A tie vote in the Chattanooga City Council means a proposed charter amendment to shrink the size of City Court won't be on the November ballot.
Council members had two City Court-related charter amendments on their first-reading agenda Tuesday.
They voted 8-0, with Darrin Ledford absent, to ask voter approval for charter changes that would clarify City Court's jurisdiction and remove archaic language.
But some of the council members weren't comfortable with the second proposed amendment, which would have eliminated one of the court's two divisions and the judgeship that went along with it.
Councilman Chip Henderson asked a number of questions at the council's strategic planning session Tuesday. After the vote, he said he's not against the idea but wants to make sure the implications of the change are fully spelled out for the voters.
And, he said, the council isn't under the gun, because even if the change was approved, it couldn't take effect before the current judges' terms end in 2022. That means it could appear on the 2020 ballot.
Council members Carol Berz, Anthony Byrd, Chairman Ken Smith and Vice Chairman Erskine Oglesby Jr. voted for the second proposed charter change.
Berz, chairman of the budget committee, said it's "time for the people to be given the right to vote."
Members Demetrus Coonrod, Russell Gilbert, Chip Henderson and Jerry Mitchell voted no.
Coonrod and Gilbert also had questions earlier Tuesday about how police would decide which court was proper for a given violation. Coonrod said her constituents are wary of the whole idea, and Gilbert worried the proposed charter change couldn't be explained to the voters clearly enough.
City Court judges hear only cases involving violations of municipal ordinances, and fines are capped at $50.
These days, all criminal offenses and the bulk of traffic offenses are handled in General Sessions Court. And in September, the council voted to name former Judge Walter Williams an administrative hearing officer to help fight blight. Hearing officers using state law can levy $500 fines per day for unkempt property.
During strategic planning, assistant city attorney Phil Noblett outlined both changes and emphasized that the council's vote Tuesday was only whether to put the measures on the November ballot. It would be up to Chattanooga voters whether to adopt them, he said.
Current city judges Sherry Paty and Russell Bean, and City Court Clerk Ron Swafford, came to the council's agenda session and were invited to speak.
Paty remembered the days when City Court handled up to 1,000 cases a week and suggested the council keep flexibility to expand the court again, should the need arise.
Bean called the proposal "good timing," saying he planned to retire when his term is up in 2020.
"I know you looked at it as a way to save money," Bean said. "As long as we keep looking at it that way, rather than to make money, that's all right. The purpose of the court is not to make money but to serve justice."
Also on Tuesday, the council agreed to defer discussion of surplusing three city-owned buildings that Mayor Andy Berke is proposing to hand over for redevelopment.
Berke has said buildings at 10th and Lindsey streets, where the city auditor is housed, the city hall annex on 11th Street housing the city attorney's office, and a former wellness building on 10th Street could be used to better purpose in the growing Innovation District, including possibly for moderate-income housing.
Berke has proposed turning the buildings over to the Chattanooga Downtown Redevelopment Corp. and seeking private developers' ideas for re-use.
However, the council agreed Tuesday for a two-week delay to find out more about the process.
Vice Chairman Erskine Oglesby Jr. said the body is seeking information on the cost to sell the buildings compared with what the city could realize for them, and for the costs to move the legal and auditing offices and personnel elsewhere.
"We want to make sure city resources are handled transparently and with the cost-effectiveness it takes to run our city," Oglesby said.
Contact staff writer Judy Walton at jwalton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6416.