Friday, March 30, 2007
Cut Them Loose and Let Them Come Up with Their Own Services
When satellite cities act like Metro owes them services, why does Metro continue to help them out? It is certainly their right not to incorporate into Metro, but it is not their right so sponge off Metro taxpayers because they choose not to raise the major revenues necessary for their own urban services. Metro can avoid the costs of these frivolous lawsuits by just denying satellite cities services that they should be providing themselves.
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If my understanding is corrext I dont think Metro can cut them off. While Berry Hill, Forrest Hills, etc. are satellite cities, they remain part of the county and as such are entitled to county services. The lawsuits seem to be over whether or not the county services are provided on an equiatable basis.
ReplyDeleteBut city and county consolidated in 1963. County services are Nashville services. It seems to be a distinction without a difference.
ReplyDeleteBut that is the point. City and County are one and the same, so Nashville cant deprive these cities of the services provided in the general services district.
ReplyDeleteBut these cities want it both ways. They want Metro services and autonomy from the Metro umbrella. When Davidson Co. was made of up wide-ranging towns that was realistic. Given that urbanization is everywhere now, why remain autonomous? It seems to me that they should consolidate themselves rather than remaining separate if they desire the same urban services.
ReplyDeleteAutonomy allows these communities to levy their own taxes and / or keep the local portion of taxes in order to provide additional services to their neighborhoods. This is seen most easily in the police forces maintained by Belle Meade, Berry Hill, and Goodlettsville. So the autonomy does provide benefits.
ReplyDeleteThe property owners in these cities pay metro property taxes as well as property taxes in their respective cities. That was the basis for the lawsuits. These cities are claiming that Metro does not give them their fair share of paving and so forth.
ReplyDeleteOf course we all know that there are two tax zones even in Metro Nashville. The USD and the GSD
That makes it sound like they pay double property taxes. I would be interested to see whether their tax burden is more for paying twice or whether they only pay a percentage to Metro.
ReplyDeleteThe GSD and the USD are categories that don't seem to make sense 40 years after consolidation and widespread urbanization.
The residents of these communities are Metro taxpayers and as such are not sponging off Metro taxpayers. The lawsuits are attempts to insure services are distributed fairly.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of Metro, the two tax rates (USD and GSD) were necessary to gain support from county residents who feared their taxes would rise without receiving urban services. I'm not sure, but I think there may still be some disparity between the services received in Salemtown versus Joelton, as an example.
I don't think there is desparity between Salem Town and Joelton simply because Salem Town pays a higher rate of taxes (USD) as opposed to Joelton (GSD)
ReplyDeleteJeolton does not get street lights, garbage pickup or increased level of fire protection.
The increased level of fire protection causes your home owners ins. raets to be less.
Hey Folks! Metro takes their property taxes....so they do owe them. If Metro let them keep their property taxes, Metro would be the big looser....that was the deal at the beginning, Metro would get the taxes in lieu of services. Metro has not kept their end of the bargain...so I believe they will in the end owe the small cities a big payday.
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