At the City of Tallahassee budget workshop next week, city commissioners will hear a proposal to increase public safety spending due to violent crime trends. In addition, a proposed property tax increase will be presented as a method to fund the spending.
According to the agenda materials, the collective proposed changes in Tallahassee Police Department’s wages, additional officers, and technology would represent a 14% increase in TPD’s FY24 budget, or $9.5 million in funding.
The workshop agenda notes that “While the City has invested approximately $31.5 million in programs to systemically combat the rise of violent crime, immediate progress toward the target to reduce violent crime by 10% continues to lag. In order to address this trend, it is necessary to increase investment in additional measures including increased patrols for critical times of need, expanded investigative resources, and the implementation of advanced technology.”
City staff states the rationale for the increase in public safety spending is supported by comparisons that indicate that Tallahassee does not have enough police officers. The agenda notes that trends suggest TPD is operating with as few as half of the officers of peer agencies.
For this and other reasons, staff is proposing an additional 20 officers combined with increased investment in advanced technology to better position TPD to meet the level of service our community expects. The FY24 budget includes an additional $3.9 million to fund 20 new officers (including start-up expenses) to increase patrol resources during peak periods when violent crime is most likely to occur, and maximize available time for community-oriented policing efforts.
Property Taxes
The city staff notes that an increase in the millage rate of 0.62 mills would fund the balance necessary to support increased police wages, 20 new officer positions, and advanced technology to reduce prevailing trends in violent crime.
For a typical household a 4.72 millage rate would translate to an increase of $139 a year, or about $12 per month, representing a 3.29% increase in the total tax bill.
Two more public meetings are planned, one in May and one in June, to receive feedback from the Commission on priorities for funding, which will include updated revenue estimates and costs as additional information is received.
City of Tallahassee Seeks Increase in TPD Budget Due to Violent Crime Trends added by Staff on
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It is so bothersome to me and peeks my curiosity that many years ago when property taxes were collected they went into a “General Fund”..the streets and drainage, stormwater, waste, fire department, etc..were all funded out of this account.
Currently, my property taxes are the highest they have ever been, so the city and county collect money for the “General Fund” but they also now collect storm water fees, waste fees and fire service fees all separately. We have more buildings and houses than we have ever had before at the highest values..hence the increased tax revenue without increasing the millage rates..
So where does all the extra money in the General Fund go that used to pay for storm water? Fire department? Waste fees? The city has a less employees in their workforce..
Hmmm? So where is the money being diverted to?
Why are we increasing the salary for uneducated LEOs from 50k to 60k? What crimes to LEOs in Tallahassee solve or prevent? I just see them parked all over town, usually in low income neighborhoods or racially profiling drivers.
Tallahassee had a massive property tax increase LAST YEAR and now they want to grow TPD budget by 20%? Obvious corruption
See all the problems places like Portland and San Fransicko have?
That’s us, in a decade or less.
Homeless people shooting up, pooping in your front yard where their tent is, harassing you. And LEO won’t do a damn thing about it.
Of course, triple the taxes you’re paying now.
It’s inevitable, as long as you keep voting for the same knuckleheaded, progressive Marxists.
When this happens, I plan to hand out the addresses of our city commissars to the vagrants and tell them they’ll be welcomed there.
@ NE… try reading my original post. Here, I’ll paste it for you so you don’t have to scroll…
April 20, 2023 at 1:19 pm
The cry of the Marxicrat ideology… “Always More; Never Enough” They don’t even attempt to hide it anymore. In the very request for $9.5 million MORE, they support their cry by admitting to wasting $31.5 million… un-freak’n-believable
I never said that the tax increase should be supported by anyone. My personal/professional belief is that the funds – and not just in this case mind you – should be reallocated from the numerous failed programs.
As for your question, “What have LEOs done for us lately?”… ask me that again should you find a need to call them to save your ass… and they do. It’s not their fault that the elected Marxicrats have berated them, demeaned them, defunded them, blamed them, demoralized them, and tied their hands behind their backs.
