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Henderson proposes $5 million placeholder in FY26 budget for sworn police, fire pay
Summary
Councilman Henderson proposed an amendment to reappropriate $5 million from contingency and renewal-and-replacement funds into a new account for sworn police and fire compensation; council directed staff to prepare an alternate budget version for public consideration and possible insertion into the ordinance language before readings.
Chattanooga City Council held a detailed discussion of the proposed FY26 operating budget and a Councilman-led amendment to set aside $5,000,000 as a placeholder for sworn police and fire compensation.
Councilman Henderson proposed the change, saying it would "create a new account called earnest money for sworn fire and police compensation into which we would put the $5,000,000." He described the amendment as a temporary step to show the city has "skin in the game" while the administration and council continue negotiating a fuller funding plan.
The amendment would reallocate $5,000,000 from the budget's contingency and renewal-and-replacement (R&R) pools into the new sworn-compensation account. Chief of Staff Kevin, speaking for the administration, framed the move within overall budget constraints, noting the council must adopt a budget before the end of the fiscal window…
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