NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — As the second month on the 2024 calendar is just around the corner, questions remain about whether Nashville voters will face a transit referendum this year, after voters soundly rejected one six years ago.
NewsChannel 5 Political Analyst Pat Nolan says even to get something in front of voters by November, things will have to move quick.
"People might think the election's not till November, that seems like plenty of time, but that's really just nine months, not 10 or 11," Nolan said.
And in those nine months, there's a lot to do before you might be able to vote on a transit referendum.
First, the Mayor's office has to come up with the transit plan in the first place — what would be in it and what wouldn't — and how much it would cost.
"That has to be reviewed by an accounting firm that says, 'Yes, this is a good idea, this works financially,'" Nolan said.
Then the comptroller's office — the state's top fiscal watchdog — would have to sign off on it, all before landing in front of Metro Council members, where 27 members out of 40 (two-thirds), would have to give it the OK.
By all accounts, a new transit referendum would be far scaled back from the one voters turned down in 2018, and likely would not include an extensive light rail system.
But the thought is that getting a smaller transit referendum in front of a larger group of voters turning out to also vote for president might give the plan a better shot at success.
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