Refocus your discontent on the true cause of the problem… and it ain’t the brave men and women who risk their lives everyday to protect and save ours. Oh, and consolidation ain’t gonna happen. The vast majority of Leon’s population lives within the city limits. And they deserve and warrant city Law Enforcement focus and service. LEOs aren’t the problem… Marxicrat ideology is the problem.
Ed Lyle
What have LEOs done for us lately? Except crash the budget so hard the Dailey/Goad admin is trying to raise taxes to keep up.
not solving crimes effectively. Honest question, why should conservatives support this tax increase. Civil liberties and fiscal sense suggests to me, consolidate TPD under sheriffs office
Pat A
Agreed!!
If the supporters and voters of the bundled contributions crowd would put more energy into voting them out instead of voting in the same problems year after year after year and criticizing the two who do the right thing we would be far better off. Friends of the DAILEY crime crisis, the liar of bundled contributions and won’t budge on removing the corrupt city manager Curtis, and go along get along DWC are the problem.
When will the insanity end? Gadsden County, Leon County, and the City of Tallahassee have done everything they can not to blame the criminal for the crimes committed. Gadsden Co thinks buying all the inmates an Ipad is the solution. The City wants to teach inmates how to raise bees. The solution to rising crime is simple. Make the consequence of committing a crime so untolerable that it deters people from committing crime. Think about the last 5 students arrested for having a firearm on school campus. No cash bail, out of jail in 2 days, a free top shelf public defender then cop a plea to a misdemeaner with no prison time. As long as rising crime benefits political cronies and politicians expect crime to get worse and your tax liability to increase.
If the taxes increase, boo hoo to all you that voted for Dailey, DW-C and Richardson. You deserve what you get! But dang if this pesky democracy thing means the rest of us will suffer for your error in voting judgement. I’m signing off now to go cry into my Bud Light (not really, I prefer a nice stout) as I ponder how so few elected officials can cause so much harm to so many.
Maybe one reason some people dont want to be police a police officer here is because the city they grew up in is no more. It’s being turned into central and south florida lookalike by developers with no appreciation for the REAL Florida, city codes and officials that allow them to do it, and grifting commissioners. With such ugliness developed more and more, including the rampant environmental racism fostered by the COT, people become uglier and crime increases, and who’d want to be a cop here! This may seem simplistic on the surface, but deep down where our respect for our environment goes, so goes humanity.
I didnt get a 14% raise, nor did my home value increase by 14%. But the city and blueprint can mismanage our tax dollars, give top managers huge raises, and give us the bird by raising taxes. Shame…who voted for these city bozos.
Hold on this may have ZERO to do with TPD or crime. As the sheeple our elected Nannies see us as – thats just what they want us sheeple to think.
Did the legislature pass laws to make Tallahassee, Gainesville, and other City operated utilities stop using utilitiy revenue as their own private slush fund for all things leftist?
Could this sudden crime concern be just getting ahead of The State squeezing off their utility private slush fund????
Yes I think it is. Jack up property tax now to get ahead of it desguise it as fighting crime.
Whats of some minor interest to me but will be major butt hurt for Matlow/Porter syncophant(s) is that it looks like the 2 wokesters are colluding with the old school lefty Nanies to help pull the whool over the sheeple public eyes.
Oh Lord please change Govornor Desantis heart from turning his nose up to Tallahassee’s off the rail corrupt elected Nannies and make Desantis send the FDLE (not the corrupt FBI…oh #eLL no) in to clean up Tallahassee. Dude you live here…clean it up.
I hope my freaking property tax increase equals more funding for Jack Porter’s call for snacks during her laborious duties as a city commissioner.
Seriously. Does it not seem that the ever increasing local property tax increases to fund the failed Chicago Cure Violence program, the Anita Favors Thompson 50 large, and now the children’s services council rape without positive results not tell you this is not working!!!
