The city is beginning to gear up for an additional fire hall - this one at the Black Creek project in Lookout Valley, where a town is being planned on Aetna Mountain.
Ryan Ewalt, city chief operating officer, said nine firefighters will be brought on in January toward staffing the planned facility.
The cost is $974,000 for the nine positions for six months.
The additional firefighters will come on next budget year.
Mr. Ewalt said the addition will help the city maintain its ISO 1 rating.
There is a decrease of five positions in parks and outdoors, but salaries for remaining employees are to go up considerably.
The budget is up $1.9 million, but parks director Scott Martin said it is barely a beginning toward his vision for Chattanooga becoming a "city within a park."
He said plans are to add two more turf fields at Warner Park to go along with the turf at Frost Stadium. Three other fields are natural grass.
Commissioner Chip Henderson said Chattanooga needs to move toward more turf fields in order to draw outside tournaments. He said tournament promoters don't want rainouts. Without the turf fields, "We are going to end up losing money," he said.
Mr. Martin said Dupont Park is planned as a regional ball field site.
He said turf fields cost about $700,000 each.
He said the city is examining its 78 tennis courts and determining their condition and if some should be repurposed.