The Tennessean has today printed a damning editorial regarding the recent effort by Tennessee Tax Revolt to amend the Metropolitan Nashville Charter to include a provision providing for maximum property tax rates to be decided by referendum. But alas, The Tennessean’s editorial position is notable only for its disingenuousness. To wit

Metro citizens elect representatives to be good stewards of public funds, and the public should let those representatives do the job they’re given.

The council is ineffective as a “good steward” because of the way the Metropolitan Charter is drafted (explained more fully below). Funny that good stewardship was never mentioned by the editorial board when discussing the education budget. Now

The effort comes on the heels of a referendum this year in which Nashville voters rejected a local sales tax increase. Anti-tax activists apparently feel they have momentum from the sales-tax vote and want to extend the referendum power to property taxes.

I think the rejection of the sales tax increase last month by a 42 point margin (71-29%) does indeed qualify as “momentum”. Further

There are some serious questions about the legality of the proposed referendum. But even if it does square with state law, it’s a bad idea.

Well, last month the editorial board didn’t give a spit in a bucket about legality. It’s quite kind of them to toss the issue about now. I suppose it all depends on whether it’s something they support or not. But to give them the benefit of the doubt, let’s discuss their objection on the merits

The attempt to put property tax increases directly into the public’s hands through a referendum is a step away from a republican form of government. It feeds a potentially dangerous environment where people unhappy with government can say no to all taxes while they still expect government services, which doesn’t work.

That last sentence is horribly condescending and smacks of governmental elitism - the poor public simply would not understand. We simply cannot trust the people to control the size of their government. Utter hogwash. Here’s the problem left unaddressed by The Tennessean - we do not have effective representative government in Nashville. Due to the way the charter is written, the mayor is both the de facto legislature and executive when it comes to controlling the budget process. We have a flawed charter, in that the mayor’s budget is the default budget unless the council passes a different one. However, under the charter the part-time and excessively large council is left little time to debate and discuss an alternative budget. A politically skilled mayor that can keep the council mired in its own petty bickering will get his budget passed every time. What we have in Metro is a full-time all-powerful executive lording over a council containing 40 part-time cats in need of shepherd. Due to the department budgetary deadlines and access the mayor has to the executive branch that the council does not, seldom is a real second option available for the council to vote upon.

The petition gatherers may believe they are on a wave of tax revolt that keeps taxes down. But by limiting the power of elected officials, they limit their own chance for responsible government. If such a petition gets on the ballot, it should be rejected.

Opposing the mayor’s budget and potentially failing carries great risk for each individual council member that his or her district will be retaliated upon by the mayor during the next budgetary cycle. Because of the way the charter is written, the council is more accountable to the mayor than the people it has been elected to represent. Having forty individual councilmen exacerbates the problem. As such, the Metro budgetary process is seriously flawed. Taking taxation out of the hands of the mayor and putting that power back in the hands of the people is the right answer.

For more information about the petition drive, go to Tennessee Tax Revolt’s website here. The actual petition with instructions is here.

UPDATE Blake Wylie, who supports the referendum, comments as well.