The Chattanooga City Council tonight approved a policy establishing guidelines for city employees to seek and take financial gifts from the public.

The policy on “fundraising, solicitation, acceptance and distribution of monetary contributions” is meant to address the matter of city department representatives asking for money for “activities that are not typically funded with tax dollars,” said Daisy Madison, the city’s chief financial officer.

“The council wanted to make absolutely certain that people that are approached and did not give solicitations or did give solicitations were not treated differently because of their decision to contribute or not contribute,” Ms. Madison said this afternoon.

The issue of departmental fundraising came up recently when the Chattanooga Police Department wanted to solicit donations for a ball. A separate resolution allowing the police department to take contributions also was passed by the City Council tonight.

For complete details, see tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.