Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke presented a $230 million operating budget for fiscal 2017 to the City Council on Tuesday. The budget includes increased efforts to fight crime and a boost in funding for programs to support early childhood development. It would not require a tax increase.
Tuesday’s budget proposal does not include the city’s capital budget, which should be ready in a couple of weeks, city officials said. Early estimates are in the range of $80 million, down from last year’s $96 million.
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More than half of the operating budget, some $115.5 million, is devoted to public safety, including $700,000 to establish a Real-Time Intelligence Center to provide information on crimes in progress or the latest intelligence on possible criminal activity to field officers and detectives. As one example, if a gang-related shooting occurs, the center would alert officers to be on the alert for possible retaliatory attacks. Several civilian technicians would take over more of the field work of collecting evidence to free up some officers to staff the intelligence center.