Chattanooga Budget Amendment Adds Almost $1 Million for New Police Positions

An amendment to Chattanooga’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget adds nearly $1 million for the city to hire nine new law enforcement officers.

According to the report, $924,019 so the city can hire two executive chiefs, five majors, and three social workers from the city’s Community Health Organization.

The plan restructures the police force, dropping the number of assistant chiefs from four to two, the number of captains from seven to six and the number of lieutenants from 20 to 16.

The report says that the number of sworn police officers will remain at 477.

Non-sworn police positions will include the following:

• Add director of Organizational Development & Training
• Add development manager
• Add director of Public Affairs
• Add intelligence analyst (4 positions)

The total number of non-sworn police staffers will increase from 116 to 123.

The budget was passed by the city council earlier this week.

Other measures include transferring funds from operations for Arts, Culture, & Creative Economy and from Economic Development to Parks & Outdoors.

The city will add an attorney to its payroll but move a risk manager to Human Resources.

Overall, the combined shuffling of positions will cost the city just over one million dollars, and the city’s budget – a total of $350 million – will not increase.

“When I took office, I committed to being nimble and adjusting strategies, plans, and funding based on the needs of the city and our residents,” Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly reportedly said. “With the passage of this budget amendment, we are increasing our capacity to protect public safety and support critical staffing needs that further the One Chattanooga vision, all without increasing taxes for residents. I want to thank our Department of Finance and Administration for the steadfast stewardship of taxpayer dollars that made this possible, as well as the Chattanooga City Council for their ongoing partnership in our work to create a city where everyone can thrive and prosper.”

Read the full budget amendment here.

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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Chattanooga Police Department” by Chattanooga Police Department.