In City Address, Mayor Sets a Bold Agenda

• Like (8)
• Comments (2)
• Email
• Facebook
• Twitter

Water quality, green infrastructure, consolidation of governmental services. These were the three priorities Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield highlighted in his 2010 State of the City address Thursday evening. Speaking at the newly restored Lindsay Street Hall, the mayor set a bold path for a new decade and addressed long-standing challenges to an audience of more than 200 city employees and officials.

"As we emerge from the great recession we find ourselves on the threshold of a new age of promise and progress," he said. "We have survived the most significant economic contraction since the 1930s. There are new rules, a new model of sustainability and environmental responsibility, but it’s a new game in which Chattanooga is uniquely qualified to play."

Recalling the "golden age of Chattanooga" between 1900 to 1910 in which the population doubled and much of the existing city infrastructure was initially established, Littlefield said the city needs to devote resources to build a new, sustainable foundation for the next decade.

Public housing and water quality were two of the challenges posed by the mayor in the 45-minute speech. Housing must be inclusive, he said, and the city must focus on retaining a "high standard of livability" for increasingly diverse communities.

Littlefield criticized the Chattanooga Housing Authority for working against the city and moving forward on a proposed 36-unit apartment complex in North Chattanooga. "In recent years, the Chattanooga Housing Authority has stumbled and staggered from one developmental and financial disaster to another," he said. "They do not need to repeat the sad experience, yet they seem determined."

"Chattanooga needs a partner, not a problem child," he said.

Like 2009's state of the city and inaugural addresses, water quality and sewer jurisdictions were major themes. On Thursday, the mayor proposed green infrastructure as one solution to reduce stormwater runoff, which he said would meet federal standards at a fraction of the cost, and could potentially lower contentious water quality fees.

He also pledged that new city-constructed buildings would meet rigorous, energy-efficient standards. "Beginning now, any building done by the City of Chattanooga will be LEED certified," he said.

The mayor concluded his address with three proposals that would increase municipal government's size and clear a path for metro government in Hamilton County: form an industrial-grade water and sewer utility, resolve tax inequalities between city and county residents; and consolidate governmental services.   

The mayor proposed several consolidations, the first being the City Treasurer's Office and the office of the Hamilton County Trustee. He called for a merged Parks and Recreation department. And a proposal to merge fire and police departments between the city and county was met with resounding applause by the audience.

"Let's not place boundaries on public safety," Littlefield said. "If we are to enjoy the greatest benefits of the decade ahead, we must have unified, skilled and equipped departments providing a modern urban level of services without regard to borders or jurisdictional limitations."