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A resolution providing amendments to the Charter of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee, in accordance with Article 19, Section 19.01 thereof, and setting forth a brief description of each amendment to be placed upon the ballot.
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WHEREAS, Article 19, Section 19.02 of the Charter of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee provides that the Metropolitan Government shall not adopt a resolution proposing amendments to the Charter more often than twice during the term of office of members of the Metropolitan Council; and
WHEREAS, Article 19, Section 19.02 of the Charter further requires to be set forth in the adoption resolution a brief description of each amendment so worded so as to convey the meaning of said amendment and the text of the proposed amendment; and
WHEREAS, Article 19, Section 19.02 of the Charter further requires a statement of the financial impact of the proposed amendment; and
WHEREAS, it is the desire of the Metropolitan Council by adopting this resolution to fulfill these Charter requirements.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. Pursuant to the provisions of Article 19, Section 19.02 of the Charter of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, the proposed amendments to the Charter of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, attached hereto, are submitted to the people for approval in the manner provided by Section 19.04 of the Charter.
Section 2. The date prescribed for holding of the referendum election at which the electorate of the Metropolitan Government will vote to ratify or reject the amendments proposed in Section 1 of this Resolution shall be November 5, 2024.
Section 3. This Resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.
Agenda Analysis
Analysis
This resolution provides two potential amendments to the Metropolitan Charter, following action by the Metropolitan Council at its August 6, 2024, meeting. The Council then deferred this resolution to the January 20, 2026, meeting.
Pursuant to Metro Charter Section 19.02, prior to adopting the resolution, the Council must submit the resolution to the Charter Revision Commission for review. The Commission, acting in an advisory capacity, then has 30 days to review the resolution and provide recommendations to the Council, including whether the proposed amendments satisfy the requirements in the Charter. The Commission met on July 12, 2024, to review and provide recommendations for the proposed amendments. The Council is not required to follow the recommendations of the Charter Revision Commission when determining whether to submit a Charter amendment to the voters.
Each individual Charter Amendment must receive 27 affirmative votes in order to be made a part of the Charter Amendment Resolution, and the Charter Amendment Resolution itself must also receive 27 affirmative votes. Charter amendments and resolutions proposing Charter amendments do not require mayoral approval.
At the August 6, 2024, meeting, two proposed charter amendments (Amendment No. 1 and Amendment No. 4, as described below), received sufficient votes to be made part of the Charter Amendment Resolution. Amendment No. 2 was withdrawn, and Amendment No. 3 failed to receive sufficient votes to be placed on the Chater Amendment Resolution. The Council did not subsequently vote on the Charter Amendment Resolution itself and deferred the matter to the present meeting.
Amendment No. 1 (Weiner) proposes to amend Section 8.102 of the Metropolitan Charter to provide for a succession plan in the event that the director of finance is absent, or the office is vacant. The proposed amendment provides that, the absence of the director of finance or in the event of a vacancy in his or her office, the metropolitan treasurer would perform the duties of the director of finance until the director returns or the vacancy is filled.
The metropolitan treasurer is a specific position in the Department of Finance provided for in Section 8.106 of the Metropolitan Charter. The metropolitan treasurer is appointed for an indefinite term by the mayor, subject to the civil service provisions of the Charter. The metropolitan treasurer must “have at least five (5) years' experience in which the supervision of fiscal affairs or treasury management shall have been his or her major responsibility.”
An amendment to Amendment No. 1 was approved by the Metropolitan Council to expand the pool of positions for a potential interim appointment to include the budget officer and the chief accountant in addition to the metropolitan treasurer. All positions are currently provided for by Charter. Additionally, the amendment would require an interim finance director to be confirmed by the Metropolitan Council within 90 days of the mayoral appointment.
There is no significant fiscal impact for this amendment.
Amendment No. 2 (Weiner) proposed to amend Section 8.306 of the Metropolitan Charter to remove the requirement that Fire Department employees be U.S. citizens. As stated above, the proposed amendment was withdrawn on August 6, 2024.
Amendment No. 3 (Rutherford) proposed to amend Section 3.02 of the Metropolitan Charter to remove the requirement that councilmembers have attained the age of 25 at the beginning of their term in order to be eligible to serve as a councilmember. Instead, in order to be eligible to serve as a councilmember, a person would be required to be a qualified voter pursuant to Tennessee state law. The Council rejected this measure at its August 6, 2024 meeting, and did not place it on the Charter Amendment Resolution.
Amendment No. 4 (Toombs) proposes to amend Section 3.04 of the Metropolitan Charter to provide that no regular meeting of the Council may be held in the month of September. The current section of the Charter provides that the Council shall hold regular meetings only on the first and third Tuesday of each month and does not limit what months meetings may be held.
There is no significant fiscal impact for this amendment.
The Charter Revision Commission reviewed the proposed Charter Amendments at its July 12, 2024, meeting and made the following recommendations:
• The Commission unanimously recommended approval of Amendment No. 1 sponsored by Councilmember Weiner with a proposed amendment, and recommended disapproval of Amendment No. 1 without the amendment.
• The Commission unanimously recommended approval of Amendment No. 3 sponsored by Councilmember Rutherford.
• The Commission recommended disapproval of Amendment No. 4 sponsored by Councilmember Toombs.
• The Commission did not consider Amendment No. 2, with the understanding that this proposal would be withdrawn.
At its July 12, 2024, meeting, the Charter Revision Commission also recommended amendments to revise the Charter Amendments to be in a format consistent with the requirements of Charter Section 19.02(a). Amendments would be proposed consistent with the Commission’s recommendations.