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Opinion: Hamilton County mayor’s non-signature on $50,000 commission-approved resolution for homeless families perplexing

Staff File Photo by Robin Rudd / The Hamilton County Commission is pictured on Dec. 14, when its members voted unanimously to join the city of Chattanooga in a memorandum to provide $50,000 each to help pay for housing for those put out of the Budgetel Inn in East Ridge in November.
Staff File Photo by Robin Rudd / The Hamilton County Commission is pictured on Dec. 14, when its members voted unanimously to join the city of Chattanooga in a memorandum to provide $50,000 each to help pay for housing for those put out of the Budgetel Inn in East Ridge in November.

By Clint Cooper 4 min read

If the mid-December debate about the Hamilton County Commission spending $50,000 to assist residents suddenly put out of their temporary homes at the Budgetel Inn in East Ridge had been about the need to buy a widget, the kerfuffle would have made more sense.

› Could we get by spending $25,000, instead, for the widget?

› Could we get the widget somewhere else cheaper?

› Could we get a widget that we can guarantee wasn’t made by anyone with a criminal record?

› Could we get by with a used widget that will be available after the first of the year?