After roughly six months of remote meetings and closed facilities, Chattanooga and Hamilton County governments are preparing to return to the “next normal,” as coronavirus lingers.
In mid-March, many government services and buildings began closing or modifying services as the COVID-19 pandemic seeped into Chattanooga. Not long after, the Hamilton County Commission and Chattanooga City Council began meeting remotely to keep members and citizens safe from the virus.
After being granted permission to meet remotely by a statewide emergency declaration, both bodies navigated new technologies and meeting rules to allow public access while meeting electronically. Now, as the area begins to adjust to life amid the persistent virus, the bodies are now grappling with when and how to return to regular voting meetings.
On the one hand, the County Commission will begin meeting in person again, for the first time since April, at its next meeting on Sept. 30, though several weeks remain under Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order that allows local voting bodies to meet remotely during the state of emergency.
Chairman Chip Baker says this is in order to prepare for “the next normal.”