Chattanooga is the only major city in Tennessee that requires both the city and the county legislative bodies to approve tax breaks for new and expanding industries.
Efforts to simplify the process for granting incentives may take a few more months to work out.
The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce has been pushing for a policy that would allow some tax breaks for prospective businesses to go through without approval for each project by the Chattanooga City Council and the Hamilton County Commission. The Industrial Development Board was expected to vote on the recommended policy change earlier this year. But drafting the policy was delayed amid negotiations over terms of the new Chattanooga Lookouts stadium and the Southside tax financing district, officials said.
Adam Myers, vice president of economic development for the chamber, said the chamber wants to be able to offer certain property tax breaks for job-producing businesses to compete with other communities — without waiting for city and county approval. Waiting on city and county legislative approval can delay and possibly scuttle some investment plans, he said.
