(The Center Square) – Millions of dollars in incentives for a television show about the lives of emergency responders, city-issued bonds for a dilapidated Memphis hotel and nearly $1 billion in tax breaks for Ford Motor Company made the list of Tennessee’s top wasteful spending last year, according to the Beacon Center.
The watchdog group compiles an annual report of what it considers pork-barrel spending, the taxpayer funding of narrow-interest projects deemed as examples of government waste. The “Pork of the Year” winner, selected in a poll of voters, will be announced on Monday.
The finalists include $10 million in state incentives for “9-1-1 Nashville.” The financial commitment, approved by the Tennessee Entertainment Commission, was the highest incentive given to a single show, the Beacon Center said. The show has received lackluster reviews, and a previous “9-1-1” spin-off has been cancelled.
Tennessee lured Ford Motor Company to Haywood County with more than $1 billion in incentives. Production, which was set to begin in 2025, has been pushed to 2029. The company has scrapped its plan to build electric vehicles at the site and pivoted to gas-powered F-150s.
The purchase of the Sheraton Memphis Downtown Hotel also made the list. The city of Memphis issued $30 million in bonds to cover the $22 million purchase for the hotel, which will require major repairs as the city holds the property for two years and hires a third party to tackle renovations.
The purchase followed the city’s 2024 approval of higher property taxes, vehicle registration fees and solid waste fees, according to the Beacon Center.
On the federal level, over $22 billion was poured into more than 8,000 pork barrel projects last year, according to the report.
