Chattanoogans have paid more than $80 million in stormwater fees over the past 16 years, but state and federal regulators say the city is still awash in pollution problems from rainwater runoff.

The state of Tennessee has ordered Chattanooga to boost its staff and spend more money on stormwater and water quality programs to correct deficiencies that date back more than a decade.

Nancy Bennett said she had no idea the city would use her place of business on Old Lee Highway as a prime example of how costs could be cut through the city's water quality credits program.

After some City Council members said they thought someone else could do his job, the Rev. Mike Feely's contract as a personal liaison for the city between the Hispanic and homeless communities was barely renewed.

Chattanooga could be fined as early as next spring for not living up to the standards of its water quality permit, a Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation official said Thursday.

More than 150 people crowded the City Council chambers today for a hearing on why and how the city would use more than $100 million in stormwater fees.

North Shore merchants aren't too happy about the Walnut Street Bridge closing for five months for repairs, but as long the work is done on time, they can live with it.

The City Council voted 6-3 Tuesday night for an average 70 cent-per-month increase on sewer user fees, even as some council members grumbled that now is not the time to raise payments.

For the second week, the Chattanooga City Council may defer the 2009-2010 capital budget because of questions about how and where the money is being spent.

With lawsuits tying up Chattanooga's proposed annexation of several areas, it could take a year before anyone knows whether the annexations will go through, City Attorney Mike McMahan said Monday.

The Trust for Public Land says Chattanooga's capital improvement budget is $250,000 short of what the city promised to help preserve land on Stringer's Ridge, but city officials deny they ever made a hard-and-firm commitment to provide the money.

Hamilton County Commissioner Warren Mackey said Thursday that he is definitely running next year to represent the county’s 4th District again.

A city program designed to save taxpayer money by picking up "Brush on Demand" has left residents confused about when and how the system works, a city councilman said Wednesday.

The City Council voted 9-0 Tuesday night to defer the 2009-10 fiscal year capital improvements budget because of questions about how the money was being spent.

City officials said today they would like to see a three-percent increase on user fees for sewers to help pay with operational costs.

City streets paved last year using a controversial method called chip sealing now have a more conventional layer of asphalt, city officials said Monday.

Chattanoogans will have to pay more than $100 million in extra fees over the next five years to fix decades-old problems with clogged ditches, broken pipes and polluted runoff.

In Hamilton County, churches, schools and government agencies don’t pay the stormwater fee on their buildings and parking lots.

Mike Carter, attorney for the Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority, told county commissioners Wednesday that the authority may have to hire a contractor to do some work for them.

An anti-annexation group filed its second round of lawsuits Thursday to stop Chattanooga from taking in more territory.

A group of frustrated residents met Thursday night at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in Brainerd and voiced concerns about constant flooding along the banks of South Chickamauga Creek.

A change to speed limits on M.L. King Boulevard might mean posting signs that reflect how fast people actually are driving, the city's traffic engineer said Wednesday.

Hamilton County Residents Against Annexation filed its second round of lawsuits today in its effort to stop the city of Chattanooga from taking more areas.

A proposed capital improvement budget jumped almost $25 million over a year because of spending for the Enterprise South industrial park and the building of fire departments and sewers in annexed areas, records show.

The Chattanooga City Council received the 2009-2010 capital budget today, which includes more than $58.4 million in project expenditures, city records show.

Mayor Ron Littlefield said last week that Chattanooga needs to continue moving forward to get some buildings certified as “green” or it could mean being left behind.

Hamilton County commissioners were all set to vote Thursday on accepting a $5.9 million building from Life Care Centers of America, but decided to hold off a week because a guarantee title wasn't available.

If Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield's plans for a combined city-county government or annexation are successful, gains that blacks have made in government representation over the past 20 years will be lost, several black Chattanoogans say.

In what anti-annexation leaders say are the first of many lawsuits, Hamilton County Residents Against Annexation filed two Wednesday to stop annexation of the Ramsgate community and an area off Big Ridge Road.

A local group filed a lawsuit today to stop Chattanooga's annexations from taking place.

City Councilman Peter Murphy said Tuesday the council should find a revenue stream that could help fund public art initiatives across Chattanooga.

Councilman Peter Murphy said today the City Council should find a revenue stream that could help fund public art initiatives across the city.

City Councilman Andraé McGary questioned Monday whether the city is providing its annual $100,000 allocation for public art this year.

Mayor Ron Littlefield has proposed building a services center for the homeless, making the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library a nationally recognized facility, seeing a high-speed rail line to Atlanta become a reality and expanding the city’s boundaries.

A group of city officials and Brainerd residents on Friday unveiled a neighborhood plan they hope could ride on the success of downtown development.

Hamilton County Commissioner Larry Henry said Thursday night that any talks about consolidated government should mean the county taking the lead.

Fresh concrete is being poured. Workers soon will remove plastic tarpaulins and put in artistic medallions representing Indian history.

Hamilton County commissioners were quick to say Wednesday that they didn't have anything to do with an increase in the city of Chattanooga's stormwater fee.

The City Council voted 8-1 Tuesday night on first reading to annex a small area on the side of Lookout Mountain and areas on Hixson Pike.

The City Council voted 8-1 tonight to annex an area on Lookout Mountain and commercial areas along Hixson Pike.

An attorney now taking up residents’ annexation fight against Chattanooga has a long history of such battles, losing some but winning most, records show.

Audience members at Thursday’s Hamilton County Commission saw commissioners in a whole different light. That’s because the lights that usually illuminate the dais where commissioners sit were out.

The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority has seen a large spike in federal money because of the stimulus package, CARTA's executive director said Thursday.

CARTA has $5 million in federal stimulus money, officials say

An ordinance in Chattanooga's City Code may mean that public art has been shortchanged by almost $1.7 million since 2004, records show.

The City Council voted Tuesday night to annex two more areas off Old Lee Highway as the city continues to take in commercial property.

The Chattanooga City Council took a step today toward allowing the sale of alcohol in Memorial Auditorium and Tivoli Theatre.

A local agency must find a way to cut 12 percent of its funding to 14 art groups.

An unfunded mandate by the federal government has forced stormwater fees in Chattanooga to more than triple and is going out on homeowners' property tax bills right now, officials said.

Hamilton County commissioners spent about a third of their Tuesday meeting congratulating Assessor Bill Bennett on his lifetime achievement award from the Tennessee Association of Assessing Officers.