The Chattanooga City Council will not vote on a controversial ordinance that would have allowed police to issue court citations with fines up to $50 for those violating orders aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
A proposed ordinance on the council agenda for Tuesday would have established that “any person violating any provision of the proclamation or orders related to [a] civil emergency issued by the mayor” may be issued a citation in city court and subject to a fine up to $50 plus court costs, for each violation, but was tabled by council amid concerns about its breadth and tone.
“This ordinance arrived on the agenda with no one from city council in sponsorship,” Councilman Jerry Mitchell said. “With that, I guess it just didn’t even follow the rules of our council to be on our agenda.”
Councilwoman Carol Berz agreed, moving to table the ordinance, removing it from the agenda for vote, which was approved unanimously.
Berz said there are a “number of reasons” this ordinance would “need help” if it ever made it back to the agenda, but Mitchell said he hopes the city will reopen before that becomes necessary.