On Thursday, Mayor John Cooper announced his 2023 Capital Spending Plan (CSP). The $478,040,000 CSP prioritizes three core investments areas:
- providing teachers and students high-quality facilities and technology to teach and learn;
- providing first responders resources to keep Nashville residents safe; and
- upgrading city infrastructure to create a more efficient and livable city for all.
In addition to the CSP, Metro is able to invest another $84,411,000 toward long-standing departmental needs in a sperate supplemental capital replacement fund. The supplemental one-time spending budget is possible because of conservative revenue projections coupled with robust economic growth that Metro Finance expects to result in an improved FY 2023 revenue forecast – and remains in compliance with Metro’s new fund balance policy.
Some Highlights of the 2023 CSP and Supplemental Fund
- over $155,000,000 will be directed toward education initiatives, the vast majority directly allocated to Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS)
- over $140,000,000 toward public safety
- over $97,490,000 toward infrastructure and stormwater management.
- Mayor Cooper has proposed building brand new schools for Lakeview Elementary and Percy Priest Elementary, and funding a near-total renovation of Paragon Mills Elementary
- proposal also calls for $27 million in upgrades, repairs and much-needed maintenance at MNPS schools across the county.
- funding a new home for the Davidson County Juvenile Justice Center. Located on Brick Church Pike, the new Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment will replace the deteriorating building currently across from Nissan Stadium and will house a 14-acre campus to serve nearly 80,000 young people. The new facility will include a 24-hour assessment center to support youth in crisis, spacious meeting rooms for court staff and community partners to conduct mediations and peacefully resolve situations when possible, and a safe exchange facility for custodial visitation to strengthen families.
- $11 million for a new Nashville Fire Department headquarters
NFD headquarters will soon be located on top of an upgraded Fire Station #2 to serve North Nashville and Germantown residents. Fire Station #2 was built in 1974 and closed in 2019. Mayor Cooper’s Administration has since located a new parcel for this station, funded its preliminary construction, and is set to break ground on the project later this year. There will be another phase of HQ construction before it is done. - a new barn for MNPD mounted patrol in Old Hickory
- new firetrucks, police vehicles and ambulances, and the planning for a new gun range.
- $78,990,000 to NDOT to expand resurfacing projects to more neighborhoods, implement traffic calming and other Vision Zero initiatives to eliminate pedestrian fatalities, upgrade traffic management and signaling to cut down on congestion, and a number of other essential infrastructure investments. That total also includes $13,806,000 to significantly expand sidewalk construction in neighborhoods across Nashville.
- $18,500,000 has been allotted to Metro Water Services for investment in stormwater management to mitigate flooding.
“With this year’s capital spending plan, we are doubling down on our prior investments and continuing to put Nashville neighborhoods first,” said Mayor John Cooper. “Because of responsible, strategic financial management, we can invest in projects like building brand new facilities for Lakeview, Percy Priest and Paragon Mills Elementary Schools, and creating the new Nashville Youth Empowerment Center. Significant investments at NDOT and Metro Water Services will continue to improve the core city services that our residents rely on every day. Making smart investments alongside our city’s growth is essential to creating a Nashville that works for all, and I’m proud to take a big step toward that important goal today.”
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