CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Hamilton County 911 dispatchers urged Chattanooga City Council on Tuesday to address pay raises after council members unanimously passed the city’s fiscal year 2027 budget without explicitly funding higher wages for emergency operators.
The budget includes a new 911 Emergency Services Contract funded at $6,525,375. But the city’s budget only allocates pay raises for City of Chattanooga employees, and Hamilton County dispatchers are contracted workers.
Hamilton County’s unified emergency communications center was created in 2009 after multiple studies recommended consolidating dispatch operations. The center serves Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Collegedale, East Ridge, Red Bank, Signal Mountain and Soddy-Daisy…