Chattanooga City Council – Budget Work Session (Part II)

📅 July 15, 2025 | ⏰ 1:05 PM–3:30 PM
📌 Topic: Retrenchment Scenarios & Departmental Review

0. Call Back to Order (0:29)

• Reconvened after lunch. Present: Chair Hill, Councilmembers Clark, Elliott, Henderson (virtual), Harvey.

1. Purpose of Session (1:13)

• CFO Kevin Muhanna & staff explained session goals:
  • Review current budget “bodies of work” already funded.
  • Model impacts of across-the-board cuts (2% = ~$5M).
  • Remind Council of $47M in unfunded department requests cut during the spring budget process.
• Framing: Current budget is “slim and trim”; additional cuts would “draw blood” (impact services/staff).

2. Funded Programs Highlighted (3:35–6:09)
Examples of services funded in FY25 budget:

• Community centers ($8.2M, 108 staff).
• Kids Camp, senior tax relief, Carter Street Corp appropriation ($5.8M+).
• Gun violence prevention, STVR inspections, 311/animal services ($2.2M contract with McKamey).
• Parks & Outdoors: aquatics, fitness, therapeutic programs, Pops on the River.
• Library, recycling, brush/leaf pickup, neighborhood services.

Council Reaction:

• Hill questioned framing as a “list of cuts”; said it looked like scare tactics.
• Elliott: Not proposals, just illustrating that real cuts impact real services.
• Harvey: Asked specifics about McKamey contract ($2.2M) and therapeutic programs.

3. Unfunded Department Requests (15:10)

• Initial department “wish list” = $47M; reduced to pass $345M balanced budget.
• Administration: list shows services/programs staff wanted but were resource-constrained.

4. Council Discussion – Cuts & Oversight (17:20–23:00)

• Harvey: Wants scrutiny of “other” and “contracted services” line items; suspects ballooning.
• Elliott/Muhanna: Disagree; budget already trimmed, “other” = aggregation of many small costs.
• Councilmembers cautioned against line-by-line “chipping away,” warning it could get messy.
• Emphasis: majority of budget = personnel (72% with benefits).

5. Departmental Walkthrough – 2% Cut Modeling (22:00–52:30)

• Each department shown with staff count, key line items, and “red number” = 2% cut target.
• Highlights:
  • City Council: $19K cut hard to find without hitting personnel.
  • Judges & City Attorney: Nearly all personnel; little discretionary spend.
  • DTS (IT): Ongoing cost growth as it absorbs all city systems.
  • Community Development: 18 centers, 105 staff; difficult to cut without service impacts.
  • Police: 637 authorized positions; $750K for Community Haven (gun violence prevention) not in CPD budget, flagged for review.
  • Fire: 447 positions; primarily personnel + fleet.
  • Public Works: 292 positions; $26M incl. waste disposal, street lighting.
  • Parks & Outdoors: $16.8M incl. $9.3M personnel + $1.6M zoo contract.

6. Community Haven Debate (41:00–50:10)

• Funded $750K outside of CPD budget (ARPA legacy).
• Hill/Harvey: Suggested folding into CPD budget; ensure citywide equity.
• Clark: Defended current model; program reduced shootings in D7 & D8, benefits whole city.
• Harvey: Wants evidence of direct benefit to his district.
• Consensus: successful program but needs permanent home & possible expansion.

7. Broader Themes (52:30–1:13:00)

• People vs. Services: Debate on whether budget primarily serves employees or residents.
• Hill: “We exist for the people of Chattanooga, not our own existence.”
• Elliott/Muhanna: Services require people; quality services require quality staff.
• Burrs: Called for service-delivery audit; wants metrics & performance data.
• Administration: Shared use of Monday.com dashboards, KPIs, one-year plans; admitted some impacts (e.g., mentoring, community building) are intangible.

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