Where the money goes
Operating spending by function, which areas outgrew population and government costs, and what the fast-growing “General government” line really holds.
Where the money goes
Operating spending by function as Metro's auditors group it. Employee benefits that Metro pays centrally (pension contributions, health insurance match) sit in their own line rather than inside each function, so each function's figure is the direct cost of running it.
Schools are two fifths of operating spending; public safety a fifth; the rest is spread thin
Current operating expenditures by area in FY2025 dollars (CPI-U). Debt service and capital outlay are excluded here and shown under Debt & workforce.
In ten years nearly every function outgrew people and government costs; the three biggest services were among the slowest
Growth multiple FY2015 → FY2025 by function. The dashed line is population × government costs over the same years. General government's figure is mostly tourism taxes passed through to the convention center (see the breakdown below); Social services carries pandemic relief passed through in FY2021–FY2022.
One function against the yardsticks
Indexed to FY2015 = 100: the chosen function, all core spending, and population × government costs. For schools, enrollment is added.
Function by function
Share = share of all current operating expenditures that year. Real per resident = FY2025 dollars per Davidson County resident. Sorted by ten-year growth. Population × government costs grew — from FY2015 to FY2025 and — from FY2005.
| Function | Area | FY2015 | FY2025 | 10-yr | A year | 20-yr | Share FY15 | Share FY25 | Real per resident, 10-yr |
|---|
"General government" is mostly tourism taxes passing through, not City Hall
The auditors' General government line, split by fund from each year's financial statements, FY2010–FY2025, nominal dollars: the General Fund's own departments; hotel and tourism taxes passed through to the Convention Center Authority (Music City Center) and tourism promotion; grant-funded programs in the Other Government Services fund; flood and pandemic recovery.
In FY2025 the line was —: — General Fund, — tourism-tax pass-through, — grants and other, — disaster recovery. In FY2021 the pass-through was — and the General Fund share —. The General Fund step-up in FY2015 is the fleet, facilities and IT units folded into general government that year.
Two ways to count spending tell the same story, with one accounting dip
The fund basis (used throughout this page) counts cash-like outlays. The accrual basis adds depreciation and the yearly cost of pension and retiree-health promises; it dropped in FY2022 when Metro changed retiree benefits, and new accounting rules in FY2015 and FY2018 raised it without restating earlier years. Nominal dollars.