SHELBY COMMONS
PREDATORS FLOUNDER
MAY 9, 2024 | VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 18
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Skrmetti sues Biden to protect ‘gun show loophole’ Tennessee AG joins firearms lobby against federal gun control BY ELI MOTYCKA
Mayor Freddie O’Connell
PHOTO BY HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Mayor proposes limited growth budget as revenue projections plateau In his first spending plan, O’Connell aims to ‘live within our means’ with $3.28B proposal BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT, NASHVILLE BANNER This story is a partnership between the Nashville Banner and The News. The Nashville Banner is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization focused on civic news. Visit nashvillebanner.com for more information. A few months after winning a crowded mayoral race, Mayor Freddie O’Connell continues his pivot to managing the city, faced with revenue forecasts that cannot be cured by campaign promises. On Wednesday, for the first time, he presented his annual budget proposal to the Metro Council. Taking into account projected flat revenue growth — a departure from recent cycles that saw yearly increases — the
administration is proposing a 2024-25 spending plan with few bells and whistles or major changes, as the Banner reported last month. The city is projecting $3.28 billion in revenue in the coming fiscal year (the current year’s budget is $3.22 billion). Now, the Metro Council has until the end of June to debate — and potentially change — the budget proposal. An official public hearing and community listening sessions are planned in the coming weeks. Among other line items, O’Connell proposes a 3.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment for Metro employees and asks city departments to find a collective 1.4 percent in savings for next year as the city
seeks to “live within our means,” said Metro budget officer Aaron Pratt. “As many of you know, this was a challenging budget cycle for many reasons,” O’Connell told the budget committee on Wednesday. “Our revenues are expected to be nearly the same as last year, so our spending will be nearly the same as well. This means we can’t accomplish everything we want in a single year, but we do some important things.” In April, Metro Human Resources recommended a 3.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for most Metro employees, in addition to a 3 percent merit raise for qualifying >> PAGE 2
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is suing the federal government over a rule change restricting gun sales between private parties. Tennessee joins 20 other states in the suit, which is aimed at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). New federal regulations that expand the scope of regulated gun sales will go into effect May 20. Under the rule change, an individual party engaged in a gun sale with the sole objective of “profit” — rather than the current stipulations of “livelihood and profit” — falls under ATF regulation for those “engaged in the business” of gun sales. The tweak would close the so-called “gun show loophole” by bringing private transactions under increased legal scrutiny. Skrmetti’s office has filed regular suits challenging moves by the federal government since taking office in 2022. Such farranging lawfare activism on topics like trans people playing sports and environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing has earned Skrmetti, a once-failed Republican candidate, prime airtime on Fox News and statewide attention within the GOP. Gov. Bill Lee has given his legal team — which recently built out a “strategic litigation unit” to support conservative activist suits — a $10 million budget bump this year. The Tennessee Firearms Association, a small activist group led by local attorney John Harris with a West End address, filed a similar challenge on May 1 alongside gun support lobbies in Virginia, Utah, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana. Both >> PAGE 2 Skrmetti and the TFA argue
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