Chattanooga City Council Meeting - Tuesday, September 22, 2026

The Chattanooga City Council met on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. After opening remarks, the pledge/invocation, and approval of the previous meeting's minutes, the Council held an agenda-review discussion, heard a downtown budget presentation, took a recess until 4:45 p.m., and returned for the voting session and public comments. No separate agenda or minutes were available; this summary is based on the raw transcript.

Discussion Items

• Axon contract (Resolution 9A): Chief Chambers said the Chattanooga Police Department requested a five-year renewal for body-worn cameras, tasers, interview-room cameras, and in-car cameras. Staff explained that Axon included 36 license-plate readers (LPRs) in its officer protection package at no additional cost, but that the LPRs were not requested by CPD or DTS and the city was not obligated to accept or deploy them. Staff also said CPD requested AI translation software for body-worn cameras to help officers translate conversations.
• Councilman Harvey quoted a Times Free Press article stating the city currently has 1,100 camera streams through Axon, up to 300 of which could be enabled with AI software, and that Axon's Fusis system can search for people, cars, and visual descriptors such as make, color, or bumper stickers. He said he supports about 90% of the contract but had constituent concerns and believed the city should 'pump the brakes' on the LPR technology, noting nearby municipalities are pausing similar Flock cameras.
• Councilman Clark said he saw value in the LPRs for high-crime areas and his district, citing community safety survey results showing less than half of his constituents feel safe. He asked the administration to accept the cameras and then work with council members on deployment. Councilwoman Burrs proposed an amendment making ALPR deployment subject to council review. A council member from District 9 asked that no cameras be placed in that district without an earlier community conversation. Staff committed that the city would not deploy a single Axon LPR anywhere without returning to the council.
• Next week's agenda preview: Councilwoman Hill asked about proposed changes to the general pension plan; the city attorney said the changes add federal required definitions for designated beneficiaries and eligible designated beneficiaries, that the pension board recommended them, and that editor's notes would not remain in the final version. Councilwoman Noel said she had received opposition to renaming Canon Avenue and planned to meet with staff and door-knock before proceeding. Councilman Harvey said he supports a mayoral-office festival item but will recuse himself from that vote because he plans to perform at the festival as a bluegrass musician. He also supported Janice Gooden for the Regional Planning Commission but said 12 years is enough for the mayor's reappointment of Ethan Collier to the commission.
• Future considerations: Councilman Harvey said he was stuck in the Odell's on the Go drive-through protruding into the road and welcomed the item on the future considerations list.

Special Presentation

• Downtown Chattanooga Alliance / Central Business Improvement District: Executive Director Steve Brooks presented FY2026 results and the FY2027 budget. He reported an FY2026 surplus of $28,000 against an original budget of zero, resulting from hours not performed by the ambassador-contract vendor. For FY2027, he highlighted roughly $754,000 in assessments after a $25,000 bad-debt and waiver allowance for the Block by Block ambassador contract, $39,000 for beautification projects, $22,500 for public relations, a 2% assessment collection fee paid to the city, approximately $22,300 for office rent at 407 Broad Street, and a balanced budget with a cap of $150,000 for ambassador services and Miller Park.
• In response to Councilman Clark, Brooks explained that homeless-services spending dropped from $20,000 in FY2026 to about $3,000 because a state grant now funds the Homeward Bound transportation program. The remaining $3,000 is used for food and drinks, which the state grant does not allow. Councilwoman Dotley thanked Brooks, saying she had initially opposed the BID but now praised its results and noted interest from Main Street and Rossville Boulevard in a similar model.

Committee Reports

• Councilman Henderson reported that the Budget and Finance Committee met at 2 p.m., discussed budget amendments and proposed legislation capping future tax increases, and scheduled its next meeting for September 29 at 12:30 p.m. as a new start time.
• Councilwoman Hill thanked RPA staff for the unanimous vote on Plan Chattanooga.
• Councilman Clark announced a Saturday ribbon-cutting for the new pavilion at Lake Hills Park on Bellevue Avenue from 3 to 6 p.m., with food, inflatables, and games.
• Vice Chair Elliott thanked attendees of the District 9 town hall and said a recording, slide deck, and project dashboard would be posted.
• The chair welcomed Kristen Acuff as deputy chief of operations, and Councilwoman Dotley recognized County Commissioner Montre Basley.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Jan Purdy, District 3, thanked RPA staff for Plan Chattanooga outreach and asked that minor Hixson and Big Ridge modifications be included in post-adoption work.
• Sheena Benevente, president of the Battery Heights Neighborhood Association, said her community participated extensively in Plan Chattanooga but felt its input was not captured or applied. She noted that an open records request remains unresolved and asked for awareness that other communities may have lost input too.
• Jaqueline Ramsey proposed a controlled pilot program for a low-speed vehicle mobility service in downtown Chattanooga. She said it would fill short-distance transportation gaps connecting parking, hotels, restaurants, venues, and the South Broad and Erlinger Park development without replacing CARTA or other shuttle services, and would collect data on ridership, safety, routes, and demand.

Key Outcomes

• The Council accepted the prior meeting's minutes as published.
• Final-reading ordinances adopted: 7A (beer permit expiration amendment), 7B (through-street speed schedule amendment), 7C (rezoning 5502 Dayton Boulevard from R-2 to CNT), 7D (rezoning 1307 Hickson Pike from INST to CNT), 7E (conditions lifted and amended for 5313 Champion Road), and 7F (drive-through use and stacking amendments, prohibiting drive-through egress from crossing the River Walk or greenway connector).
• First-reading ordinances passed: 8A (reducing the speed limit on Bonnie Oaks Drive from 50 mph to 45 mph from Boris Drive to 400 feet west of Silverdale Road, at TDOT's request) and 8B (closing and abandoning the unopened right-of-way in the 900 block of Dodds Avenue).
• Resolution 9A, authorizing a five-year Axon contract with an annual spend limit not to exceed $3 million, was amended so that 'subject to final review of ALPR equipment installation and service by the city council before deployment of such technology shall occur.' It was then adopted as amended, with one no vote.
• Resolution 9B was adopted, authorizing the Fire Department to accept a $59,309 Hamilton County Homeland Security Grant award for biological detection equipment for the Hamilton County/Chattanooga Type 1 Hazmat team.
• Resolution 9C was adopted, adopting Plan Chattanooga as the city's comprehensive plan. Councilwoman Noel read into the record the RPA's six-month amendment language for the Battery Heights and Campbell Street/New York Avenue area, including removal of language stating traffic counts do not warrant a crosswalk, addition of resident safety concerns, and future pedestrian infrastructure and service request reviews.
• Resolution 9D was adopted, authorizing CPD to apply for and accept the FY2026 NIBIN modernization grant of $300,000 for new equipment and five years of annual maintenance.
• Purchases were approved: a one-year extension for standard protective footwear at an estimated $150,000, with the vendor's requested 13.25% increase negotiated down to 7%, and a four-year wastewater road plating services agreement with TNT Concrete at a $140,000 annual limit.