@startleseasily is a fervent observer of the Metro government's comings and goings. In this column, "On First Reading," she'll recap the bimonthly Metro Council meetings and provide her analysis. You can find her in the pew in the corner by the mic, ready to give public comment on whichever items stir her passions. Follow her on Twitter here.
On Tuesday night, Councilmember Angie Henderson delivered an invocation for the ages, and the Metro Council weighed in on the Vanderbilt-Humana negotiations and adopted a fund balance policy.
My Church
Each Metro Council meeting begins with an invocation. It’s typically performed by a religious figure, with councilmembers taking turns inviting a constituent of theirs to deliver it. I’ve always found it strange to be asked to bow my head and pray during a governmental meeting, so I appreciate it when invitees go light on the whole “summoning a deity to bless this body” thing.
On Tuesday, CM Angie Henderson blessed us with a barn burner. She invoked Dr. Bernice King, gave stark warnings about white supremacy, and urged colleagues to enact just and effective policies to counter hate.
During the monthly public comment period, Nashville artist and civic powerhouse Simone Boyd asked the council to “increase its sense of urgency on land use policy and housing.” She had me at “land use policy.” But she had the audience at, “The Titans fans and Nashville residents have something in common: We are tired of losing.” It’s hard to hear on the recording, but the public reaction — in both the gallery and on the council floor — was so pronounced I had trouble hearing her until people settled down.
Whatever congregation these women are leading, sign me up.
Medicare Disadvantage
In 2021, at the recommendation of Metro’s Human Resources Department and Employee Benefit Board, the council voted to move all Medicare-eligible retirees and their dependents to a single Medicare Advantage plan serviced by Humana. The move was hailed as a way to beef up benefits and cut costs, reducing a significant unfunded liability for Metro. At the time, some CMs expressed skepticism but were assured that retirees would not face disruptions in care.
Last week, Vanderbilt University Medical Center dropped a bombshell: as of April 1, Vanderbilt would no longer be accepting Humana Medicare Advantage plans. According to Metro HR director Shannon Hall, who presented an update to the council’s Public Health and Safety Committee, about 15 percent of Metro’s Medicare-eligible retirees use a Vanderbilt provider. Mayor John Cooper wrote a letter asking the two parties to come back to the negotiating table, and council followed suit with a similar resolution on Tuesday.
While Metro HR and the mayor’s office have explicitly decoupled the two situations in their messaging — the move to consolidate care, in their mind, was an unqualified good for the city and its employees — CM Kathleen Murphy disagrees. She views this as an issue of choice and believes that if retirees still had various coverage options, they could have chosen an insurance plan accepted by Vanderbilt. “I’m not taking sides on who is more right or more wrong,” Murphy says, referring to Humana and Vanderbilt, “but ignoring Metro limiting access to choice is wrong.”
CM Bob Nash, a Metro retiree himself, believes Metro should stay the course with what he calls a “robust plan.” His greatest concern now is for continuity of care. Ultimately, Nash says, “We expect these two major providers to get serious and work this out.”
Hard Choices
Legislating is, at its core, a series of hard choices. This is particularly true during budget season. Taking money from one department and giving it to another is hard. Raising taxes is hard. But we elect people to make those hard choices, with the hope that they’ll adopt a moral budget, one that reflects our city’s values and directs resources to where they are most needed.
Year after year, though, the Metro Council chooses to take the easy way out, raiding our fund balance — which operates like an emergency savings account — to fund important recurring operating expenses, like employee pay raises. It’s one of my biggest criticisms of the council.
At the insistence of CM At-Large Bob Mendes — who’s been talking about fund balance since way before it was cool — and Metro Finance Director Kelly Flannery, the council adopted a new set of fund balance reserve policies on Tuesday. These policies will limit their ability to tap into their emergency funds, ensuring that Metro is well-prepared for whatever shitstorm we have to weather next.
While the vote was unanimous, CM At-Large Zulfat Suara expressed concern that this could tie the council’s hands in future budget cycles, essentially forcing them to either raise taxes or move money in the budget to fund their priorities. And this, my friends, is the whole damn point. Council shouldn’t be using emergency funds as a way to avoid making hard choices.
A few folks didn’t believe me when I tweeted that Vice Mayor Jim Shulman has agreed to allow me to gavel in the next Metro Council meeting, on Feb. 7. This is not a drill! This is actually happening! Unfortunately, Scene house style prevents me from adding about seven additional exclamation points to my sentences or going caps lock on y’all. But I am truly thrilled!
