The CollegedaleCcommission on Monday night amended a municipal code that was not consistent with state law. A provision in the code previously required a city judge to live in the city limits of Collegedale. That had been in the city code since before Sam Elliott was city attorney.
Recently, it was brought to the attention of the city that law is contradictory to state law and City Attorney Elliott has recommended that it be removed. He said that the Tennessee Constitution says you have to live in the judicial district, which is Hamilton County, but not necessarily the city limits of Collegedale.
The qualifications for Collegedale’s judge include the requirement of living in Hamilton County for one year and being a resident of Tennessee for five years immediately preceding the election. They must be at least 30 years old and licensed to practice law in the state.
Police Chief Jack Sapp was given the commissioners approval to sign an inter-agency agreement with the Child Protective Investigative Team of Hamilton County. This includes the police departments of Chattanooga and the surrounding small cities along with various agencies such as Children’s Hospital at Erlanger, the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office, and the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.
This inter-local agreement, said Chief Sapp, is a long-standing agreement that is signed each year. It requires one officer in Collegedale to be trained in child abuse and for the remaining officers in the department to get trained once a year to aid in child abuse cases. Working together the parties seek to ensure that child abuse victims are protected, investigations are conducted and the services are provided that are needed to facilitate the child’s recovery. It also acts to collect information and evidence to hold offenders accountable for their actions.