Nashville coalition pushes for less police funding in 2025 Metro budget
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Nashville group is pushing for less funding for the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) as Metro Council begins discussions on next year’s fiscal budget.
Metro’s proposed budge for 2025, put forth by the Mayor’s office, is $3.27 billion. That’s a miniscule increase over last year’s budget of $3.2 billion. Of that figure, this local coalition known as the People’s Budget Coalition would like funds redirected to other causes, including arts, housing, youth programs and Metro employees.
“We are, in our way, pushing for processes that involve every day residents more in the decision-making about how our tax dollars get spent,” explained Andrew Krinks, an organizer for the coalition.
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In order to do that, the coalition would like for up to $15 million to be divested from Metro Police. The coalition said that MNPD continues to see an increase in funding, despite not filling all their open positions to date. They added that MNPD responds to an excess of non-emergency calls to service with “little to no tangible public safety outcome.”
“The safest communities are the ones with the most resources, not the ones with the most police,” Krinks said.
The coalition expressed their belief that Nashville would be better off spending Metro tax dollars on alternative public resources, which they call “public goods.”
“Everything from affordable housing, to accessible healthcare, to transit, to parks and libraries and all the things that people kind of need to thrive,” Krinks explained. “Those are the things that we believe are the bedrock of actual, authentic public safety.”
MNPD told News 2 on Tuesday that the “lion’s share” of their funding goes towards personnel and they are actively working to fill their 157 openings. They said that any funding deficit is directed towards overtime initiatives at their precincts, specifically in areas that require a greater police presence, like Bellevue following last week’s shooting.
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Nonetheless, the coalition is pushing for a change in perspective.
“People who make this city operate and who keep it running, who keep the lights on, so to speak; city workers of all kinds, including teachers, deserve to have pay that reflects the sky-rocketing cost of living in our city,” said Krinks.
Metro Council has until July 1 to finalize their 2025 fiscal budget.
“So many other departments have to come (to council) begging and pleading to keep the lights on and keep basic services going, whereas police are kind of a powerful political force, such that there’s a lot of fear in telling them no,” Krinks said. “But I think we’ve introduced into the public imagination and discourse a different way of thinking where safety comes from.”
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