The Metro Council will finalize the annual operating budget at our meeting on June 20, 2023. You can read my May 22 post about the Mayor’s proposed budget here. The substitute budget proposed by Budget and Finance Committee Chair Kevin Rhoten begins on page 487 of the Amendments Packet for our meeting tomorrow. Proposed amendments 1 through 23 begin at page 524 of the same amendments packet.

Here’s what I’m watching in the Mayor’s proposed FY2024 operating budget…

The Council will decide the FY23 operating budget on June 21. The Mayor proposed a $2.97 billion budget. The final approved budget will be slightly smaller at $2.95 or $2.96 billion. This post will give a roadmap for what Budget & Finance Committee Chair Burkley Allen has proposed in her substitute budget, what other Council members are proposing as amendments, and the major remaining issues.

Nashville’s annual operating budget process has started. I spent some time today looking over the proposed budget. I’ll share links to what I’m looking at and some early observations.

I had to be at a court hearing for a law client this morning and missed most of the State of Metro address. I’ve watched the whole thing now.

The current Mayor and Metro Council are creating a budget problem for the future. I’ve mentioned the issue several times during Council Budget & Finance Committee meetings. So far, I’ve failed to get the administration or my colleagues to see the issue or act on it.

There is game playing going on with the Mayor’s proposed $568 million capital spending plan. It’s intentional and disappointing. Let me walk you through what’s going on.

The Mayor’s Office announced on October 22, 2021, that it is proposing a $568 million capital spending plan for the current fiscal year.

Late on Friday, August 27, the Mayor sent an internal email appointing former Legal Director Saul Solomon to be the Interim Director of Finance effective September 7, 2021. I like Solomon very much as a person, a lawyer, and an administrator. But there are significant questions about whether he is qualified under the Metro Charter to hold the Director of Finance position even on an interim basis.

Mayor Cooper will deliver his State of Metro address on April 29 and he is required by the Charter to propose a budget by May 1. I’ll share with you what I’ll be looking for first in his budget.

Metro’s FY20 audited financials have been posted online. These are through June 30, 2020. Typically, the final audit is released in December. With all the crazy events of last year, it took a little longer this time. The audited financials package is 312 pages long. I’ll run through the main things I looked at in my first pass through the audit.

I am disappointed about how the budget turned out this year. I guess I'm glad for the debate. At least there now is a broad consensus that we will be right back in this same situation a year from now.