Chattanooga City Council Meeting - October 21, 2025

The Chattanooga City Council met on October 21, 2025, for an agenda meeting and regular session. The meeting included a Budget and Finance Committee meeting, approval of multiple ordinances and resolutions, and public comment on pedestrian safety.

Consent Calendar

• Approved minutes from previous meeting.
• Approved ordinances on final reading: closing and abandoning a portion of Rose Circle (7A), lifting conditions on Magnolia Leaf Lane (7D), rezoning 5749 Lovell Field Loop from IH to OS (7E), rezoning 7406 Tina Road from R-2 to CC (7F), amending short-term vacation rental overlay map (7G), and amendments to form-based code (7H).
• Approved ordinance on first reading: amending billing and charges for district records (8A).
• Approved resolutions: reappointments of Sarah Brogdon, Howard Year Paralyzative Ramas, and Lindsay Wilkie to the Form-Based Code Committee (9A-C); revised records retention policy (9D); contract reassignment from NCR Voyage to TSYS Merchant Solutions (9E); police K9 grant from Stanton K9 Foundation for up to $15,000 (9F); acceptance of equipment from Kentucky Tactical Officers Association valued at $1,700 (9G).
• Approved purchases: emergency lighting packages for police vehicles ($58,710), cat skid steer for Wastewater ($125,639), Fleet purchase order increase of $2,000, Fleet renewal for duty depot and truckers lighthouse (new annual spend $171,500), technology services agreement with Gardner Group not to exceed $54,443 over two years, and name change for community health agreement from Chattanooga CARES to Live Spring Community Health.
• Reported emergency purchase: 69 new workstations for police due to widespread mold issue at the police services center, with an expedite fee of $550 (total $40,047).

Public Comments & Testimony

• Benjamin Fleet (District 2) highlighted a recent spike in pedestrian and cyclist collisions, noting 29 incidents in the past 3.5 weeks, and called for better collaboration between the police department and other city departments to address the issue beyond enforcement campaigns.
• John LaRosa (District 2) presented additional data: over 100 non-fatal pedestrian and cyclist strikes in 2025 (as of end of August), plus 29 recent incidents, with two fatal bicyclist strikes and five fatal pedestrian strikes. He advocated for road design changes, particularly reducing lanes on the Market Street Bridge, to improve safety for all users.

Discussion Items

• Budget and Finance Committee Meeting: Councilwoman Dotsley convened the committee to discuss a budget research proposal spearheaded by Councilman Henderson. Dr. Acuff, an associate professor at UTC, presented a scope of work including revenue and expenditure forecasts for 5-10 years, fiscal health assessments, benchmarks with peer and aspirational cities, and policy recommendations. The estimated cost was $16,800, later amended to up to $20,000 on an hourly rate of $200. Councilman Elliott raised concerns about the hourly rate, the need for in-house research staff, and potential difficulty in obtaining information from the administration, though Chief of Staff Kevin Roy assured cooperation. Councilman Harvey requested an education session on the final report. Councilman Clark proposed expanding the scope and amount. After discussion, the committee decided to defer the vote to the next meeting to allow further review.

Key Outcomes

• All consent calendar items were approved unanimously.
• The budget research proposal was deferred to the next Budget and Finance Committee meeting (week of October 28) for a vote on approval with an amount not to exceed $20,000.
• Councilman Clark announced suspension of Community Development Committee meetings for November and December, resuming in January.
• Councilman Hart announced the grand opening of a new Food City on Highway 58, with a certificate of compliance for alcohol sales approved.