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Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
‘We do comply with the law': Nashville mayor responds to investigation into his office
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell responded Friday to Republicans' claims that the city put Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in danger by sharing their names in a recent report. That document detailed 35 immigration-related interactions between the Metro Nashville Police Department and federal agencies. Nashville criticized for sharing ICE interactions O'Connell said at press conference on Friday, May 30 that it was never the city's intent to make those names public. The information was included in a report created under an executive order that requires Metro employees to let the mayor's office know if they interact with ICE. According to O'Connell, as soon as the names were found, they were immediately scrubbed. 'We've had a training process, and I will say our Metro Nashville Police Department has been very effective in this. We will be reviewing not just how that information is recorded as it comes into publicly available processes, but also then what does get posted,' he explained. 'The interest here is just in transparency. It is not in obstruction or doing anything that would be considered harmful.' Some Republicans have accused O'Connell of putting ICE and Homeland Security Investigations agents in danger. They have also claimed the mayor misused federal money to stop immigration enforcement, but they haven't shared any evidence of that. Metro Nashville appears to quietly remove names from immigration report following GOP criticism O'Connell denied any wrongdoing, insisting no public funds were misused and that Metro has never interfered with ICE operations. 'Metro does not have any legal authority as it relates to immigration enforcement, and we do not impede federal law enforcement actions. In fact, we regularly partner with state and federal law enforcement agencies to take violent criminals off our streets,' O'Connell argued. 'This is the reality. We're very clear-eyed about our legal obligations, and we do comply with the law.' The Department of Homeland Security released a list on Thursday, May 29 of sanctuary jurisdictions 'that are deliberately obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws and endangering American citizens.' Nashville was included on that list, along with other major cities like Los Angeles, Denver, and Chicago, as well as Tennessee's Shelby County. However, if Nashville was a sanctuary city, it would be a felony under Tennessee law. 'An embarrassment': Tennessee House Republican reacts to Nashville's sanctuary city label by DHS O'Connell said Nashville does not follow sanctuary city policies: 'I'm puzzled about what criteria they used to include Nashville. As I said at the beginning, we are not and never have been a sanctuary city. If you look at the state law that defines a sanctuary city policy, there are six factors, and we do not and never have had a policy that violates any of those factors.' Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) posted on social media Friday that the federal investigation into the Nashville mayor's office, connected to this month's ICE operation, has begun. Ogles included a letter from two House committees demanding O'Connell turn over documents to Congress by June 12. O'Connell said his office would provide any requested documents to investigators. 'I am not particularly concerned. We're going to, again, respond appropriately to all inquiries, and we have been guided by a full understanding of state and federal law and will continue to be,' he concluded. Ogles claims federal investigation into Nashville mayor has begun U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) also announced Friday that she sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi formally requesting the U.S. Department of Justice launch an investigation into the actions of O'Connell and his office for 'attempting to undermine' President Donald Trump and ICE 'in their work to make Tennessee communities safer by arresting illegal aliens and getting dangerous criminals off the streets.' You can read Blackburn's full letter by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
MNPD could cut Entertainment District Unit if funding not approved
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said overall crime incidents have decreased, but one unit in the department could be let go if it doesn't get the funding. Drake spoke at the Metro Council budget meeting on Wednesday, May 21 to request funding for the department's Entertainment District Unit, which provides substations to places where there's lots of traffic, like The Gulch, Germantown, Broadway, and Five Points Hit-and-runs lead to renewed push for LPR cameras in Nashville The unit is currently underfunded at $4 million. Before requesting funding from the council, Metro police paid for the unit using salary savings, but that ends this year. Before the unit was created, several officers were pulled from neighborhoods to monitor the streets. According to Drake, the cost of pulling them from precincts was officers 'resigning in droves.' | READ MORE | Drake said keeping the unit alive is necessary to keep Nashville safe: 'Before we started the Entertainment District Unit, we were pulling officers from all over the city, so every precinct had to send one or two officers to work this assignment, and what that did was pull away from the neighborhoods to try to keep downtown safe.' Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell proposed a budget of $22.5 million for the department's fiscal year 2026 budget. Drake said if the department doesn't get additional funding, officials will look at reductions. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Yahoo
MNPD: Armed woman in custody after barricading herself in Madison restaurant
MADISON, Tenn. (WKRN) — Authorities blocked off a portion of Gallatin Pike North in Madison after a woman reportedly barricaded herself inside a restaurant. The Metro Nashville Police Department posted on social media platform X at 1:20 p.m. on Saturday, May 17 that a woman armed with a handgun barricaded herself inside a Captain D's restaurant in the 400 block of Gallatin Pike North. 📧 Have breaking news come to you: → Officials added that the woman was alone inside the restaurant and negotiators had arrived at the scene. Drivers were urged to seek alternate routes until the situation was resolved. ⏩ Then, just before 2 p.m., law enforcement announced the woman had walked out of the restaurant and was in custody. No additional details were released. 📲 Download the News 2 app to stay updated on the go.📧 Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox.💻 for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee. This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
‘What we want is a fair conversation': Concerns over the design process of East Bank Boulevard
