TRANSIT PLAN ON BALLOT
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LIPSCOMB, MNPS AGREEMENT
JUNE 13, 2024 | VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 23
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Council considers cost of living adjustment for Metro employees
Body hears from affordable housing fund critics, youth seeking community safety funding during budget discussion BY NICOLLE S. PRAINO
An’Raya Hayes speaks during a vigil for her brother Aayden Hayes.
PHOTOS: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Community members mourn the death of Aayden Hayes
The 13-year-old was shot and killed in Bellevue by another teenager on May 29 BY KELSEY BEYELER Holding candles and purple and blue balloons, hundreds of people gathered in Bellevue’s Red Caboose Park Wednesday evening to honor the life of 13-year-old Aayden Hayes, who was shot and killed at the park on May 29 during a fight between two groups of teenagers. On Wednesday, candles were laid out in the spot where he was killed. Hayes’ 16-year-old sister An’Raya was also shot and wounded that night. Fifteen-year-old De’Anthony Osasosifo is being charged with criminal homicide and attempted criminal homicide in connection
with the shooting. “Aayden — if it wasn’t for him, I really wouldn’t be standing here right now,” said An’Raya. “I think about that day every day, every night before I go to sleep. It is hard. … And I’m trying to do this for him, because I know this is what he would want me to do. And I’m trying to live for him and keep his name, so everybody knows that he died for a purpose.” An’Raya was one of several people who spoke Wednesday night. Loved ones shared stories about Aayden, including a young
boy who talked about how he and Hayes would play and tell stories together. Aayden’s mother Hope Leach talked about how sweet her young teenager was, and how he would always give her a hug and a kiss before and after school. “He just brought so much joy to our lives, and he was his sisters’ keeper, he loved his sisters,” said Leach. “If you messed with his sisters, he’d be right there to defend them even though he was the baby. His brother told him ‘take care of his sisters,’ and that’s what he did.” >> PAGE 2
Metro Council held a public hearing on the operating budget at its meeting Tuesday night, with a 3.5 percent cost of living adjustment for Metro employees one of the key topics discussed. Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s proposed budget includes the 3.5 percent COLA (cost of living adjustment) increase. In contrast, the local chapter of the Service Employees International Union is seeking a 5 percent COLA so as to keep up with the current inflation rate of about 3.4 percent (down from about 4.9 percent this time in 2023). Alexandria Danner, the SEIU Local 205 official representing Metro employees, said 3.5 percent falls short of the Civil Service Commission’s recommended 4 percent and would fail to maintain pace with inflation levels and the increase in the cost of housing in Nashville. “Asking us to accept a 3.5 percent COLA is asking every Metro and MNPS employee and their families to accept a pay cut. We cannot keep chasing inflation,” Danner said. “We cannot hope to continue to grow as a city if we are not providing for the people that keep the city running.” During the public hearing, which lasted about three hours, citizens spoke on issues such as Metro employee wage increases, community safety initiatives >> PAGE 3
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