Chattanooga Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod is proposing an ordinance that would make changes to the city charter, including how long the mayor and council members can serve and when city elections are held.
Some may dismiss it as much ado about nothing, but we hope her proposals at least get a fair hearing.
Coonrod’s proposal is that the mayor could serve up to four four-year terms. Council members would be limited to the same 16-year maximum over four terms.
She also would have city elections move to August to coincide with other elections. However, city elections are in odd years, so if such a proposal were adopted, current terms would either end in three years or be extended to five so they could be held in tandem with other elections.
Coonrod’s reason for moving the elections is to save money. If they are held in the same year as either the August county general elections (2026, for instance) or state primaries (2024, for instance), they would not cost the city as much. She cited the 2021 city election cost of $224,487 and subsequent runoff cost of $188,741 — roughly $413,000 total — as money that better could be spent elsewhere.