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A resolution calling for the Mayor’s Office and the Metropolitan Government to immediately resume the hiring process of the executive director for the Nashville Office of Entertainment.
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WHEREAS, the Nashville Office of Entertainment has creative offices within the Metropolitan Government have suffered severe neglect, due to a lack of substantial movement on the hiring of the office’s executive directors of both the Nashville Office of Entertainment and the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission (“Metro Arts”); and
WHEREAS, the Nashville Office of Music, Film and Entertainment was announced in 2022 by Mayor John Cooper and enacted into law by the Metropolitan Council in April 2023; and
WHEREAS, more than 120 people applied to serve as the executive director of the Nashville Office of Music, Film and Entertainment in December 2024, but no interviews or final hires have occurred; and
WHEREAS, the Nashville Office of Music, Film and Entertainment was renamed the Nashville Office of Entertainment through an ordinance passed by the Council in June 2025. The same ordinance removed any requirement that the Office’s executive director and staff be organized under the Mayor’s Office; and
WHEREAS, additional barriers have been placed in recent months towards the hiring of this executive director, including a change in hiring authority, a delay in creating the position within the Metropolitan Government’s payroll system, claims that the Nashville Office of Entertainment does not exist under law, and a failure to file necessary administration legislation to transfer the funds for the position to the Nashville Office of Entertainment; and
WHEREAS, the implementation of a new office involves the creation of said department in the Metropolitan Government’s payroll system, followed by a designation of a business unit number in order for staff to be paid. The administration must also present proposed legislation to transfer the funds into the department. Without these steps, the new executive director cannot be paid; and
WHEREAS, per the Mayor’s Office, the transfer of funding began the week of October 20, 2025, so the office creation process can be completed as the Nashville Entertainment Commission, in conjunction with the Department of Human Resources, can reopen the position and conduct candidate interviews after 10 months of delay; and
WHEREAS, the longer this process takes, the less time a new director will have to fully engage in the budget process set to begin in the coming months; and
WHEREAS, separately, Metro Arts has been without an executive director since May of 2024. Two interim directors have since led Metro Arts; and
WHEREAS, Metro Arts needs a full-time director with arts organization experience so that the department can heal, function, build back public trust and rebuild the staff; and
WHEREAS, since the departure of the previous executive director, public distrust of Metro Arts continues in the creative community, and grant award outcomes have not fully progressed towards equitable distribution; and
WHEREAS, Nashville is a creative city-“Music City”-and the Metropolitan Government should show that it is aware of the importance of that role and should make every effort to fill this vital role of executive director these two important jobs; and
WHEREAS, the administration should submit proposed legislation to transfer funding from the Mayor’s Office to the Nashville Office of Entertainment before the Metropolitan Council meeting of December 4, 2025, so the Nashville Entertainment Commission can resume the process of hiring an executive director no later than December 31, 2025. the Mayor’s Office, the Metropolitan Government and the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission should continue the processes to hire executive directors for both the Nashville Office of Entertainment and Metro Arts no later than December 31, 2025.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. That the Metropolitan Council hereby goes on record as urging the Mayor’s Office and the Metropolitan Government to submit an update on the creation of Nashville Office of Entertainment provide hiring plans to the Metropolitan Council regarding the executive director positions for the Nashville Office of Entertainment and the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission no later than December 1, 2025, so that the Nashville Entertainment Commission can reopen the position and begin filling the positions no later than December 31, 2025.
Section 2. This Resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.