Metro Council passed Nashville's $2.9 billion budget on Tuesday, approving a series of raises for school and Metro employees and funding hundreds of new positions across Metro's departments.

The budget is more than 12% larger than last year's budget and reflects about $319.6 million in new revenue, though growth is expected to slow amid inflation and anticipated recession.

Metro Council passed the budget 31-3.

Council members used $14 million of Nashville's already slim emergency reserves to help fill a $22.6 million Metro Nashville Public Schools shortfall, fund MNPS support staff bonuses, fund pre-hire health screenings for law enforcement and fund a review of Metro's Nissan Stadium obligations.

The budget includes:

• Raises, paid family leave and 4% cost-of-living increases for Metro schools employees and additional raises for support staff
• A 4.5% cost-of-living adjustment (shy of the Civil Service Commission's recommended 5%) and an average 3% merit increase for Metro employees
• A commitment to an $18 per hour minimum wage for full-time Metro positions
• $20 million toward affordable housing (including $15 million for the Barnes Housing Trust Fund)

Metro Council members had less than 24 hours to submit proposed amendments to the Council's version of the budget.

Of 17 amendments submitted, four passed:

• $5 million will be taken from Metro's emergency reserve to fund MNPS support staff bonuses
• $98,700 of Metro's $175,000 payment to the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce...

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