NASHVILLE — A group opposing a transit improvement plan passed by Nashville voters earlier this month has filed suit seeking to overturn the results, arguing the plan includes projects not allowed under the state law governing the referendum.
The Nashville Tennessean reports that the lawsuit was filed Wednesday, Nov. 27, by members of the Committee to Stop an UnFair Tax. That group opposed the half-cent sales tax in Davidson County ticketed to improve bus service, roads, and sidewalks. Changes to the WeGo Star commuter rail service are a small part of the $3.1 billion Transit Improvement Program [see “Ballot measures with rail component pass,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 6, 2024]. Some 65.5% of voters favored the plan.
The group’s lawsuit says the measure is “proposing the illegal use of tax dollars for sidewalks, streets and housing and similar projects unrelated to a ‘Public Transit System.’” The city’s law director, Wally Dietz, said in a statement to the Tennessean that the referendum fully complies with state law, and that the suit “is a nuisance and a case of legal sour grapes by repeating arguments raised and rejected by the voters.”
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, a defendant in the suit, said the plan was “fully vetted by attorneys, accountants, the Metro Council, and ultimately the people of Nashville.” He said the city would move ahead with the plan.
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