Nashville council weighs tax-code changes tied to $300 million East Bank funding plan

Metro Council is scheduled to consider an ordinance Tuesday, August 4, that would amend Nashville‘s tax code to comply with a new Tennessee law governing tourism-related revenues and the planned use of about $300 million for East Bank infrastructure.

BL2026-1493 passed first reading on July 21 and is listed for second reading on August 4. The measure would put local tax-code provisions in line with Tennessee Public Chapter No. 1079 of 2026. It would not, by itself, approve a final project-by-project spending package.

What BL2026-1493 would change

The ordinance would revise Metropolitan Code sections covering tourist accommodation taxes, convention-center-related taxes and a rental-vehicle surcharge. The changes are intended to reflect Public Chapter No. 1079, which was signed into law on May 22, 2026, and establishes priorities for certain tourism and convention-center revenues.

The legislation’s agenda analysis says accumulated excess revenues held by the Convention Center Authority must include an approximately $300 million transfer to the East Bank Development Authority. The money is intended for capital costs, debt service and financing costs associated with roads, bridges, utilities and other public infrastructure improvements in the East Bank.

The funding structure continues to place convention-center obligations first. It also sets out how qualifying excess revenue may be used after those obligations are addressed. BL2026-1493 would codify the related requirements in Nashville’s local law, with the ordinance taking effect only after the Convention Center Authority’s outstanding indebtedness has been discharged through prepayment, defeasance or refinancing as contemplated by the state law.

Projects described so far

At a July 28 briefing, Metro Finance Director Jenneen Reed described preliminary uses for the East Bank funding. Axios Nashville reported estimates including up to $75 million to bring James Robertson Parkway to grade so it can connect with the future East Bank street grid, up to $80 million for an east-west road connecting Cowan Street and Marine Drive, and about $40 million to $50 million for Metro’s share of an extension of the Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge.

Reed also described as much as $150 million for utility work and new parks. Axios reported that officials expect much of the spending to occur around 2030, but the briefing did not settle final project scopes, costs, schedules or construction commitments.

Nashville’s fiscal year 2026 Capital Improvements Budget provides additional context for the broader capital program. It includes proposed East Bank lines for internal streets, multimodal improvements, infrastructure design and development, utilities and related work. Those entries are capital-planning documents, not a substitute for later appropriations or project approvals tied to the convention-center revenue.

What Tuesday’s action would not decide

If approved, BL2026-1493 would update Nashville’s tax-code framework. It would not itself authorize every road, bridge, utility, park or pedestrian project described during the July 28 briefing.

Residents should distinguish the legally required funding path from preliminary project allocations. Final scopes, appropriations, financing arrangements, schedules and construction decisions will require later action by the East Bank Development Authority, Metro Council, the budget process or other responsible bodies.

What residents should watch next

The East Bank Development Authority’s next scheduled public meeting is August 25, 2026, at 9 a.m. at the Howard Office Building’s Sonny West Conference Center, 700 President Ronald Reagan Way. The meeting and later authority, budget and project actions will give residents opportunities to review which infrastructure priorities move forward and how the money is documented.

The key accountability question is not only whether the approximately $300 million transfer occurs. It is how Nashville identifies priorities, records approvals, reports spending and measures progress as East Bank infrastructure decisions advance.

Sources

• Metro Council legislation record: BL2026-1493
• Axios Nashville: Inside how former Nashville convention hall funds will be spent on the East Bank
• East Bank Development Authority meetings