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — As work continues along Nashville's East Bank, some think not every option for the main roadway through the development is getting a fair chance. In 2022, Metro released the 'Imagine East Bank Vision Plan,' which includes three alternatives for East Bank Boulevard — the main road through the project. A six-lane concept includes two lanes for cars in either direction and one bus lane in either direction with protected bike lanes, and there are two four-lane options included within the plan. APRIL | Civic design organization calls for 4-lane streets with protected bike lanes in East Bank Development At a Tuesday Vision Zero Advisory Committee, Katherine McDonnell — who chairs the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission — spoke up and said that she thinks leaders have favored the six-lane alternative over the four-lane options. McDonnell added that she previously served on the Vision Zero Advisory Committee, which studied 'high-injury networks' across Nashville, and finds the six-lane design too wide to align with Vision Zero's mission of reducing injuries and fatalities along Music City's roads. 'Why we're proposing to build a brand-new piece of our high-injury network in a brand-new neighborhood where we can build anything?' McDonnell said. '[It] really contradicts all the efforts that have been made until this point to go in the opposite direction in trying to reduce people from dying on our roadways.' Neighborhood News: Stories impacting your community | Read More 'This should not even be a finalized design at this point,' McDonnell said. 'There are three options on the table and I think what we want is a fair conversation around those three options.' The Nashville Mayor's Office sent News 2 a statement: 'The mayor's office doesn't build roads, so we don't have a position other than being supportive of a public comment process that has been ongoing for weeks. The East Bank team will take all shared feedback to create a database on the input. That work follows the remarkably robust public engagement process that informed the Imagine East Bank master plan.' Do you have news happening in your neighborhood? Let us know by sending an email to neighborhoodnews@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nashville mayor outlines 'challenging' budget recommendations in State of Metro
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell focused on city services, public schools, public safety and housing in his second State of Metro address on the morning of May 1 at the Downtown Public Library. The 62nd State of Metro came days after residents across Davidson County received their 2025 property reassessments from Assessor of Property Vivian Wilhoite. The countywide median value increase this cycle was 45%. "This is an appraisal year, our first since 2021," O'Connell said during his speech. "And since then, many areas have seen significant increases in property value. The costs of serving those areas have gone up, too." O'Connell said his 2026 fiscal year budget recommendation, filed before he took the podium that morning, was difficult to prepare amid the mounting costs of running a growing city. "This is a challenging budget to prepare because there are so many financial variables," he said. "Our national economic outlook is murky. We're phasing out hundreds of millions of dollars of one-time federal COVID relief funding. And we're experiencing an unpredictable overall federal funding outlook." He made the case that Nashville has been ripped off by the federal government as the city faces cuts to tax dollars already promised by lawmakers in Washington. Cuts to grant programs have pulled funding from local nonprofits, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and other entities. Even funds that were previously approved have been halted. "Metro has been ghosted on awarded funds of more than $14 million," O'Connell said. Metro Nashville has joined other local governments in suing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over "devastating" public health budget cuts. "We must not lose sight of our high aspirations despite the challenges of the time," O'Connell said. "Our response to the chaos of the moment is the competence of the city. This is the Nashville story." O'Connell said when it comes to funding city infrastructure, there is one primary vehicle available to local governments in Tennessee. That's property taxes. The mayor's $3.8 billion recommended budget includes a combined property tax rate of 2.814, a change from the 3.254 rate of 2021-2025. That new rate is one of the lowest among Tennessee cities, but it could still translate to property owners paying more in taxes moving forward. It is unclear exactly what the new adjusted rate will be after the reappraisal and equalization process concludes. "I know its complicated talking about appraisals, equalization and the impact on tax," O'Connell said. "Especially because we know two things are true at once. Some Nashvillians will pay more in property taxes, even as we're setting the lowest overall property tax rate in Nashville since 1972." With the mayor's budget now filed, Metro Council will take over, make adjustments and vote to approve by June 30. That process includes any consideration of property tax rate adjustments. A coalition to oppose a property tax increase has already formed. Members of Americans for Prosperity, Nashville GOP and other groups were outside the Downtown Public Library during the State of Metro address, holding signs reading "No property tax hike." "Many of you undoubtedly walked past folks this morning who believe that property tax going up for any Nashvillian by any amount is unnecessary — just more government spending," O'Connell said. "These are the same people celebrating the chaos of federal cuts, which, make no mistake, are not about efficiency." The mayor's address broke down his proposed budget into three pillars rooted in community reinvestment: schools, services and safety. Metro Nashville Public Schools stand to receive a 13% budget increase from last fiscal year. MNPS makes up 37% of the total Metro budget. Focus areas for investment include college and career readiness programs, mental health support, special education support, and additional security and safety measures. "This budget lets us keep a nurse in every school, and MNPD will add another 23 new school resource officers to enhance safety," O'Connell said. The city has already begun program implementation of its transit improvement plan, and the recommended budget outlines the continuation of that process. O'Connell's budget also recommends a $45 million commitment to increase funding for affordable housing. That includes continued investment in the Barnes Housing Trust Fund, increased funding for the Office of Homeless Services and expansion of the Metro Development and Housing Agency's Payment in Lieu of Taxes Program. That comes after Metro released its Unified Housing Strategy, a multipronged plan to address high housing costs in Davidson County and promote the creation of affordable homes. "To be clear, we as a community will need to find room and funding for 90,000 homes over the next decade if we want to have any hope of enough people having secure, stable housing at any income level," O'Connell said. The Metro Planning Department will revisit Nashville's existing zoning policies and building codes in order to identify potential changes needed to allow more housing construction, O'Connell said. Finally, O'Connell reiterated his focus on public safety and outlined recommended areas for investment. His budget proposes an additional $49.6 million for Nashville first responders, including funding for new fire trucks, EMS personnel, additional fire marshal staff and the expansion of the REACH (Responders Engaged and Committed to Help) program, which pairs mental health co-responders with fire and EMS teams. "The state of Metro today is where many cities would like to be," O'Connell said. "School performance is up. We've improved both benchmarking and performance of city services. Crime is down. People want to be here. And we want to make it easier to stay. And that's much of the work we're going to be leaning into even harder starting today." This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: State of Metro: Nashville mayor outlines 'challenging' budget cycle
