Chattanooga Pulse

Here is one of the more interesting agenda items set to be discussed at the September 8 meeting of the Chattanooga City Council.

7. Resolutions:

e) A resolution requesting an opinion from the Attorney General of the State of Tennessee with regard to the authority of the Chattanooga City Council to enact an ordinance that would give preference to contractors that utilize local labor.

It’s pretty obvious that local governments would really prefer to be able to award their various construction and labor contracts to local businesses.  It’s just good government, and has the added benefit of returning tax money back into the local economy.

Yet there are a myriad of legal issues that have to be resolved before the city can make such preferential treatment a legal part of the way it conducts its business.  Thus, this resolution, which would formally ask the state attorney general for his official opinion of the legality of such a resolution.

Furthermore, it’s encouraging to see the current council soliciting this type of opinion before a resolution is passed, if only as a way to avoid any future potential lawsuit from non-local contractors.

When we live in such a litigious society, where people sue over everything from hot coffee to having gun-toting people shot by police, any steps that can be made to prevent legal problems down the road is to be commended.

The Chattanooga City Council meets each Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the City Council Building at 1000 Lindsay St. For more information on the agendas, visit www.Chattanooga.gov/City_Council/110_Agenda.asp