Chattanooga budget preview: Berke continues to prioritize social initiatives

Mayor Andy Berke looks on during a luncheon at City Hall on Thursday, May 9, 2019 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Mayor Berke hosted several small businesses to celebrate "National Small Business Week."
Mayor Andy Berke looks on during a luncheon at City Hall on Thursday, May 9, 2019 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Mayor Berke hosted several small businesses to celebrate "National Small Business Week."

In Chattanooga's fiscal year 2020 budget, Mayor Andy Berke will not seek a tax increase and will maintain focus on performance-based social initiatives.

The budget proposal, which will be introduced to the City Council on Tuesday, will echo Berke's performance-based budgets of years passed, focusing on the social issues deemed most pivotal by citizens.

From four public feedback meetings and online results collected at the end of 2018, the mayor's office received the priority lists of 504 Chattanoogans, most of which fell under one of five categories: Smarter students and stronger families, growing economy, stronger neighborhoods, safer streets and high-performing government.

"We did our best to create the best budget that we think reflects what we heard from citizens," said Tyler Yount, director of special projects. "Year after year, the things that citizens want go back to those categories. We've looked at changing them before, but we come back to those same five topics."

Since 2013, Berke has taken public input to form an "outcome-based" city budget, focused on achieving improvement within those categories.

"I think people appreciate getting to be a part of the budget process because in a lot of places they aren't," Yount said. "The fact that we have these engagement sessions and ask people for their feedback and we give them the results of their feedback back, I think makes them feel like they have a little bit more of a voice in the budget."

Results teams for each topic then submit proposals to achieve goals representing the citizens' concerns, which Berke weighs along with the needs of other municipal functions to form the budget.

In addition to the continued work toward the city's five master goals, Yount said the budget will include funds for:

> Homelessness solutions, including an 11-person homelessness division

> The city's flexible housing fund

> Ex-offender and other crime prevention programs

> Curriculum for the Seats for Success early education program

> The Moccasin Bend solar project and other capital improvements

City Council members at a meeting last week said the public input process, while helpful, seemed to focus desires beyond the basic municipal services of police protection, road paving, garbage pickup and sewer services.

"I was told if I wanted to be successful in this job, 'Make sure you get the potholes filled and the garbage picked up,'" Councilman Chip Henderson said.

Members also asked City Attorney Phillip Noblett if the council had the authority to modify or amend the mayor's proposed budget, including cutting funding for some programs. Noblett said the city's legislative body is responsible for passing the budget ordinance each year and, in the process, can shape the budget as it deems appropriate.

"I think in passing the whole [budget] ordinance, you can decide what is appropriate for departments. You can't just axe out a department if there is need or requirement for that work to be done. But you can designate specific amounts," Noblett said. "The [city charter says] the council shall appropriate only the amount it deems necessary and can't expend any more money than has been appropriated."

The budget will be presented to the City Council at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the regularly scheduled agenda session. Council then will have four budget education sessions on May 21, May 28, June 4 and June 11, each from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and on June 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A public hearing for the budget will be held at the June 11 council meeting at 6 p.m. and the council will vote on the budget on June 18 and June 25 at the 6 p.m. council meetings.

The budget schedule is subject to modification by the council.

Business Editor Dave Flessner contributed to this story.

Contact Sarah Grace Taylor at staylor@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6416.

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