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Cook: City Hall fails transparency test on mayor’s Interagency Council on Homelessness

Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke signs an executive order as community leaders look on Monday, March 19, 2018 at City Hall in Chattanooga, Tenn. The executive order established the City of Chattanooga's Interagency Council on Homelessness. Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke signs an executive order as community leaders look on Monday, March 19, 2018 at City Hall in Chattanooga, Tenn. The executive order established the City of Chattanooga's Interagency Council on Homelessness.

By David Cook July 29, 2018 4 min read

From the very beginning, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke promised open and transparent city government.

“Open and transparent aren’t just campaign promises,” Berke wrote in a 2014 Code For America blog. “They are words symbolic of a new way of thinking and a new standard for our community.”

Do we still believe him?

Consider the mayor’s Interagency Council on Homelessness. Charged with planning and coordinating the city’s response to homelessness, the council gathered for the first time on May 8.

David Cook

Behind closed doors.