Mayday, mayday! Legislature's revision of Nashville's governance comes at a cost | Opinion

• Bill Bradley, who lives in Nashville, worked for the state of Tennessee for 39 years, including 14 years as director of the Division of Budget, Dept. of Finance and Administration.

“First of all, somebody had to send this stuff to the FAA to stop this [state takeover of the Nashville Airport] or slow this down.  I find it strange.” — Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority board member Bobby Joslin, The Tennessean, April 13, 2023.

Just so you know, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hears things. I know. I once had a direct line to the FAA.  When that landline rang, one had reason to worry. 

I’ve been as vocal as possible in Nashville about the big mistake the General Assembly has made in the takeover of the Metro Nashville Airport Authority, a 53-year-old, successful agency of the metropolitan government of Nashville and Davidson County.

Both the board of commissioners and the General Assembly ignored guidance to notify the FAA in advance of considering legislation changing airport governance.  Apparently, neither understood the governance change.  But this particular board member is not concerned about that mistake.  He is concerned that someone did report to the FAA what is happening. I find that strange.

Tinkering with local government comes with consequences

The instrument of the takeover is legislation dismissing the current board and giving a vast voting majority to appointees of state officials, rather than the mayor.  Apparently, no legislator understood, when the bill was introduced, that the state takeover of board appointments would detach the airport authority from its creating local government and attach it as a component unit of state government, under governmental accounting standards.  And the state will become financially accountable for the agency.

The airport take-over bill is one of several violating the home-rule principles that have protected Metro government from state overreach since the consolidation of Nashville and Davidson County governments in 1963.  The first bill cleared for takeoff, now sort of a law, attempted to down-size the Metro Nashville-Davidson County Council from 40 to 20 members on short notice, but now is in a holding pattern till after the August 2023 election because of a chancery court injunction.

The General Assembly also approved the near takeover of the Nashville Sports Authority board and revised the governance of the Nashville Convention Center Authority program, which operates the Music City Center and has funded other tourism-related activities.

The convention center bill sets up the state commissioner of finance and administration as a czar over the Nashville agency’s capital outlay program, if it exceeds $25 million in any year, giving him veto-power over decisions of the local board members.  In effect, he becomes a one-man local government board on a modest capital outlay program.  His veto power is stronger than the governor’s, for there is no over-ride process.  This is an extraordinary instance of a state official taking over a function of a well-run local government agency. 

Restore decent state-local relations

The legislature is leaving a slim, one-vote majority to the mayor’s appointees on the Sports Authority board.  This is particularly ill timed, with a final vote of the Metro council on the Titans stadium deal pending as the bill was enacted, as well as council decisions on the fairgrounds racetrack.

Anger got the best of the legislative majority — anger over the Metro Nashville council decision not to apply for the 2024 Republication National Convention.  As many adults learn, anger is not a good state of mind for decision-making and especially for meting out punishment. 

Gov. Bill Lee has signed all three bills into law: the sports authority, convention center and airport authority measures.

Here's where we are, but somebody needs to take a first step to restoring decent state-local government relations in the Tennessee's capital city.

Bill Bradley, who lives in Nashville, worked for the state of Tennessee for 39 years, including 14 years as director of the Division of Budget, Dept. of Finance and Administration.  Earlier, he was an air traffic controller in the U.S. Air Force.