At one of the last forums for the mayoral candidates before next week’s Metro election, the five major contenders were asked detailed questions regarding city finances at a luncheon with the Exchange Club of Nashville today.
Metro voters passed a charter amendment last fall that requires any property tax hike to be approved by voters, and that means a tax increase may not be a possibility for the next mayor.
The candidate say a stagnant funding stream will affect negotiations with Metro employees like police and firefighters. They’re in the third year of a multi-year pay plan and candidate Howard Gentry says the next mayor will have to negotiate a new memorandum of understanding with employees.
“I would really rather do multi-year but the fact is that I have to be realistic and know that the tax payers might not approve that, a tax increase anytime soon, and we still have to move forward as a government.”
Candidate Buck Dozier says the multi-year pay plans aren’t as important as having open and honest negotiations.
In a departure from the cordial demeanor of most of the forums, Candidate Bob Clement took a jab at Karl Dean in the last answer period. Clement says he’s raised all of his money, referring to the 370-thousand dollars of family funds Dean loaned and donated to his campaign.
The last financial disclosure before the general election is due Thursday.
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