On Wednesday, County Mayor Jim Coppinger will present his draft budget to the County Commission, and it’s likely to be down from last year’s budget of $638 million.
Coppinger said he’s having to make hard choices now that Chattanooga has allowed a sales-tax agreement with the county to expire, costing the county more than $10.5 million in annual revenue to fund agencies. Coppinger said some positions will be eliminated and drastic cuts are expected in the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department.
He said elimination of services and positions will occur across county government, but the budget will not contain a tax increase.
“There shouldn’t be any surprises,” Coppinger said. “[You] should expect what we’ve been talking about for the last several months.”
The County Commission will consider approval of the budget June 30. Commission Chairman Larry Henry said county staff will meet individually with commissioners to educate them on the particulars of the upcoming budget.