Blog

Starting The Conversation About Property Taxes

January 14, 2020 /
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Happy New Year everyone. Wishing you and your family the very best in 2020 and always. This blog is a harder one for me to write. The budget process is scheduled to start in a couple of weeks and after the chaos and fall-out from last year’s budget crisis, it is imperative that we are prepared as we head into this year’s budget season. In order to avoid another crisis, we need to have some…

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Conversation About Property Taxes Part II- Understanding the Imbalance

January 14, 2020 /
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There are two factors that affect the property tax that a resident pays. The first component is the value of the property and the second component is the tax rate. If your property value goes up and the tax rate goes up, your taxes will be high. If your property value goes down and the tax rate goes down, your taxes will go down. However, while residents may know if the value of their house…

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Fixing Metro’s Current Year Budget

December 12, 2019 /
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Since the comptroller’s visit and announcement that Metro’s budget would not be approved by the state, there has been an understandable amount of speculation and anxiety regarding the state of Metro’s finances. Many of you may be wondering, “What does this all mean? Will Metro shut down? Will the state takeover? How will Metro balance the budget in such short notice?” These are all valid and fair questions that I’ve attempted to shed light on below. …

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Council Member Trips- Who is Paying?

November 24, 2019 /
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Last week, we talked about budget and the current financial crisis that we are in. An important consideration in these types of times is transparency, especially given our obligation as council members to the public. It is important that the people know that all money spent is catered to improving the needs and services of our constituents. In this spirit, I wanted to comment on the idea of outside trips by council members and how…

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The Current State Of Metro Finances

November 18, 2019 /
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Given my background as a CPA, it is ironic that my first blog will be about city finances. By now, many of you have heard of the Comptroller’s visit to Metro Council last week and the ensuing conversation about Metro water rates and budget. Below is an excerpt from the presentation about the state of Metro General Fund. In summary, according to the Comptroller, Nashville is in a financial crisis. Many of you may be frustrated,…

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