Nashville Mayor Karl Dean’s budget proposal outlined last week minimizes cuts by leaning more heavily on the fund set up to pay for a new downtown convention center.
The hotel occupancy tax has been used in recent years primarily to fund operation of the Sommet Center but also for the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Adventure Science Center.
They will continue to get a share of the projected $14 million under the mayor’s plan. But new this year is an additional $900,000 for the Metro Transit Authority and $850,000 to pay police officers overtime for working special events.
Metro Finance Director Rich Riebeling tells reporters every item funded through the hotel/motel tax will be shifted to other parts of the budget starting next year.
RIEBELING: “You know, the money was set aside for the convention center. Everybody had agreed to that. It’s just that, when there’s free money, people just kind of borrowed it for other purposes.”
REPORTER: “Including yourself, right?”
RIEBELING: “Guilty as charged, but I’ve made it clear that it’s going to stop next year.”
The two-cent hotel/motel tax was designed to pay for construction of a new downtown convention center. Mayor Dean has pledged not to use property taxes to finance the building.
WEB EXTRA:
Mayor Dean’s FY2010 proposal for using the Metro hotel/motel tax:
Convention Center – $631,900
Sommet Center – $7,351,500
Municipal Auditorium – $668,400
Farmers Market – $119,700
Regional Transit Authority – $1,164,900
Metro Transit Authority – $1,400,000
Sister Cities – $40,000
Partnership 2010 – $300,000
Nashville Sports Council – $100,000
Adventure Science Center – $200,000
Country Music Hall of Fame – $150,000
Opryland Tourist Development Zone – $399,600
Arts Commission – $100,000
Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau Promotion – $425,000
Historical Commission Conference – $25,000
Police – Special Events Overtime – $850,000
See what the convention center fund went toward last year.
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