Last Night at Metro Council: A Lesson in Shadowboxing With Surveillance Technology

Half of last night’s Metro Council meeting was spent deliberating over the memorandum of understanding between Metro and the Nashville Downtown Partnership (NDP) that outlines how a $15 million state safety grant will be used in Nashville. The MOU mentions surveillance technology and has attracted opposition. Though the funds will be allocated to the NDP regardless of whether the Council establishes an MOU or not, the body decided to postpone their vote until January.

Important background information: NDP doesn’t need Council’s approval and will receive the funds regardless of whether Metro gains any oversight through an MOU. Pursuant to information delivered to the Council from the Mayor’s Office, the state has already awarded the grant funds to NDP, and the funds are expected to be received by the end of the calendar year.

Before deferring the vote, many members threw in their two cents during discussion. “Y'all, this is about whether we want a say in this, or if we just say, ‘You know what, we're going to let the Downtown Partnership do whatever they want with this money,’” said Councilmember Jordan Huffman, who reminded his colleagues that delaying the vote on the MOU does nothing but limit Council’s oversight.

Councilmember Delishia Porterfield said that she “wholeheartedly” believes that "the intent was for this to be a trust-building thing,” but “that is not the way that it is being perceived and being received by the people.”

Nashville’s “most progressive council” wants it both ways:

Councilmember Jeff Eslick pointed out the hypocrisy among council members:

I find it very rich that I keep hearing we can't break the public trust through this resolution…. We've been working over the past month on four up-zone bills that had way more people opposed to it than this, but we do not seem to give their voices very much merit or very much weight.

Eslick continued by condemning the fact that certain council members are willing to consider the voices of those in opposition to the MOU in the name of public trust while completely dismissing those who have pushed back against zoning. Later, Porterfield tried to flip the script on Eslick:

I would hope that there is not any type of inference that any group of people are more important than any other group of people when our constituents are coming out here saying that they have concerns about this legislation. I would hope that that was not the intent of my colleague.

Delaying an MOU that doesn’t even matter anymore:

The resolution will be heard next month, but it’s uncertain whether the MOU will still be applicable. According to the Mayor’s Office, the NDP is expected to donate most of the grant funds or items purchased with those funds to Metro subject to future Council approval. Should Metro acquire any surveillance technology from NDP, a public hearing will be required.