June 26, 2023

Budget Receives Final Approval, One Westside TIF under discussion, and More

GENERAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Dr. Mary Lambert will be stepping down from her post as the Director of the Office of Community Health at the end of this month to pursue a law degree and other academic work.
• On June 20 the city council unanimously approved the FY23-24 proposed city budget on final reading. You can view the budget at budget.chattanooga.gov.
• One June 20 the city council voted to proceed with a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program with Urban Story Ventures in support of the One Westside Project. (Disclosure, I am the civil engineer on the project.) This vote is not a final approval. The TIF will now proceed to the Industrial Development Board for review. You can watch a presentation on the proposed plan here. You can read more about the plan here.
• On June 27 the council will vote on the adoption of the Parks & Outdoors Plan.

JUNE 20 CITY COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

The Agenda Session recording can be found here.

• The council heard a presentation on the Downtown Chattanooga Alliance budget.
• The council heard a presentation on the Parks and Outdoors Plan. You can read more about the plan here.
• The council heard a presentation on the ONE Westside TIF, which leverages new property taxes generated by the Bend development to pay for new parks, infrastructure, and the Westside Evolves affordable housing plan. The full presentation can be found here.

The Business Session recording can be found here.

• The council approved the FY23-24 proposed city budget (final reading). You can view the budget at budget.chattanooga.gov.
• The council voted on a number of rezoning cases (final reading).
• The council approved an amendment to the Chattanooga Air Pollution Control Ordinance to incorporate updated federal regulations (first reading).
• The council confirmed the appointment of Sherrie Ford to the Lookout Valley Region Community Advisory Committee.
• The council approved the distribution of American Rescue Plan Act Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds:
  • $10k to the Lighthouse Collective for middle-school educational services.
  • ~$25k to the Chattanooga Police Department for equipment.
  • $20k to the Chattanooga Police Department for the creation of an LGBTQ+ liaison.
  • $40k to First Baptist Cares for mental health programs.
  • $10k to the Bessie Smith Cultural Center for community development programming.
  • $20k to New Monumental Baptist Church for wrap-around programming facilities.
  • $100l for the establishment of a school resource center at Tyner Academy.
• The council voted to proceed with a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program with Urban Story Ventures in support of the One Westside Project. Disclosure, I am the civil engineer on the project. This vote is not a final approval. The TIF will proceed to the Industrial Development Board for review. You can read more about the plan here.
• The council voted to accept ~$229k as the city’s share in surplus property sale from Hamilton County.
• The council approved 9 routine purchases, including a $966k purchase of two garbage trucks from Stringfellow, Inc.
• The council approved the issuance of a Request for Proposals (RFP) to find 311 Customer Relationship Management software.
• Several citizens addressed the council. Two spoke in support of the One Westside project. 6 spoke in support of the partnership with Trostyanets, Ukraine. You can watch the full comments here.

The meeting minutes can be found here.

JUNE 27 CITY COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

The Proposed Meeting Agenda can be found here.

• The council will vote on an amendment to the Chattanooga Air Pollution Control Ordinance to incorporate updated federal regulations (final reading).
• The council will vote on an amendment to the section of city ordinance regulating the Beer Board vacancies, chairmanship, and secretary (first reading).
• The council will vote on the adoption of the Parks & Outdoors Plan.
• The council will vote on a number of other issues, please see the agenda for full details.

JULY 11 CITY COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

The city council will not meet on July 4 in observance of Independence Day. The next scheduled meeting is July 11. The agenda is not yet available.