Music City Shakedown

Last night’s Metro Council meeting began with a history lesson. On April Fools’ Day 1963, Nashville became the first city in the country to consolidate and form a metropolitan government. “Why did they pick that day?” Vice Mayor Angie Henderson jokingly asked from the podium. On that day, forty members were inaugurated, making Nashville’s council one of the largest in the nation. Ironically, the battle over the state’s legislation to shrink the council continues.

The remainder of the meeting was hardly a joking matter. The council took on a controversial resolution that would award Nashville General Hospital’s ex-CEO, Joseph Webb, nearly $900,000. Though Webb’s blemished tenure and rocky departure left many council members with a bad taste in their mouths, they ultimately took the advice of Metro Law to settle with him over disputed retirement benefits. Yes, you read that right. They took Metro Law’s advice. 

In the past, the body’s reluctance to listen to Legal has cost Nashville taxpayers a pretty penny. You may recall when the council refused to settle with former Nashville Fire Captain Tracy Turner over his anti-BLM posts on Facebook, resulting in a nearly $1.8 million payout that could have been $105,000. Though it’s unclear if they’ve actually learned from their mistakes, the council took their time deliberating over Webb’s settlement. 

Out of the gate, Councilmember Delishia Porterfield spoke in support of Metro Law Director Wallace Dietz during last night’s discussion. “One question that came up was, ‘If we do not approve this, then what could potentially happen?’” she posed to her colleagues. “What could happen is that we could owe out more money if we do not approve this today.”

Councilmember Courtney Johnston initially took a different stance. “This gives me such heartburn, and I don't like going against the Department of Law because we've seen what happened very recently when we did that with Mr. Turner,” she said. “However, this Metro General Hospital has had a history of mismanagement, and it's extremely unfortunate because of the people that do depend on that hospital.”

There were two main sticking points for those who opposed the settlement. One: Why would Nashville reward an ousted hospital CEO with nearly a million dollars? Two: Why was Metro retroactively paying Webb’s retirement benefits? As it turns out, it comes down to incompetence. 

In 2020, the Hospital Authority Board unanimously voted to give Dr. Webb a retirement package that included back pay for his previous years as the hospital’s CEO (dating back to 2015). He never received the back pay and threatened to sue Metro long before stepping down from his position. 

“Look, this situation is suboptimal at a minimum, but we are where we are,” Dietz told the council. “We have a board that voted for this. It was not funded.” The Director also explained that he saw an opportunity to use Webb’s settlement to ensure his clean exit. 

“Part of the negotiated settlement was that Dr. Webb agreed to leave on March 14th in order to permit Metro, the Hospital Authority, this body, everybody, to turn the page and move forward with the planning for the next stage of the hospital,” Dietz told the council. In addition, Webb also agreed that he wouldn’t file any other lawsuits against Metro if he received the settlement.

After 30 minutes of back and forth, an overwhelming majority decided to award the back pay. Even Johnston changed her tune after the exhaustive floor discussion, which left the council contemplating why Metro boards and authorities have the power to award such benefits without running it by Metro Finance. “I know that I've swayed some people to a no, I'm going to change my vote to a yes,” Johnston said. “I don't want to put the city in a situation where we open ourselves up to further litigation. I do want to just be rid of this, but I'm glad that several of us are on the record saying that we don't like this at all, that none of this feels good, but our obligation is to the taxpayer.” MEGAN PODSIEDLIK

🖋️ Edited by Megan Podsiedlik.

🎓 Who Gets Schooled ​A Tennessee Senate bill would allow public school districts to charge tuition to or exclude undocumented K–12 students. Lawmakers backing the bill argue it's about reducing costs, particularly for English Language Learner programs.

In Metro Nashville Public Schools, multilingual learners now make up nearly 30% of the district’s students—up from 16 percent a decade ago—about 80 percent of whom speak Spanish as their first language. For example, at Edison Elementary in Antioch, Hispanic and Latino students now make up half the school—up from about 25–30 percent just a few years ago. Of those students, roughly 85 percent are multilingual learners. MNPS does not collect data on the immigration status of students.

Critics say the bill falsely equates English learners with undocumented status and warn it violates the 1982 Supreme Court decision Plyler v. Doe, which guarantees public education for all children regardless of immigration status.

The Senate Finance Committee approved the bill on Monday, advancing it to the full Senate for consideration. The House version of the bill differs, offering schools the option—rather than the mandate—to check student immigration status, exclude children, or charge tuition. If the Senate passes its version, the two chambers must reconcile these differences before the bill can proceed to the governor for signature.​

🚜 Farmland Easements It looks like the governor’s Farmland Conservation Act may cross the finish line during this year’s General Assembly. The bill, which would set up a farmland preservation fund, has already passed in the Senate. It also seems to be breezing through the House, though some are still wary about the implications of the legislation.

If passed, farmers who want to apply for the grant money would have to enroll their land in a permanent conservation easement controlled by a nonprofit. During yesterday’s House Ag Committee meeting, a number of representatives asked whether there may be strings attached when it comes to working with NGOs. The governor’s senior legislative liaison, Alex Lewis, assured the committee that farmers will be the priority. 

“So you believe, based on number five on the last page of this bill, that a farmer, landowner, can do absolutely anything he wants to, any way he wants to, even when technology changes or even if the conservation purpose of the land trust might even include the words ‘protection of natural habitat’ when that comes into conflict with with the landowner?” asked Representative Bud Hulsey (R-Kingsport).

“Yes, I think the law that you all pass, should you pass this law, would trump the contract,” said Lewis. “So, as long as the farmer or forester is doing agriculture as defined in law or forestry as defined in law, that operation, the forester or the farmers ability to do that, would trump the contract.”

WHERE DO FEDERAL FUNDS GO?

DEVELOPMENT

• Franklin IRS Office Listed for Sale after DOGE Cancels Lease (Scene)
• Michelin-star chef, skateboarder to bring Jelly Roll's favorite burger joint to Nashville (Tennessean)
• Kid Rock owned Joe Muer Seafood rebranding as The Detroit Cowboy (NBJ)
• Edgehill Village under contract to sell for around $50 million (NBJ)
• Texas BBQ restaurant owner buys in Germantown (Post)

THINGS TO DO

View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown 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

🪕 Buddy Green, Jeff Taylor & Friends @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info

🪕 The Asheville Mountain Boys @ Dee's Lounge, 6p, $5, Info

🎸 Zac Brown Band @ The Pinnacle, 7p, $87+, Info

🪕 Bluegrass Night @ The American Legion Post 82, 7p, Free, Info

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.

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