After Commissioner David Sharpe, D-Red Bank, proposed a new organizational chart that would put many government offices under the Hamilton County Commission, the board chose to instead authorize a leadership structure already implemented by Mayor Weston Wamp.
However, Chair Jeff Eversole, R-Ooltewah, said the board maintains the right to reverse that decision in the future.
The vote on Wednesday was 8-3, with Commissioners Sharpe, Warren Mackey, D-Lake Vista, and Chip Baker, R-Signal Mountain, voting against the mayor’s structure.
(READ MORE: Effort to place many offices under Hamilton County Commission control faces pushback)
“Under guidance of counsel, it is my understanding that this resolution does not comply with law, and for that reason, I cannot support it,” Sharpe said in a phone call Thursday. “I will not willfully and knowingly participate in the neglect of our legal responsibilities.”