Q: Why are there two mayors for Chattanooga and Hamilton County?

Graphic by Ian-Alijah Bey

Tim Kelly and Weston Wamp may share the job title “mayor,” but they are leaders of two fundamentally different types of government with different sets of responsibilities. 

Counties are considered a division of the state, and they carry out state services at a local level (such as running the school district and health department, holding elections, and more). While cities, on the other hand, have a charter and can pass ordinances (local laws). They are responsible for the fire and police departments, recycling and trash, public utilities, and more. Ten different municipalities sit within Hamilton County, including Chattanooga.

There are exceptions to these sets of responsibilities for cities and counties — Tennessee’s Shelby and Knox counties have charters and the ability to create laws, as do some counties in other states. Also, there are three places in Tennessee with consolidated city-county governments: Nashville and Davidson County, Lynchburg and Moore County, and Hartsville and Trousdale County.

The title “county mayor” is relatively new. Historically, Tennessee’s counties were led by a “county judge,” but in 1978, the office of “county executive” was created. Later, in 2003, a Tennessee law officially changed the title of “county executive” to “county mayor.” Although, there are still some references “county executive” in both state and local Chattanooga code (see below), and the least populated Tennessee counties still must use the title “county executive.”

In addition to sharing the title of mayor, Mayors Kelly and Wamp also have the same salary ($192,238). And that’s no coincidence — Chattanooga’s city code specifies: “The salary of the (Chattanooga) mayor shall be at all times the same as is received by the county executive of Hamilton County.”

— Email Mary Helen Montgomery at maryhelen@theenterprisectr.org