Mayor Tim Kelly
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly will deliver his annual “State of the City Address” tonight at the Walker Theater, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium.
Mayor Kelly was guest this morning on Talk Radio 102.3 and gave a preview of tonight’s message.
Mayor Kelly said while Fitch rating agency downgraded our bond rating S and P still have the city at triple A. He told hosts Jed Mescon and J.R. “Jim” Reynolds, “It’s just an opinion and, if anything, Chattanooga’s financial conditions have gotten better; they changed the way they look at this, it affected us and 500 other cities.”
Mayor Kelly said, “Under their new criteria, it’s a good teachable moment around our need to really raise incomes because we are below the national average. The mayor said, "Fitch has our population growth weak and I think that’s wrong. Our challenge is to grow Chattanooga at a smart and wise pace."
Mayor Kelly told the radio audience he’ll also talk about his new picks for police chief and public works administrator.
“I’m hiring the best people weather they come from the inside or outside and in this case John Chambers and Jay Woods are both clearly the best candidates for these positions,” the mayor said.
Mayor Kelly said he’ll also talk about plans to convert processed wastewater back into clean water, produce clean commercial grade fertilizer and turn the methane into compressed natural gas to run our garbage trucks.
Mayor Kelly said the event is open to the public and will begin at 6:00.