Authored By david.morton

The City Council approved an ordinance that will make Chattanooga the third Tennessee city to extend health benefits of city employees to their domestic partners.

The Extended Benefits and Non-Discrimination Ordinance has been a “divisive and contentious” issue, according to one council member, that has filled the council chambers for more than two months with citizens who support and oppose it.

The city’s human resources department anticipates an additional 20 to 25 enrollees to its health care plan during the next open enrollment period in the spring.

Ordinances are voted on twice before being signed into law by the mayor and council chair. One of last week’s no votes, Councilman Larry Grohn, was out of town. The ordinance passed 5-3 on final reading Tuesday.

Collegedale became the first city to offer health benefits to its employees’ domestic partners in August. Knoxville is expected to do the same starting in January.

Before the vote Tuesday, Chairman Yusuf Hakeem addressed two ethics complaints against Councilman Chris Anderson. Hakeem asked council members whether they had questions related to the complaints.

Councilman Moses Freeman said he was satisfied with the city attorney’s decision on one of those complaints, which found that Anderson did not qualify for the benefits extended in the ordinance and did not need to recuse himself from voting.

“There’s no merit that I can see,” Freeman said of the complaints.

The council’s 5-4 decision last week on the issue was preceded by a heated public debate. At the center of the debate is legislative language that extends benefits to domestic partners regardless of sexual orientation. Supporters believe it provides equitable treatment to all city employees. Opponents believe it puts a stamp of approval on a lifestyle they disagree with.

Councilman Ken Smith, who voted against the ordinance, said Tuesday that the ordinance is unique because nearly every Chattanooga citizen has an opinion on it.

And despite passage by the City Council, the fight may not be over for opponents. A political action committee plans to begin a petition drive Wednesday to put a referendum on domestic partnership benefits before voters in next year’s August election.

The group will have two weeks to collect 4,500 signatures to move a referendum forward, said Mark West, president of Citizens for Government Accountability and Transparency.

“This is a hot issue and shouldn’t be left to nine people who didn’t campaign on it,” West said Friday, referring to council members.