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Hamilton County Commission buying chairs, no matter what finance committee says

Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman points out the poor condition of chairs in his courtroom in the Hamilton County/Chattanooga City Courts building in this file photo. Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman points out the poor condition of chairs in his courtroom in the Hamilton County/Chattanooga City Courts building in this file photo.

By Louie Brogdon January 21, 2015 1 min read

HOW THEY VOTED

Chester Bankston – yes Greg Beck – yes Tim Boyd – no Randy Fairbanks – yes Joe Graham – no Marty Haynes – yes Warren Mackey – no Sabrena Smedley – yes Jim Fields – no

After hours of debate and several votes laced with veiled insults, blatant political rhetoric and declarations of offense, the Hamilton County Commission passed an amended resolution today to buy some chairs – over the wishes of its own finance committee.

Commissioners voted 5-4 to pass an amended version of a resolution it passed last week to close a three-month debate over the county’s purchasing procedure for the chairs.

Mayor Jim Coppinger asked for the amendments, because the resolution as passed last week ran afoul of state purchasing law. The law states all purchasing and specifications have to come from the county staff, not the County Commission.

The amended resolution removes a 500-pound weight capacity for the chairs, removes reference of the finance committee approving the specifications, ditches a geographic limit for suppliers and includes both Hamilton County’s sessions and criminal courts.