Promises Made, Promises Broken Budget
As Mayor, Erica Gilmore will be a Champion for Metro Nashville Employees
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
As the Mayor of Nashville, Gilmore will fight for 3 Year Employee Plan
Mayoral candidate and Councilwoman-at-large Erica Gilmore issued the following statement:
Nashville, TN (May 4, 2018) - "The budget proposed by Acting Mayor Briley is a Promises Made, Promises Broken Budget. Nashvillians have been told we need ‘continuity’ in this month’s election. But this budget reflects continuity for some, and broken promises for everyone else. Read More
This morning, Acting Mayor Briley insisted, 'most citizens will not notice any difference at all.' I could not disagree more. Our employees nearing retirement will notice. Young workers trying to save to buy their first home will notice. Parents trying to put their kids through college will notice. And our Metro Public School students and teachers -- who will not receive their fully-funded request -- will notice and suffer as a result.
Acting Mayor Briley also promised, 'sacrifice in this city leads to success.' But I'm afraid this ignores that the dedicated women and men who make Metro government run have sacrificed for years -- amid rising cost of living -- yet see no success in the promise made to honor their pay increases.
It is a shame if we chose not to invest in our citizens, and keep our promises to our employees. Therefore, I cannot support the budget proposed by the Acting Mayor. The 3-Year Employee Pay Plan enacted by the Council last year – and which I proudly voted for – was a promise made. It's a promise that, as a mayor, I will keep.
We should not balance the budget on the backs of our school children, bus drivers, and women and men who wear the uniform. The fact city revenues are down is no fault of the dedicated civil servants who keep our lights on, pave our roads, teach our children, and keep our city safe and running. Therefore, ordinary, hard-working folks – bus drivers, nurses, electricians, and more – should not be asked to shoulder the burden of this revenue shortfall.
We’ve turned our back on the working and middle class of this city for far too long. That ends when I’m mayor.
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