County Commissioner David Sharpe said the commission has ceded too much power to the county mayor over the years since the 1941 state Act on county government.
He has drawn up a proposed new county organizational chart reflecting more commission oversight, including putting the chief of staff under the commission instead of the mayor.
Chief of Staff Claire McVay has charted out the current county setup, and the commission on June 26 is set to choose between the two.
Commissioner Sharpe said the 1941 Act "is the law. We're not doing things the way it was conferred."
He said it is "not a partisan issue. This is conservative action" aimed at protecting taxpayers.
Commissioner Joe Graham said a number of changes came with state legislation on counties in 1978. He said the county has always had the option to turn most of the operation of government over to the mayor. He said, "We're not doing anything arbitrary to the law" or that is not being done in other Tennessee counties.
Commissioner Greg Beck said, "I really don't want to do any more supervising. I don't want anything more put on me." He said the pay of a commissioner would not justify it.
Commissioner Gene-o Shipley questioned how the chief of staff "would answer to 11 of us. Who would she check with?" He said the 1941 Act "is old and outdated and hasn't been used by Hamilton County." He said, "I oppose this whole-heartedly."
Commissioner Lee Helton commented, "I don't know what to say. This makes us look like the tail end of a donkey to the rest of the state. It's ridiculous."
Both the county mayor's office and Commissioner Graham have requested attorney general opinions on the issue.
The chart vote is due to come at the same time as a vote on the $1,051,451,689 county budget. It will be the first time the county budget passes the $1 billion mark.
Some commissioners have expressed concern about a 45 percent rise in the county mayor's budget.
Chairman Jeff Eversole said comments he has received include "we have all these folks in the mayor's office making ridiculous salaries, while we can't fix the roads."
Commissioner Mackey said if the commission goes along with the proposed budget for the county mayor's office "you can never undo that" and it will be built in for future years.
County Mayor Weston Wamp, on the chart issue, said the 1941 Act "has been weaponized down through the years."
On his office budget, he said he saw after being elected "that we needed more manpower to do the job efficiently and effectively."
He said some of his top staff have saved the county millions of dollars and brought in millions of dollars in grants that had not been sought previously.
The new budget setup puts former Chattanooga Police Chief David Roddy, the chief operating officer, in a separate line item and not under the chief of staff.
County Mayor Wamp said the main reason for the increase is the addition of Mr. Roddy. He said he recruited him extensively and said he has brought a new level of efficiency to the operation of county government.