Sharpe claims Mayor Wamp is withholding financial information from his district

Hamilton County Commissioner David Sharpe (left) and Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp (right)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- A Hamilton County Commissioner is claiming Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp is withholding key information from him and his constituents.

Commissioner David Sharpe says he was told this during a legal meeting last week.

Commissioner Sharpe and Mayor Wamp have sparred on numerous issues.

These claims come after Commissioner Sharpe’s proposed reorganization of county government to place the commission over the selection of county personnel failed.

“Last week, our Mayor made what I believe to be a disturbing announcement at our local meeting. He declared that in no uncertain terms, he would no longer provide crucial financial information to the people of district six through their elected representative. Holding information from duly elected officials is petty, and immature, at best, and at worst, it’s a willful violation of the oath of office,” said Sharpe.

He further called for a declaratory judgement to be had on the issue of the county’s organization chart.

Several other commissioners said in their view this was a settled debate given a recent C-TAS opinion that did not rule against the current form of county government.

Mayor Wamp sent us the following response to these claims”

 “Our office continues to focus on carrying out the important work of county government. Unfortunately, again this morning, David Sharpe used a commission meeting to air personal grievances. By his own admission last week, Sharpe often does not understand what he is voting on, which makes it difficult for him to advocate for his district. I am hopeful the chairman of the county commission will prevent similar partisan outbursts in the future.”