As we close out a year that has rocked so many lives, in so many ways, I’d like to spend the last days of the year reprinting the three most widely read pieces from the last year. One a day. Sometimes looking back provides context and opens our our eyes to perceiving the events of today through a fresh lens.
The number 3 most read column comes from May and looks at a number of issues on both the state and local level. Ironically it’s one in which I talk about the work CM Bob Mendes did this past year on the city’s budget. We take a look at the culture Commissioner Schwinn has created at the TDOE, one that hasn’t improved. It is my pleasure to share it with you once again.
Things in Nashville should get interesting this week as budget talks start in earnest. Mayor Cooper has turned in a budget book nearly 700 pages long and council members are scrambling to unpack it and decide if they plan to propose any changes or produce their own budget for consideration.
Nobody is looking at the numbers closer than the council’s budget chair, Bob Mendes. Mendes has championed tax increases both of the last two years and now finds himself in the unique position of determining whether or not he’ll support the one proposed by Cooper as part of this year’s budget book.
This past weekend, Mendes produced a thoughtful piece that gives some insight as Nashville leaders compose a budget unlike any previously seen by the city. One based on sale tax projection figures that are more than likely inaccurate. As has become his trademark, Mendes’s budget thoughts are nuanced, well-thought-out, and compassionate. There is a reason why he has become a leading voice on the council floor, and Mendes continues to use that clout wisely.
In the days since Mayor Cooper offered his “continuity of essential services” budget on April 28, I’ve heard from a lot of people. About the substance of the proposed $1.00 property tax rate increase, I’ve heard it CONTINUE READING: DGW’s THIRD MOST READ ARTICLE OF THE YEAR – Dad Gone Wild