Agenda Items & Discussion

• Police and Fire Pension Board report: Chris Hopkins, the council's appointee to the Chattanooga Police and Fire Pension Board, presented an update on the pension fund. He cited a fund valuation of roughly $437 million as of the end of 2025, explaining that the city uses a five-year rolling actuarial average (rather than a single point-in-time market value) to smooth year-to-year volatility and keep the city's annual contribution more predictable.
• Actuarial assumptions and life expectancy: Hopkins discussed how changing actuarial assumptions affect the pension fund, including rising life expectancy for retirees (noting male life expectancy has risen to roughly 83 and female to roughly 88) and new medical/cancer presumptions for firefighters tied to occupational hazard exposure.
• Historic cemetery preservation: A second presentation, led by a preservation specialist (referred to as Linda) along with Cassie, addressed a joint city/community initiative to identify, register, and preserve historic cemeteries, including Becknob Cemetery and a historic African-American cemetery owned by Hurst United Methodist Church on North Market Street. Discussion covered Jewish and Confederate cemeteries, an Erlanger-associated cemetery, and a small family cemetery in St. Elmo.
• Property owner consent and process concerns: Council members raised concerns about government overreach, emphasizing that no historic designation or zoning process should proceed without a private property owner's consent. Presenters clarified the effort is envisioned as a joint community process (not a city mandate), with university preservation experts available to help smaller congregations and property owners without in-house expertise navigate applications and historic zoning requirements.

Key Decisions & Votes

• Motion to approve the minutes from the September 1st Strategic Planning meeting: moved, seconded, and approved with no objection (no roll call count given).
• No other formal votes were taken; this was a strategic planning/informational session limited to a pension board report and a cemetery preservation discussion.