Black sworn in as County Commission chairman
On Wednesday, June 1, Larry Black was sworn in as the new chairman of the Catoosa County Board of Commissioners by Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Brian House.
Black won the three-way race for chairman with 5,574 votes to his two opponents’ combined 4,277 votes in the May 24 special election to fill the seat former chairman Steven Henry vacated to run for state Senate.
Black has not been sitting idly by waiting to start his job. “I’ve gone back in the archives on the county’s website and watched all the board meetings for 2021 and 2022,” he says. “That seemed like a good way to gain a better understanding of what’s been going on and how the board operates.”
Black has also been talking to commissioners some. “I already know all these people from my years on the Ringgold City Council and some of my other work,” he says.
Watching the archived meetings made Black aware of one problem he’d like to help resolve: “I want to talk to our IT director and see if we can make viewing commission meetings easier for the public. Among other things, we need to improve sound so people can hear what’s being said easier.”
Black says he would also like to see more discussion about things at commission meetings. “I was amazed to see the commission vote on things like a nearly one-million-dollar budget with no comments. They do talk about these things in work sessions, but people don’t realize it. It can look like we’re just rubber-stamping things when we walk into a meeting and vote yes without any real explanation.”
“I’m looking forward to working with the other commissioners to improve Catoosa County,” says Black, who will preside over his first meeting on June 7.