Is Hamilton County on its way toward having another city?
It’s far too early to say, but an organization called “Friends of Hamilton” has put forth an ambitious plan to form a city within Hamilton County called, simply, “Hamilton.”
The new “city of Hamilton” would include portions of Birchwood, Georgetown, Harrison and Ooltewah.
Members of the group considered naming the prospective city after the Ooltewah community. But the size of the proposed new incorporated area kept growing to include more areas of northeastern Hamilton County, so they went with “Hamilton” for its broader appeal.
The group is apparently motivated by a desire not to become, in coming years, part of an expanded city of Chattanooga. The organization hopes to put the proposed incorporation on the November 2012 ballot.
Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield pointed out that having a city means providing services such as fire and police protection. Of course, that involves taxes.
Proponents of creating a “city of Hamilton” said they know that would mean collecting property taxes. But they evidently hope they could have lower tax rates than might eventually be levied on them if the areas where they live were annexed by Chattanooga.
So will there be a new incorporated area? We won’t know for quite some time.
But anyone in the communities that would be affected should study the question carefully – long before they are asked to make the decision of whether they will be in a “city of Hamilton.”