From the time I was a boy growing up around Hamilton County politics, I have seen the Chattanooga Times and Free Press editorial pages serve as the forum through which local decisions were debated in good faith and a shared love of our community. Fittingly, the conservative Free Press has favored the politics of the Wamp family more frequently than the Times, but from Pat Wilcox to Pam Sohn, the editors of the Times have given credit where it was due regardless of political affiliation.
But recent criticism of county government on the Chattanooga Times editorial page shows a lack of understanding of what we do and why we do it. Complex issues are framed as simply zero-sum and partisan, often with seeming contempt for conservatives elected to lead our county and state.
Some editorials have turned comical, alleging that despite being a father of five children, I am “not a true supporter of families” and that there is “nothing efficient about county government.” These attacks ignore the bipartisan support of virtually every major proposal we have made to the County Commission and seek to vilify earnest efforts to modernize county government and do more with less.
(READ MORE: Times Opinion: There’s nothing efficient about Weston Wamp’s county government)
Contrary to out-of-touch commentary, property tax increases place a heavier burden on middle-class families than wealthy families. A working family or a widow living in a $350,000 home would likely be more affected by property tax hikes than owners of a $1 million property. Massive city tax increases in communities like Red Bank have caused us to work even more diligently to avoid further burdens on taxpayers.
While maintaining the lowest county property tax rate since 1941, we have made historic investments in public education and prioritized public safety and road improvements by making county government more efficient than it has been in decades.
In less than four years, we are approaching $400 million in school facility investments, modernizing schools from Brainerd to Soddy-Daisy, tackling 150 deferred maintenance projects, and expanding career and technical education opportunities to include every student in the county for the first time.
(IN THE NEWS: Hamilton County officials break ground on Soddy Daisy Middle renovation)
Although these new career pathways and school investments primarily will benefit minority students, “all Republicans,” myself included, have been accused of “having no interest in building an equitable community where everyone can thrive.”
However, in December 2022, a Chattanooga Times editorial cheered our plans for an ambitious downtown career and technical school by saying, “Wamp is right. It’s time to try something new. Something big. Something decisive and leading.”
Beyond a 35% increase in annual public education funding over four years, the county has been disciplined in setting priorities — staffing an additional ambulance and providing pay raises totaling more than 20% for EMTs and paramedics, 30 to 50% for sheriff’s deputies and a 38% increase in funding to volunteer fire departments. Despite the rising prices of heavy equipment and asphalt, the number of lane miles the county is repaving annually has increased by 25%.
Being efficient with every tax dollar has been a priority of ours from day one, from improving county operations to more aggressively negotiating on behalf of taxpayers. As the costs of the Lookouts stadium increased, we renegotiated the terms to include $10 million for The Howard School, and to save county taxpayers $24.9 million in debt repayments. We saved taxpayers hundreds of millions by pivoting away from industrial development at McDonald Farm and securing $45 million in the state budget to create the 70th state park.
Despite narratives that we have only cut funding, we have introduced new annual funding for organizations supporting our most vulnerable families, including $275,000 to Partnership for Families, Children and Adults, $170,000 to the United Way’s critical 211 resource hotline, $150,000 to the Family Justice Center and $75,000 to the Children’s Advocacy Center.
When I ran for office four years ago, I signed up for criticism, scrutiny and even a healthy level of partisanship. But in the traditions of our county’s political dialogue, from Adolph Ochs to Roy McDonald, divisive partisan vitriol has no place.
Weston Wamp is the mayor of Hamilton County.