County commissioners say they are hurt and bewildered by gratuitous insults hurled their way last week by some Chattanooga City Council members.
At the end of Wednesday’s commission meeting, Commissioner Joe Graham called it “sad” that council members tongue-lashed their county counterparts as deceitful and unreliable.
The council comments came on Nov. 24 during a debate whether to accept a $230,000 state grant for horse trails at Enterprise South Nature Park. County commissioners approved their half of the $230,000 local match on Nov. 18.
But some council members thought the city was wasting its money, according to the Times Free Press’ Nov. 26 story.
A quick summary of the City Council’s stinging discussion went like this:
“Why spend money on a trail most city people won’t use that much?” Councilman Russell Gilbert asked.
City staffers pointed out the city already had money in the budget for its matching share. Councilman Chip Henderson noted the county shares the cost of the Tennessee Riverwalk with the city, and Councilman Ken Smith advised against backing out of a done deal.
Councilman Larry Grohn asked if members remembered any times when the county reneged on agreements with the city.
Moses Freeman brought up the joint project to build a new police firing range. He said that 2013 project appeared to be on track until the county backed out at the last minute. Commissioners got cold feet when the project’s estimated $4 million price tag jumped by about $1 million.
Freeman also said the county withdrew from an agreement to put a city-owned early childhood development center in a county building.
Councilman Moses Freeman“It seems that being the good guy subjects us to getting sand kicked in our face, and now we’re getting horse manure shoved in our face,” Freeman said.
“I don’t know how they got elected over there,” he added. “Maybe they lied to people like they lied to us.”
Councilmen Chris Anderson and Russell Gilbert jumped in, saying that city residents also pay county taxes but don’t see much in return.
“What are they doing for us?” Gilbert asked.
That debate bothered the county’s Graham, who brought a copy of the Nov. 26 news story to the meeting with him.
“Somebody said something about slinging manure. Another one said something about telling lies,” he said.
“It’s sad” the council would question the value of county services, he said, from the health department to law enforcement to schools – more than 60 percent of the county budget goes to schools, he added.
He added that he’s proud to work with council members from Chattanooga and the other municipalities in District 2.
“We all represent the same constituents. What we do here as public servants is a team sport,” Graham said. “That type of comment doesn’t make it sound like a team sport.”
Commissioner Warren Mackey said he didn’t see the article but asked Graham, “Did I hear you say somebody called somebody a liar?
Commissioner Greg Beck said he also had concerns but he wasn’t going to try to correct “erroneous comments” that can be disproved by anyone who consults the county website.
Such behavior “doesn’t cast a shadow on us; it casts a shadow back on them, and it simply says, ‘you are not informed.’
“If anybody wants the city schools back, they can have them back,” Beck said, drawing laughter from other county officials and the audience. “Anybody wants the city jail back, they can have it. Just keep talking.”
Contact staff writer Judy Walton at jwalton @timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6416.