NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — Nashville Mayor Karl Dean has proposed a 53-cent property tax increase in his $1.7 billion budget proposal.
Dean said during his State of Metro Address yesterday, that he held the line on taxes during the economic downturn, cutting city budgets by more than 59 percent and restructuring the city’s debt. But Dean said additional cuts would mean cuts in vital services like the police force and school system.
“We have cut metro departments every year that I’ve been in office. At first the cuts weren’t so bad. In fact, the process made us assess, how our government operated and how we could be more efficient, But after four years there is little fat left. To make significant budget cuts this year would mean cutting into muscle.”
The tax increase Dean is proposing would reportedly generate about $100 million in new annual revenue.
WTVF-TV reports homeowners would pay an extra $192 per year on a median home price of $145,400.
Dean says it would allow the city to give 95 percent of Metro workers a 4 percent salary increase. He also proposed hiring 100 new teachers and adding two new non-traditional schools.