Budget Sub Serves Housing
Good afternoon, everyone. The council will vote on its substitute operating budget during tonight's meeting... OPINION: There's a Better Way to Lower Drug Prices Than Price Controls... What do we do with the drunks?... And much more!
This Week: The Rise of Spencer Pratt Join us this Thursday, June 18th, for a conversation with filmmaker Gabriel Mann on his work with Spencer Pratt and what's gone into his wildly successful campaign. (Buy Ticket)
New TN U.S. Congressional District lookup Use your address to find your new district here.
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Metro Council will be voting on its substitute budget during tonight’s meeting.
From Megan Podsiedlik
This morning, Mayor Freddie O’Connell released a rundown of legislation from his administration that he hopes the council will advance.
Along with championing his proposed operating budget, O’Connell encouraged the council to pass the resolution to reduce the grocery tax and his legislation bringing the Office of Entertainment under the purview of the mayor’s office on its first of three readings.
Council's Budget This year’s main council substitute filed by Budget Chair Kyonzté Toombs largely keeps Mayor O'Connell's overall spending plan intact. Most of the reallocations shovel more money toward housing, social services, and community programs.
The biggest changes include an additional $1 million to the Barnes Housing Trust Fund, a $2.1 million increase in Eviction Right to Counsel funding, additional support for homelessness services, and investment in more violence prevention and community safety initiatives.
The substitute budget also adds funding for the Public Defender's Office, Nashville After Zone Alliance (NAZA) youth programs, the Metro Action Commission, the Nashville Food Project, CASA, maternal health and doula services, and other community-based programs. It also increases funding for Metro employee compensation compared to the mayor's original proposal.
MNPS Audit If passed, the substitute includes $800,000 for an independent performance audit of Metro Nashville Public Schools. The initiative was sparked by Councilmember Jason Spain, who originally proposed to take one million dollars from MNPS’ budget to conduct a comprehensive operational and performance audit.
“The last time we did one of these was in 2015, and in that time our enrollment has dropped from around 86,000 students to around 81,000,” said Spain during a Budget and Finance work session three weeks ago. “Our budget has doubled from $750 million to $1.5 billion, and I just feel like it's borderline negligent that we haven't taken a comprehensive look at the department that we send over a third of our budget to on an annual basis without just making sure that that money is being spent correctly and that those programs have any kind of outcomes we want to see.”
You can follow along with the Pamphleteer’s user-friendly Council Watch Agenda starting at 6:30 p.m. tonight.
✹ THE RISE OF SPENCER PRATT
The Rise of Spencer Pratt Filmmaker Gabriel Mann, a California native who fled to Nashville in 2021 and made his name with the wildfire documentary Hotshots, has been behind the scenes for Spencer Pratt's improbable rise from reality-star-turned-aggrieved-homeowner after the Palisades fire destroyed his home to a competitive candidate in LA's mayoral race.
Mann witnessed Pratt's transformation firsthand, starting in the aftermath of the fires, and has produced every one of the groundbreaking campaign ads that've captured the nation. Join us Thursday, June 18, at Bungalow Studios for the inside story.
This event benefits The Pamphleteer, Nashville and is priced with that in mind. Bard-level subscribers receive free admittance.
✹ OPINION: There's a Better Way to Lower Drug Prices Than Price Controls
“Most Favored Nation” Price Fixing Proposal is the Wrong Solution to the Right Problem
The White House recently announced its “Great Healthcare Plan,” detailing how President Trump plans to lower drug prices for Americans by calling on Congress to codify his most-favored-nation (MFN) proposal for prescription medications.
The President is absolutely right that Americans are paying far too much for healthcare. However, importing European-style price controls is not the medicine patients actually need. There are other free-market reforms that can actually lower costs and broaden access without attacking the free market.
The White House and Congress are correct that it is far past time to take decisive action to bring healthcare costs down. However, the MFN proposal will only create a larger crisis for the very people it is meant to protect.
BLURBS
🍻 What do we do with the drunks? The council is set to vote on whether or not to allocate $1.6 million to a three-year pilot program for a Sobering and Stabilization Center in Nashville. Our previous coverage of Austin's sobering center covers all the details on what it would look like. Ashlyn Branscum, the Development and Communications Manager, told us that for every dollar they spend on the sobering center, they generate $1.45 in value by lightening the load on law enforcement. (Pamphleteer)
✹ METRO COUNCIL WATCH
New Council Watch Features We've added additional features to Council Watch. In addition to who's funding your council member, you can now see how they vote and who they vote with most frequently. (Take a Look)
HEADLINES
- 🇺🇸 Visit Music City reveals lineup for 2026 Let Freedom Sing! Music City’s free two-day event take place July 3-4 in downtown and features over 30 artists across five stages. This year, headliners include The All-American Rejects, Boyz II Men, Brothers Osborne, Clint Black, Lauren Daigle, NE-YO, Nick Jonas, and Sublime. (NewsChannel 5)
🌲 Cute but not so cuddly, armadillos are making their way north. Nine-banded armadillos are expanding their range northward into Kentucky and surrounding states like Tennessee. The animals are driven by warming temperatures, as evidenced by recent sightings in Bernheim Forest. They dig burrows, eat insects, and pose minimal invasive risk but can carry leprosy—though transmission risk is low with basic precautions. (WPLN)
DEVELOPMENT
- 36-Story Office Tower Progresses At Nashville Yards (Now Next)
- Popular burger spot eyes former Porter Road Butcher space (NBJ)
- SoBro parcel once eyed for shipping container project listed for sale (Post)
- Downtown Code DRC OKs high-profile project proposals (Post)
- Burger Up to close in 12South after 16 years amid neighborhood turnover (NBJ)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🎻 Dolly Parton's Threads: My Songs in Symphony @ Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 6p, $49, Info
🪕 The Borrowed Mules @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info
🎸 Dailey & Vincent @ Ryman Auditorium, 7p, $59+, Info
🎸 Twang Tuesday @ Acme Feed and Seed, 7p, Free, Info
🎸 Honky Tonk Tuesday @ Eastside Bowl, 8p, $10, Info
+ two-step lessons @ 7p, The Cowpokes @ 8p
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.
Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik, and Camelia Brennan