Support the Housing & Safety for All Plan!

Mayor O'Connell and Metro Council

Over the last decade, Nashville residents have been pleading with Metro Nashville leaders to create more deeply and permanently affordable housing and to invest in community-based alternatives to traditional "public safety" institutions.

As we face federal budget cuts that will decimate affordable housing infrastructure and the broader social safety net, there is no time left to wait:

NOW is the time to make deep investments in permanently affordable, publicly-owned, community-governed housing.

As the federal government pulls the rug out from under our communities while promising to increase funding for traditional public safety institutions, the need for non-police community safety systems is becoming more urgent than ever:

NOW is the time to engage our communities to develop a Nashville Community Safety Plan that can guide and help resource local community safety efforts into the future.

Visit https://nashvillepeoplesbudget.org/ to learn more about this plan.

SIGN THE PETITION TO SUPPORT THE NASHVILLE PEOPLE'S BUDGET COALITION 2025 HOUSING & SAFETY FOR ALL PLAN!

To: Mayor O'Connell and Metro Council
From: [Your Name]

Dear Mayor O'Connell and Metro Council,

We are writing to urge you to support and pass a Fiscal Year 2026 operating budget that funds the Housing & Safety for All Plan, developed by the Nashville People's Budget Coalition.

This plan, developed through direct engagement with more than 500 Davidson County residents living in every council district, will cost the city a mere $1,043,989, or approximately 0.03% of the entire Metro Operating Budget. The benefits that such a small investment would yield for all Nashville residents, however, is enormous.

As Nashville residents, we are asking you to support and pass a budget that:

(1) Allocates $540,684 to create the financially self-sustaining Nashville Community Housing Fund. This Fund will enable the city to begin building a significant amount of high-quality, permanently affordable, publicly-owned, community-governed housing for low- and middle-income residents. The financing structure of this Fund will allow Metro to build more long-term affordable housing using less money than the city currently spends to build affordable housing, and more quickly.

(2) Allocates $503,305 to develop a Nashville Community Safety Plan. These funds will enable Metro to hire three positions to assess existing services and engage communities to develop a comprehensive plan for community safety centered around the provision of public goods, prevention, and trauma-informed, situationally appropriate response to social problems that arise in our communities.

In addition to our $1,043,989 Housing & Safety for All Plan, we also urge you to pass a budget that increases funding for public goods including: transit, public health, public education, dignified homeless services, affordable child and/or adult care, greenways, bike lanes, non-vehicle infrastructure, parks and community centers, accessible sidewalks, libraries, food resources, well-paved roads, rent relief, restorative justice, equitably funded arts, property tax relief, the Office of Youth Safety, streetlights, accessible accommodations for all Metro facilities, recycling, solid waste management, and composting services, participatory budgeting, free third spaces for people to enjoy community, community and resident-led housing stability services, and funding for neighborhoods.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to the voices of people living all across Davidson County who are eager for housing, safety, and other solutions that meet our needs in these increasingly unstable times.

Sincerely,