The TDZ Tussle

Nashville’s tourism development zone becomes latest battleground in State-Metro power struggle.

From Megan Podsiedlik

Metro Council is currently mulling over an intergovernmental agreement to comply with new state law regarding Nashville’s Tourism Development Zone. TDZs are designed to allow a tourism area to keep a percentage of taxes that would normally be due to the state and local governments. A designated local governing body then reinvests that money back into the tourist area to promote economic growth.

Nashville’s TDZ was originally created to help finance the construction and maintenance of the Music City Center. Since then, taxes from the large downtown zone have been directed to the Convention Center Authority to primarily pay debt service on the facility’s bonds, support related capital costs, and cover operating shortfalls if needed.

Nashville’s TDZ was scheduled to expire around 2033, but Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton helped lead a push to extend the tax capture and redirect $300 million of the $600 million tax surplus from Nashville's TDZ to help fund infrastructure and capital projects in the East Bank.

A Tax Zone Walks Into a Power Struggle… While the state's new changes provide funding to help develop the East Bank and fund a convention center expansion, they also reshape the Convention Center Authority’s power structure, giving the state greater influence over its governance. During this week’s Council Ad Hoc East Bank Committee meeting, several council members pushed back against the agreement over concerns about Metro giving up future tax revenue and decision-making power for decades without enough clarity on the financial tradeoffs.

Council members are crying foul, but the rift didn’t emerge overnight—it traces back to the creation of the East Bank Authority.

Mendes dupes the state Last August, Speaker Sexton, who sits on the East Bank Development Authority Board, questioned whether the Authority truly had any power of its own. Early discussions made it clear that Metro would retain control over negotiating East Bank land contracts until the Authority became financially self-sustaining. But the Authority cannot generate revenue until the area is developed—a catch-22 that frustrated Sexton and fueled broader concerns over the arrangement.

At the time, Sexton criticized Mayor O’Connell’s Chief Development Officer, Bob Mendes, who helped structure the East Bank Authority agreement, arguing it had “tied the hands of this board so we have no funds.”

Sexton went to work By the following spring, the state passed new TDZ legislation which provides the East Bank with a funding source. Ultimately, it will accelerate the Authority’s ability to unlock its power.

Despite the fact that the council really can’t do anything about the new structure of the TDZ or how the restructured Convention Center Authority spends the tax capture, the council deferred a vote on the intergovernmental agreement during last week’s meeting and the East Bank Ad Hoc committee voted to defer the resolution on Tuesday. It’s unclear what will happen if Metro refuses to move forward, but it will likely come with a legal fee.

✹ AUGUST PAMPHLETEER EVENTS

Two Opportunities to Mix and Mingle. In addition to our regular, third Thursday get-together with special guest Scott Greer who is here to talk about his new book Whitepill, we're partnering with children's book publisher Chapter House to host a Mom's Night Out in support of their new line of high-quality children's classics.

For the Whitepilled event with Scott Greer, the first 50 guests to RSVP with code PILLED will receive free admittance. RSVP here.

HEADLINES

• 🚨 New study ranks Nashville, Memphis among least-safe large U.S. cities. A new study ranked Nashville as the 76th-safest large U.S. city and Memphis 83rd (last) among the 83 large cities analyzed. The rankings were based on factors including violent crime, property crime, traffic fatalities, financial safety, and natural disaster risk. (WSMV)
• ☎️ Ex-Metro legal chief warns Metro-state relationship is in a perilous place. Former Metro Law Director Wally Dietz said the relationship between Nashville's Metro government and Tennessee state leaders has deteriorated significantly after years of legislative clashes. Dietz warned that continued political conflict could make it harder for Metro to govern effectively and urged leaders to find ways to rebuild trust. (NBJ)
• 🚰 Metro Water considers disciplinary action against assistant director under federal investigation. The Metro Water Services Board is considering disciplinary action against Assistant Director John Honeysucker, who has been on administrative leave since federal authorities executed a search warrant connected to an ongoing investigation. Metro officials have not disclosed the nature of the investigation, and no criminal charges have been announced. Sources have described Metro as a "victim" of the alleged wrongdoing being investigated. (Banner)
• ✂️  Immigration TN The Trump administration has ended Temporary Protected Status for several groups of immigrants, affecting thousands of Tennessee residents who could lose their authorization to live and work in the U.S. In related news, Mid-South Immigration Advocates has ended its federally funded program that was providing legal representation to unaccompanied immigrant children in Nashville and Memphis due to funding cuts.

✹ SHITTY, SHITTY BANG, BANG

The ninth installment in Tales from the Westside.

From Rachel Gladstone

A friend of mine lives at the top of a hill in a house that has views of downtown. But unlike the modern structures that have begun to populate Sylvan Heights, her house was built in the 1940s and has stood the test of time. Fitted into the hillside, it fronts a narrow, dead-end street that’s perpetually filled with cars, and this makes it a bitch to navigate, especially when you need to turn around.

It was a typical Saturday night in July; even at 10:00 p.m. the temperatures lingered in the mid-80s, and the humidity was so intense it felt like my entire body was being waterboarded. All that stood between us and the steam bath outside was the air conditioning in my car and as I pulled into her driveway, I could feel my friends’ hesitation to exit the vehicle.

Thanking me for the ride, she stepped out into the soggiest air on earth and promptly screamed, “Oh my God! That house is on fire!”

“What?” I yelled. Jumping out of the car, I saw it; the house directly across the street was being devoured by a rapidly spreading inferno.

✹ PROPERTY TAX CALCULATOR

What Moved Your Bill? Use our handy new tool to see what contributed to your property tax bill increase: the reappraisal or the rate hike. (Try It Out)

DEVELOPMENT

• Mike Huff to lease his Wilson Pike Circle building to local business Nashville Farmers' Storehouse (Post)
• Spring 2027 opening eyed for Green Hills Epice (Post)
• Oregon cereal maker eyes 237 Wilson County jobs (Post)

✹ 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)

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

🎸 Train @ Ascend Amphitheater, 6p, $37+, Info

🪕 Vince Gill @ Ryman Auditorium, 7p, $180, Info

🎸 Dolly Parton's Threads: My Songs in Symphony @ Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 6p, $69+, Info

🎸 Country Club Day ft. The Cowpokes @ Acme Feed & Seed, 12:30p, Free, Info

🎸 Kelley's Heroes @ Robert's Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info

SATURDAY

🪕 Bob Dylan w/ Lucinda Williams @ Ascend Amphitheater, 7p, $124, Info

🎸 Moonlight Mile w/ Josh Thompson & The Resurgence @ The Basement, 7p, $12.85, Info
+ Appalachian alt country

🪕 Vince Gill @ Ryman Auditorium, 7p, $172, Info

💀 Jerry Garcia’s 84th Birthday Celebration @ The Basement East, 8p, $27.32, Info
+ feat. members of Los Colognes, Futurebirds, Tin Roof Cats, Kevin Gordon, JD Simo, Lilly Winwood, Mike Lawson & more

🪕 Newfound Road @ Station Inn, 9p, $25, Info

💀 Jerry Day @ Skinny Dennis, 12p, Free, Info
+ feat. The Stolen Faces & DJ Z

🎸 Kelley's Heroes @ Robert's Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info

SUNDAY

🎸 Wasp Eater @ The East Room, 8p, $15.42, Info
+ Ambient indie folk from Nashville

🎸 Cimarron 615 with Abigayle Oakley @ 3rd and Lindsley, 7p, $18.44, Info
+ cajun rock

🪕 Bluegrass Jam @ Station Inn, 7p, Free, Info
+ a night for musicians and singers from all over the world to gather and enjoy making music together

🪕 Sundays Between with Easy Green @ Tennessee Brew Works, 1p, Info
+ a fusion of two beloved musical genres – Bluegrass and the iconic sounds of the Grateful Dead!

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.

Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik, and Camelia Brennan.