Agenda Items & Discussion

• Hamilton County Emergency Communications District (911) budget briefing: The council chair invited Jeff Carr, director of the Hamilton County Emergency Communications District, to brief the council on the district's operations and budget ahead of next year's budget cycle. The chair emphasized no decisions were being made at this meeting; the goal was to inform council members in advance.
• Request for increased 911 operator pay: Mr. Carr asked the council for help raising pay for 911 telecommunicators, noting the city previously raised police and fire pay significantly and that dispatchers in comparable and even less busy jurisdictions (including Catoosa and Walker counties) are paid more than Hamilton County's operators. A compensation study was commissioned in 2023, and district leadership met with county and city leadership in 2024 to present a pay plan, but held off pursuing the increase at that time to avoid competing with the police and fire pay raises.
• Funding formula and invoicing dispute: Council members questioned how the district bills client agencies (invoiced every two months) and noted the City of Chattanooga has paid its invoiced amount but not committed to the proposed increase; if the increase isn't approved, the district indicated it would withhold or deduct roughly $140,000 from a final payment. The district projected it will request an additional funding increase of about $531,000 for FY27, describing it as a forecast rather than a commitment the council must make now.
• Cost formula concerns: Councilman Henderson raised concerns about renegotiating the baseline contract, arguing the current formula creates a disproportionate cost increase for the city relative to a straight population-based split between the fixed cost of readiness and variable consumption costs. District staff noted a prior renegotiation of the six-government baseline agreement in 2008 was very difficult to achieve.
• Additional council questions: Other council members, including Hill, Harvey, and Clark, were queued to ask further questions on the funding formula and district operations.

Key Decisions & Votes

• No formal votes were taken. This was a briefing/strategic planning session explicitly intended to inform the council ahead of the FY27 budget process, not to make funding decisions.