Is it just political strategery?
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly called the decision in his fiscal 2026 budget message to omit pay raises for sworn police and firefighters a “glaring omission,” but it could be simply an approach that would allow him to seek additional revenue for this budget later this year.
The budget, which as the mayor notes is balanced, will be dissected during education sessions May 13 and May 20, a public hearing May 20 and readings of the ordinance by Chattanooga City Council members June 3 and June 10.
In the next few months, the Tennessee State Board of Equalization will set a new certified tax rate for Hamilton County, based on the four-year property tax appraisal made by the county assessor’s office. Once that tax rate is established, city and county governments must approve it.
That’s where the strategery, a term created in 2000 by “Saturday Night Live” writers to capture the syntax of then-presidential candidate George W. Bush (and later embraced by Bush), comes in.