Mayor Barry files bill for May transit referendum, begins with backing from a council majority

Mayor Megan Barry on Monday formally filed long-awaited legislation that would trigger a public referendum in Nashville on a $5.4 billion transit plan, setting up two months of Metro Council debate on whether to add the controversial measure to the May ballot.

With 24 council co-sponsors signing on to the transit ordinance, Barry’s administration is beginning with sizable support in the council, having already netted the majority needed for its approval.

Barry, whose first term in office could largely be defined by the fate of her transit push, was joined by Vice Mayor David Briley and multiple council members at a news conference at the mayor’s office to announce the bill's filing. Barry wants to raise four taxes, including the sales tax, to create dedicated funding for a far-reaching mass transit proposal that includes light rail.

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The council’s action would simply tack the transit proposal on to the Metro local primary election, set for May 1. It would not authorize any funding or tax increases, but instead give Nashville voters the final say.

"Council members behind me know all too well, as I do, that our constituents are not content with just Band-Aids and short fixes," Barry said. "They want a long-term solution that's going to allow residents to get around the city in a faster, more efficient and effective way.

“I couldn’t be more excited that a majority of council members have signed on as co-sponsors to the ordinance that will allow voters to determine their transportation future.”

Barry says upcoming 'program book' will answer lingering questions about plan

Three at-large council members, Erica Gilmore, Sharon Hurt and Jim Shulman, are among the legislation's co-sponsors. Councilman Jeremy Elrod, chairman of the council's Public Works Committee, is the bill's lead sponsor. 

In the coming weeks, Barry said, the mayor's office plans to provide a detailed and comprehensive "program book" that is intended to answer lingering questions people have about the proposed transit network and its financing. 

Under a schedule laid out by Briley, the bill will head to the council for a first of three required votes on Dec. 19, followed by a public hearing on the proposal Jan. 9.

► More:Nashville Mayor Barry takes on 'transit myths' in push for $5.2 billion plan

A special council committee, composed of the entire council, will meet Jan. 11 to discuss the legislation. If the bill does not get held up, a second-reading vote would take place Jan. 16 ahead of final consideration Feb. 6.

Time constraints for action could limit chances for amendments from council 

Under the state IMPROVE Act, which authorized Nashville and other local municipalities to hold referendums on funding transit projects, the council would have to approve the ordinance no less than 75 days before the May 1 election. The rigid timeline will likely limit opportunities for substantive amendments. 

Briley said additional delays on voting on the bill aren't an option because of the time constraints. Briley has built in time for only one deferral.

"Beyond that, the council's going to have to act," Briley said. "Any other deferral beyond that would result in third reading occurring too close to the May election." 

Past milestone referendums in Nashville history have included the rejection of making English the official language of Metro in 2008; funding for a professional football stadium in 1996; and the consolidation of Metro government in 1962.

Vice mayor: Most significant referendum since Metro's inception 

Briley said the referendum would be the “most significant policy decision put to the voters of Davidson County since the formation of the Metropolitan government."

► More:Mayor Barry unveils sweeping transit proposal for Nashville with light rail, massive tunnel

“Given the significance of this moment, we need to do everything we can to ensure a fair, open and deliberative process in deciding whether to place this referendum on the ballot,” he said.

Barry has proposed raising four taxes, including a half-cent increase on the sales tax that would roll to 1 cent in 2023, to pay for a plan that includes more than 26 miles of light rail on five major corridors. Other taxes targeted are the hotel/motel tax, local rental car tax and business and excise tax.

In accordance with state law, before final council approval, an independent CPA firm approved by the state comptroller must provide an assessment of financial assumptions in the capital and operating costs of the transit plan, as well as funding mechanisms for the plan.

The mayor’s office tweaked plans last month to extend a proposed light rail line on Charlotte Avenue farther from downtown to reach White Bridge Road.

That action prompted some Madison residents to push for a light rail line along Gallatin Pike to be extended to reach their neighborhoods, but the legislation filed Monday keeps the current plans for that corridor intact.

Proposed referendum language, limited to 250 words or less: 

“Passage of this measure will allow the Metropolitan Government to improve and expand its transit services to include: expanded bus service countywide; new transit lines; new light rail and/or rapid bus service along Nashville’s major corridors, including the Northwest Corridor and a connection through downtown Nashville; new neighborhood transit centers; improvements to the Music City Star train service; safety improvements, including sidewalks and pedestrian connections; and system modernization. The Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Metropolitan Department of Public Works will undertake the projects and implement the program. The transit improvements and expansion will be funded by tax surcharges that will end once all debt issued for the program has been paid and the Metropolitan Council determines upon the adoption of a resolution that the revenues from the surcharges are no longer needed for operation of the program. The surcharges will consist of: (1) a sales tax surcharge of 0.5% for the first five years, increasing to 1% in 2023; (2) a hotel/motel tax surcharge of 0.25% for the first five years, increasing to 0.375% in 2023; (3) a 20% surcharge on the business/excise tax; and (4) a 20% surcharge on the rental car tax. The capital cost of the program is estimated to have a present day value of $5,354,000,000, with recurring operations and maintenance costs having a present day value at the year the improvements are completed of approximately $99,500,000.”

Metro Council co-sponsors:

Prime sponsor

• Jeremy Elrod

At-large members

• Erica Gilmore
• Jim Shulman
• Sharon Hurt

District members

• Brett Withers
• Anthony Davis
• Nancy VanReece
• Bill Pridemore
• Doug Pardue
• Larry Hagar
• Kevin Rhoten
• Jeff Syracuse
• Mike Freeman
• Colby Sledge
• Burkley Allen
• Freddie O’Connell
• Sheri Weiner
• Kathleen Murphy
• Russ Pulley
• Tanaka Vercher
• Karen Johnson
• Jason Potts
• Fabian Bedne
• Antoinette Lee

Reach Joey Garrison at jgarrison@tennessean.com or 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison.