On June 21, the Metro Council voted to pass Nashville’s 2023 budget. The budget came in at a whopping $2.9 billion and will allow for a 4 percent cost-of-living increase for Metro Nashville Public Schools employees and additional raises for support staff. It will cover cost-of-living raises for Civil Service Commission staff and merit raises for Metro employees. It will add an $18 per hour minimum wage for full-time Metro positions and $20 million for affordable housing. Hundreds of new positions across Metro departments will be funded. The budget, though 12 percent larger than last year, featured one line item of particular interest to onlooking reporters — a deep cut once again into Metro’s annual contract with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Significant to me is that while listing the benefits of the overall 2023 budget, many headlines focused on the chamber’s portion of the budget being cut (again), this time by $98,700. That will shrink the chamber’s already all-time-low contract of $175,000 to a paltry $76,300 — by far the lowest amount on record for its annual contract with the city.
Originally standing at $350,000, the chamber’s budget was halved by Mayor John Cooper back in 2020. Though some took that as a move made due to COVID-19 and its impact, others found it indicative of the chamber’s performance under the leadership of president and CEO Ralph Schulz. The chamber’s membership had already been dwindling, the organization’s office space had been downsized, and the relationship between the chamber and the city was, as Councilmember At-Large Bob Mendes put it, “likely at a 50-year low.”
Adding insult to injury, and in a less-than-wise move in April, the chamber pushed legislation that would have eliminated power from the MNPS board, handing control over to the mayor. The less-than-wise part wasn’t simply pushing that legislation, but also doing so without discussing any of the plan with the mayor or councilmembers. Some members of the Metro Council were so annoyed that they vowed to defund the chamber and put the money into other areas of need. And they did. The money pulled from the chamber will be used for staffing Nashville’s housing division.
As one Tennessean headline read, “They bit the hand that feeds them” — a quote from Councilmember Russ Bradford, who said the chamber went “behind the backs” of the council and Cooper’s administration. Schulz says, “While perspectives differ at times, working together to advance the region’s economic prosperity is our top priority.” But seriously, did Schulz think the outcome would be any different than what it was? To pursue a matter like this without the mayor’s consent was just plain unwise and clearly lacked forethought.
The Nashville Business Journal reported that when it comes to the contract between city and chamber, the “significance is more about what the contracts have demonstrated to executives … that the city and the chamber are aligned and share a vision for growth.” Angelos Angelou, a site selector based in Austin, Texas, said he has seen what happens when a city and a chamber of commerce aren’t “on the same page.” “That relationship needs to be put back on track, and grow it. Otherwise, everybody loses.”
Mayor Cooper, for one, does not want Nashville to lose anything. He personally attended and spoke at the chamber’s recent board meeting to share his thoughts on all that’s been happening. He realizes the relationship between the city and the chamber has received “heightened attention” not only from members of the business community but from “site-selector consultants who lead corporate relocations and expansions.” The mayor reminded the chamber’s board members that he “takes a long-term view of their role in economic development” and believes continuing a collaborative relationship is in the best interest of Nashvillians.
The Metro Council should be praised for handling the ins and outs of another budget — it is not an easy task. I also applaud Mayor Cooper, who is bandaging “the bite” the chamber has taken from the hand that feeds it — in the interest of Nashvillians.
Bill Freeman
Bill Freeman is the owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus, the Nashville Post and Home Page Media Group in Williamson County.