You have CSC $$$. Use that to hire police officers!
This is a win-win scenario for Matlow and Porter. If the tax increase passes, the pair can campaign on their opposition to it. If the tax increase is defeated, Tallahassee’s own Cloward and Piven can pat themselves on the back that they’ve moved the city one step closer to becoming Thunderdome.
The two anti-LEO alt-left progressive Marxicrats will vote against the proposed increase because they know it will pass anyway. Then they can claim some fraudulent anti-tax bona fides and lure in some weak minded RINOs.
They both hate LEOs and the concept of law and order… but in reality, one will vote against it because he owns some businesses that will get tagged with it, and he will have to raise prices because he sure as heck won’t pay it out of the goodness of his heart… and the other will vote against it because she’s still suffering the hit over her poor judgement with the Biro pick. And they both know there are some weedhead keyboard commandos who will falsely praise them as Conservative minded.
David T Hawkins, I read that.
This is what Porter was warning us about. Tax and spend Chambercrats have pushed us to that point already!
Matlow and Porter will be against the tax increase. Will the others?
Help us Govornor Desantis.
Pleaae send in The FDLE to run a full audit on The City of Tallahassee!!!!
HELP US GOVORNOR DESANTIS!!!!!!!!!!!!
The cry of the Marxicrat ideology… “Always More; Never Enough” They don’t even attempt to hide it anymore. In the very request for $9.5 million MORE, they support their cry by admitting to wasting $31.5 million… un-freak’n-believable
Say NO to the city managers property taxes. He shouldn’t have spent all of our money on executive raises for political cronies and political consulting firms masquerading as public relations firms on the city payroll.
Now they want more money. No, No, No!!!
Take it out of the 31.5 million in soft money programs that clearly are NOT working. If they try to shake down property owners over the failures of their 31 million in efforts to reduce crime they are gonna lose their jobs.
(listening to Steve right now. Jeremy Matlow is right on his opposition to raising our millage rates and for Steve to insinuate that Matlow’s only against it because he hates cops is why Bellamy failed to unseat him. )
Eliminate the recent inflated salary increases to top tier city employees.
Should have thought about this before they bought Stadium Seats for $25 million.
The Mayor, DWC, and Curtis care more about schmoozing a revenue source for their campaign contributions rather than our crime crisis.
And this should be a perfect example of mismanagement of funds for personal gain at the expense of the taxpayers safety.
@ NE Moderate = Read this, https://tallahasseereports.com/2023/02/09/tallahassee-city-commissioner-jack-porter-seeks-discussion-on-property-tax-increase/
Matlow and Porter will oppose the tax increase. Will the establishment Dailey/Chambercrats vote to raise our property taxes as Reese recommends?
Here is a thought, Take 5 Percent of the Money coming in from all the Tickets written, take 5 Percent of all the Bail being Posted, take 5 Percentage of all the Fines being levied. Let the Criminals pay for the new Cops and Equipment needed.
The PROBLEM IS, everyone who has a Home Mortgage, their Mortgage Payment will ALSO Increase. The Worthless CSC has already increased my Mortgage Payment by $35 a Month, the City Commissioners are talking about raise our Property Taxes so THEY can have more Money to waste and for better Snacks and the School Board is wanting to raise our Property Taxes so they can give Teachers a Pay Raise.
What I don’t understand is, with all the new Houses being built over the last few Years and STILL being built today with MOST selling for well over $250,000 each, WHY do you need to raise our Property Taxes?
As is typical in government, just want more money to throw at a problem. As indicated $31.5 million of tax payers money has been allocated with limited impact. Instead of throwing more money at it, if whatever you are doing is not working TRY SOMETHING ELSE with the money you already have, before you raise my taxes.
We also have a Sheriff’s presents and FSU Police presents in Tallahassee.