’ve heard that, when the lawsuits happen after signatures, people feel aggrieved — because they tried to put something on ballot,” At-Large Councilmember Bob Mendes says. “Ninety-four other counties in this state do the litigation before the signatures are gathered, if any.”

Right now, the number of petition signatures required for a referendum is based on the last election turnout. Since that number varies greatly, the council wants to change the requirement to be 10% of all registered voters (around 48,000).

In recent years, a different resident-led petition successfully created a Community Oversight Board.

Here’s three other measures the Metro Council is sending to Nashville residents:

• Amendment 2 — changes physical fitness requirements for police officers. The Civil Service Commission would be in charge of examining the current U.S. Army or Navy standard.
• Amendment 3 — adds another seat to the Department of Health and clarifies its difference with the board of health.
• Amendment 4 — removes Department of Public Works from charter and creates the Nashville Department of Transportation.

All four measures will be on the ballot in August.