Mayor Mike Steele told those at an East Ridge public meeting on Monday night that it was his recommendation to take half of the city’s deficit from the sewer fund/surplus and cover the other half with a 20-cent tax increase.

Vice Mayor Jerry Petty, Council Member Larry Sewell, City Manager David Mays and City Recorder Janet Middleton were also at the meeting, which took place at the East Ridge Community Center next door to town hall.

Mayor Steele said he wanted to keep the tax increase as low as possible, and this “mixture” would accomplish that. If the entire remaining deficit were covered by a tax increase, it would be 37 cents instead of 20, he said.

Before cuts were made, the deficit would have taken a 54-cent tax increase to cover it, Mayor Steele said. Even after various cuts, the mayor said that other cuts could still potentially be made. However, the council had to pass a budget, and time is running out.

Mayor Steele said that even with the increase, the $1.27 tax rate is one of the lowest in Hamilton County and one of the lowest for a city the size of East Ridge.

The mayor plans on asking the council to consider his recommendation at an agenda session on Thursday.

Mayor Steele also discussed the potential tax increase for Hamilton County. He feels the tax increase is unnecessary, and he stated that he has talked and pleaded with county officials to not raise taxes.

One citizen was distressed by the fact that the $10 sanitation charge would not be decreased, despite the fact that garbage collection would be reduced. She also questioned why one employee was added to sanitation if the city is trying to cut revenue. City Services Director Frieda Wheeler responded that in last year’s budget, there was a budgeted position, and an employee transferred.

Another citizen was concerned with the approximately $60,000 fees not paid by the Regional Youth Soccer Authority to date.

Vice Mayor Petty echoed these complaints, stating that he voted to discontinue services at Camp Jordan for the RYSA. He asked what was the original plan to pay the $60,000 to the city, and why was it not executed?

Merrill Eckstein, an RYSA board member and the president of the Chattanooga Area Sports and Events Committee, brought up the economic impact that soccer has on the city. According to Mr. Eckstein, the group has staged three tournaments with an economic impact of about $1 million.

He said the problem with paying the money owed is that money has to be generated from the private sector. He said the group needs to sell sponsors and build credibility.

He stated that the RYSA accomplished its goals to make an economic impact on East Ridge, stating that the city’s hotels and restaurants were “direct beneficiaries” of the tournaments. He asked the patience of the council in regards to the money owed.

In response to one citizen’s concern, Mr. Eckstein clarified that the citizens of East Ridge are not paying any dollars towards the construction of soccer fields. Over $700,000 for that came from Hamilton County, the state of Tennessee, and the Osborne Foundation. However, the city is paying for the maintenance of the grounds.

Citizen Margaret Philpott was critical of City Attorney Cris Helton. It was her opinion that the city attorney held the most influence in the council. She thanked Council Member Tom Card and Council Member Sewell for their unsuccessful votes to terminate the city attorney’s contract at the last commission meeting.

Bill Brenneman, a citizen of the city for 15 years, suggested that the city take the entire deficit out of the surplus and not increase taxes whatsoever. The mayor responded that the city would still like to stay at the recommended 18-20% of budget for their surplus.

Citizen Ron Holland asked why fire trucks come out for medical emergencies, recounting two past experiences where this has happened. He understood that this would happen sometimes with “first response” instances.

Director of Public Safety Eddie Phillips replied that the city’s fire engines are equipped to handle any emergency, and it is more convenient for them to use fire trucks if they were to get a call about a fire while attending a medical emergency. Director Phillips said the entire system is based on the first response time.

Director Phillips then went on to advocate the need for a second fire station, which has been questioned on numerous occasions due to the city’s budget problems. With Red Bank having three fire stations and Chattanooga having 18, he noted that the need is based on geographical location as it comes to first response. In two studies conducted before and after the second fire hall was instituted, it was found that first response time was cut in half with the second fire hall.

“We could fill a room with the people that have been impacted by those firefighters,” said Director Phillips. “We do more with less. There is not a lot of waste.”

Mayor Steele said the East Ridge police department and fire department had the lowest costs in the budget for a city the size of East Ridge across the state.

The mayor ended the meeting by saying that a big way to increase revenue would be to recruit new businesses to move into the city. He wished to fill the buildings of the city with businesses that would produce income and raise revenue.