Freddie O’Connell Profile picture
Dec 5, 2019 11 tweets 3 min read Read on X
I’ve spent the past 24 hours reflecting on yesterday’s announcement that the FY20 Barnes Fund allocation was being reduced by $4.5m.

I still think this is a problematic decision. Why?
First of all, this is the second time the Barnes Fund has been an early target of fiscal tightening.

With Barnes being our only tool in Metro right now that is effectively capitalizing #affordablehousing, we cannot leave the impression that this is reasonable.
Secondly, this isn’t just about the Barnes money. Of the two projects cut, we’re jeopardizing $30m in creative private funding sources that non-profits have worked hard to secure. In turn, this jeopardizes 100+ units.
Predictability matters to financiers, even in the non-profit and affordable housing sectors. It’s very likely that this is not the only funding round impacted by this week’s decision.
The #MetroCouncil cannot override the @NashFinance director’s impoundment decisions. Even so, what might they do instead?
I’m spitballing here, but a handful of options include:

* Temporarily suspend incentive payments for the remainder of FY20 up to $5m.
* Temporarily suspend availability of police overtime for custom services (effectively, security + traffic for downtown events).
* Go ahead and complete the proposal to sell our District Energy System. I’ve been on the board for 4 years. Without a strategic capitalization plan, we’re injuring our balance sheet, increasing construction costs, and decreasing energy efficiency in downtown.
I haven’t vetted these options (besides DES) for feasibility, but I’d still rather be creative and seek options that didn’t put at risk—perhaps for the long term—our non-profit capacity to generate affordable housing with public and private support.
Finally, it will be important to better understand where we go from here.

With demonstrated skepticism on inclusionary zoning, incentive grants, previous Barnes Fund allocations, and MDHA, how will this administration create and maintain #affordablehousing?
I represent a district that can accommodate and, to some extent, has comfort with density. I generally favor less restrictive zoning.

But public hearing after public hearing suggests that much of Nashville has experienced quite enough growth.
So where will we put the 30,000 units of #affordablehousing needed to restore equilibrium?

I’d be happy for the Barnes Fund to have capacity to build more long-term units in District 19. If we could afford it.

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More from @freddieoconnell

Dec 23, 2020
Like many Nashvillians, I just received this postcard reminding me of new water rates taking effect Jan 1, 2021.

The postcard implicates #MetroCouncil in approving this plan. That’s not the whole story, which is an important one.
#MetroCouncil actually serves as a local utility board for @NashvilleMWS, which has no separate independent board of directors. For _years_, MWS was informing mayors of increasing fiscal strain. And for years, mayors told them not to tell Council.
Meanwhile, @TNCOT was _also_ telling Nashville’s mayors about an increasingly severe issue with our utility’s finances. These messages _also_ never reached #MetroCouncil.

(We have since resolved this so this should not happen again.)
Read 14 tweets
Oct 4, 2020
4 years ago, at a @NOAH_Action meeting, I asked @DaronHall7 if this was possible. He entertained my question in good faith and asked for time to explore it, which he and his staff did very responsibly.

Today is a huge moment: we have ended private prisons in Nashville.
En route, we made sure that any future contracts would have improved transparency and monitoring and that #MetroCouncil would be empowered to review future private contracts.

nashville.gov/mc/ordinances/…
If you want to see how thoroughly @NashSheriff evaluated the transition process, they worked hard on a detailed report that assessed both cost and risk:

drive.google.com/file/d/1jP_Tue…
Read 6 tweets
Oct 1, 2020
With yesterday’s departure of Audra Ladd from the mayor’s office, following the departure of ECD director Jamari Brown in December, we effectively have no @Nashville_ECD.

This is truly troubling to me in the middle of a pandemic.
I’m here to tell you that the single biggest thing I hear from anxious Nashvillians about what they want right now is income. Which means work. Which means jobs.

Right now, we have no one focused on attracting, recruiting, and retaining jobs in Nashville.
There are industries that are thriving. Does it make sense to try to recruit a specific industry or company to Nashville right now that would be a good short-term and long-term fit? I wish we had someone doing the analysis to make that determination!
Read 11 tweets
Sep 30, 2020
Just grabbed my last-ever cup of @ZolliKoffee. Today’s their last day in business.

Zolli created a great space for community conversations, attached at the hip to @JackalopeBrew tap room.

Small businesses need more support than they’re getting. Image
I knew this post would be a little bit of a #COVID19 Rorschach test.

Zolli believes in public health leadership and was able to last longer with federal support.

His business was dependent on activities that are reduced without the lockdown: offices, hospitality.
We can’t decouple the public health risks of #COVID19 (which are real) from the economic impact.

It is possible to #OpenSafely. That is not the same as it being easy.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 21, 2020
Last week, our family decided, with full participation of our 9yo in the discussion, to return to school in person as soon as @MetroSchools offers it for 4th grade.

Why? A few reasons.
Principally, in a household with an evidence-based pediatrician, we’re attentive to the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation:

services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-…
The part in bold is this: “the AAP strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.”
Read 8 tweets
Sep 8, 2020
This #LaborDay, I’m thinking about Gustavo Enrique Ramirez, a 16yo who fell to his death on a Nashville construction site that lacked sufficient safety standards.
Over the past 5 years, we’ve had too many injuries and deaths on construction sites in Nashville, including in District 19. We can do better.
How do I know? Because last term, we passed the “Do Better” bill. Transparency, including safety records, with access to public dollars improves worker safety.

nashville.gov/mc/ordinances/…
Read 9 tweets

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