Chattanooga City Council Budget & Finance Committee Meeting - 09/22/2026

Opening

0:00 – Call to Order. The committee chair called the Budget & Finance Committee meeting to order at 1:00 p.m., confirming the meeting was being livestreamed and that a quorum was present (three of five committee members, plus the chair and Councilwoman Dotley).

4:23 – Approval of Minutes. Motion to approve the minutes of the last meeting, seconded; approved without objection.

The chair noted this was a timed agenda given the volume of material, with a follow-up, more thorough discussion planned for the committee's next meeting on Tuesday, September 29th from 1:00–3:00 p.m.

Meeting Agenda

  • 0:00 – Call to Order, quorum confirmation, approval of minutes
  • 5:41 – Peer city identification for benchmarking (Dr. Auff's report)
  • ~15:00 – Discussion of benchmarking metrics (per-capita spend, FTE comparisons, quality-of-life metrics)
  • 23:44 – Potential FY budget amendment items: police service center mold remediation, employee holiday bonus, WTCI endowment, Purpose Point Learning Academy
  • 25:24 – Additional potential budget amendment items: Eastdale Collaborative project, Bessie Smith Cultural Center capital reserve reallocation
  • 52:26 – Discussion of next steps and scheduling of September 29th follow-up meeting

Policy Discussions

Peer City Benchmarking

Timestamp: 5:41 – 23:44. The committee began work to identify a set of peer cities Chattanooga should benchmark itself against, referencing a report and analysis previously circulated by Dr. Auff. Discussion covered what such comparisons should include and how Chattanooga's data should be normalized against peer cities, since some peer city figures include full-time-equivalent (FTE) counts or budget items — such as sewer, stormwater, or school systems — that may not be structured the same way in Chattanooga's enterprise funds. Councilmembers requested that future comparisons include per-capita investment/spending by taxpayer, salary comparisons, policy comparisons, and quality-of-life metrics such as fiscal mobility, rent burden costs, access to parks, and public works measures like street condition scores. No formal action was taken; staff will incorporate this feedback into further analysis ahead of the committee's next meeting.

Potential FY Budget Amendment Items

Timestamp: 23:44 – 39:49. The chair reviewed a running list of items being considered for an upcoming budget amendment, stemming from discussions held after adoption of the current fiscal year budget:

  • Police Service Center mold remediation — approximately $17.5 million, which includes roughly $2.5 million in contingency. Councilmembers questioned the basis for the $17.5 million estimate, asked for a breakdown of costs already paid to date, and raised the alternative of constructing a new building (estimated around $35 million) rather than remediating and continuing to occupy the current, older facility. Staff was asked to bring additional detail, including Chief Chambers, to the September 29th follow-up meeting.
  • City employee holiday bonus — approximately $3.6 million.
  • WTCI endowment — a proposed one-time contribution of $250,000.
  • Purpose Point Learning Academy — $245,000 requested by a councilmember to preserve early-learning seats in his district.
  • Eastdale Collaborative project (Councilman Elliott's district) — funding through the Enterprise Center for a project that was not funded in the last budget cycle, modeled on a similar Enterprise Center-led project in the Orchard Knob neighborhood. No dollar amount was provided.
  • Bessie Smith Cultural Center capital reserve reallocation — a request to reallocate a portion of the jointly funded city/county capital maintenance reserve (established under a 2009 interlocal agreement covering the city- and county-owned Bessie Smith facility) to support the museum's "Dream Forward" visioning project with the community. Staff indicated the administration is conceptually supportive but had not yet finalized an accounting of funds available or a specific dollar request.

The chair emphasized that none of these items were being voted on at this meeting; the intent was to put the full list on the table so councilmembers could raise questions (in person or by email) ahead of a more thorough discussion and eventual budget amendment and public hearing.

Closing / Next Steps

  • The committee will reconvene Tuesday, September 29th from 1:00–3:00 p.m. for a more thorough discussion of the proposed budget amendment items, including further detail on the Police Service Center cost estimate and an invitation to Chief Chambers to discuss the numbers.
  • Councilmembers were asked to submit additional questions by email ahead of the September 29th meeting.
  • Staff will continue refining peer-city benchmarking data based on the metrics councilmembers requested.
  • The intent remains to hold a single public hearing to address all budget amendment items together rather than multiple separate amendments.