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Metro
Should Not Tax Residents
to Finance Corporations
To
the Editor:
This is a copy of a letter I sent
to all Metro Council members. I
would like the residents of the
1st District to know my point of
view on this issue and to see
that I am not afraid to voice my
or my constituent’s opinion
to the council.
---
July 7, 2007
To all Council-at-Large and
Council Members:
This is a letter voicing my
opinion and recommendation to you
as a concerned citizen of
Nashville and Davidson County.
On March 20, 2007, a dark cloud
of injustice hovered over the
courthouse in Nashville. On this
night the residents of Nashville
and Davidson County witnessed
their elected officials on
televised council meeting pass a
zoning ordinance into law that
did not then or now meet the
requirements of the S.P. Zoning
Ordinance law that was enacted by
this term of council. This
ordinance entailed 106.9 acres to
be rezoned to S.P. Ordinance for
Opryland Attractions, Inc. With
that already being passed please
do not violate the public’s
trust again by passing into law
Ordinance Nos.
BL2007-1555/BL2007-1556/BL2007-1557.
These ordinances all play a part
in issuing an $80 million bond to
Gaylord for an extension of THEIR
hotel and convention center.
Within the text of the ordinance
it states that Metro will require
some of the payment of the $80
million bond through increased
taxes. Whether these taxes are
paid through increased property
taxes or increased business taxes
is a very cloudy image to the
public. The true clear picture is
that if an $80 million expansion
and improvement of the Opryland
Hotel is done our Metro
Government will be owed and
required to collect these taxes
anyway as all businesses in Metro
pay property and business taxes
to the Metropolitan Government of
Nashville and Davidson County.
Furthermore, it is irrelevant
whether the $80 million FINANCE
bond is a loss, break-even point
or extremely profitable for our
Metro Government.
Metro is not and never should be
in the business of collecting
taxes from residents of Nashville
to be used for FINANCING any
private corporations regardless
of who they are. The business of
the Metro Government should be to
serve the people.
If this is such a win/win
situation as stated by J.B.
Loring on the 1st reading of this
ordinance in Council, why are
there not numerous Financial
Institutions or Mortgage and Loan
Companies competing for the
chance to fund this venture?
This $80 million bond is to
FINANCE 20% of an approximate
$400 million development for
Opryland. To do this for only
Gaylord and not furnish 20%
financing for all businesses in
Metro wanting to make an
extension of their business is a
clear case of discrimination
against other businesses.
I am not an advocate against
Gaylord. Gaylord has been a great
asset to Davidson County. But
they should not be treated any
differently than all others in
this county.
The complexity of this financing
ordinance should not be placed in
the hands of council members to
make a decision. It should be
placed in the hands of financial
institutions that deal with this
every day. This is their
business, not the business of
Metro Government.
I would like to ask 5 council
members to request a machine vote
before the vote so that the
constituents of those running for
re-election will have a clear
picture of where their candidates
stand. I would not make a request
of you that I would not be
willing to comply with myself. I
am also running for public office
like many of you. I am hoping the
people of the 1st District will
place their trust in me and vote
me into the next term of council.
I am putting in documented form
my stance of this issue. Anyone
receiving this letter are more
than welcome to show it to
whomever they wish, i.e. the
news, other Metro staff, Gaylord
executives, etc. I am willing to
do what is right and I am hoping
you will do the right thing when
you are confronted with this
decision. This is an issue that
will greatly affect all of
Nashville and Davidson County. If
I am elected into the Council,
there may be times when we do not
agree, but I can assure you that
you will always know where I
stand. The 1st District and
Davidson County are a true
concern of mine and that is the
reason I decided to run for 1st
District Council. This may be my
first time to run for public
office, but it is not my first
time to look at a business deal
and decide which side of the
fence I would rather stand on.
Since there will not be a public
hearing on this issue, PLEASE
have major discussions on this
before it comes time to make a
choice on the outcome. This will
be one of the most important
issues you are faced with during
this term. I know there is a code
of Councilmatic Courtesy, but
this should not fall under that
code.
If you would like to contact me
to discuss this issue, I can be
reached at:
347-3379 Cell
227-1993 Work
876-6220 Home
ken.jakes@comcast.net Email
Sincerely,
Kenneth L. Jakes
Joelton
---
If you would like to make a
contribution to the campaign fund
the check must be made payable to
the Kenneth L. Jakes Campaign
Committee and can be mailed to
5920 Clarksville Hwy. , Joelton,
TN 37080. You can also contact my
treasurer, Eva Hinshaw Soard at
474-4941.
Kenneth L. Jakes
Joelton
--July 8, 2007
This is an
opinion letter and the
views expressed are those
of the writer.
Joelton.com posts letters
to the editor as a
community service and is
not responsible for the
content.
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