Commissioner Porter, who hired attorney Ron Meyer of Meyer, Brooks, Blohm, and Hearn P.A. to represent her, reportedly paid a total of $2,520 in legal fees to address the issue.

The complaint filed alleged that City Commissioner Porter violated the Tallahassee Ethics Code, specifically by misuse of position (see,Ord. Code, Section 2-8) by publicizing local businesses on her City of Tallahassee Facebook page.

The City Commission recently voted to reimburse City Manager Reese Goad’s attorney’s fees related to two ethics complaints in the amount of $3,810. The decision came after the dismissal of both complaints.

In accordance with City Commission policy, the City is expected to reimburse all public officials for legal fees incurred while successfully defending ethics complaints, given the official was acting in their official capacity. As Commissioner Porter prevailed against the complaint, she is entitled to financial reimbursement in accordance with common law in the State of Florida. The City Commission must now vote to authorize Porter’s reimbursement from the Risk Management Claims Fund.

The estimated cost for the agreement totals $4.9 million. Of that sum, $3.7 million will go towards wage costs and $1.2 million will be dedicated to lowering pension costs for IAFF members. Administrative and operational changes included in the agreement include the following as per the agenda item:

“Increase to special teams and paramedic supplements, new hire step increase after completion of probation, physical fitness supplement increase, institution of random nicotine testing, sick leave pool, increase in education reimbursement, personal leave slot ratio, mandatory overtime selection, decrease in group health insurance premium contributions and other minor language changes.”

Firefighters will see a 4% step progression adjustment for FY22 and FY23, as well as a 2.5% pay increase for members who topped out in FY22 and 2.75% for FY23. Supervisors will see a 4.5% across the board adjustment (ATB) for FY22 and FY23. The agreement also includes an annual cash supplement of $500 to be given out biweekly over 26 pay periods, as well as changes in pension rates and parental leave guaranteed for up to 240 hours per year.

Fiscal impacts for FY22 and FY23 will be analyzed as part of the budget development process.

Provided below is a description of the three agencies that will be receiving the most funding from the commission’s decision.

DISC Village

This private, non-profit corporation has been offering substance abuse prevention education and resources in the Tallahassee area since 1972. Currently, DISC Village operates the Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC). The organization provides the JAC onsite security as well as supervision for the arrested youth. DISC Village qualifies for discretionary funding due to their being no other statutory or mandated funding for this specific type of program. According to the county agenda item, “Without the JAC, the Sheriff’s Office would need a separate facility and staffing at the jail,” which would, in turn, result in higher costs.

Legal Services of North Florida

A non-profit 501(c)3, this agency provides civil legal assistance to residents within 16 of Florida’s panhandle counties. The commissioners had previously approved an additional $125,000 in one-time limited funding to cover attorney and support staff costs for a maximum of five years. This funding began in FY 2016 and ended in FY 2020. The commissioners approved another additional $125,000 for FY 2021 “to support Legal Services of North Florida’s efforts in providing legal services to qualifying Leon County Residents.”

Tallahassee Senior Citizens Foundation

Established in 1980, this independent nonprofit exists to provide programs, services and other resources to seniors in the Tallahassee community. Participants of Tallahassee Senior Services are able to utilize this system to “encourage active living, optimal aging and social fitness” for adults over age 50, according to their website. Funds from this commission item will be utilized programs offered by the foundation in rural areas of Leon County. Like DISC Village, there are no statutory or mandated funds eligible for this type of program.

Discretionary funding levels must be finalized by March 31, according to the County’s ordinance. The Fiscal Planning Policy also requires that funding levels for special event funding be established by the same date for the upcoming year. As the CHSP funding runs on a two-year cycle, staff recommends that funds are maintained for the upcoming fiscal year, with a proposed level of $1,445,000. An additional $3.22 million was allocated as part of the CARES funding plan for human services agencies eligible for CHSP funding.

Specific services are provided to the County through contracts with outside agencies. These include the Tallahassee Senior Citizens Foundation, St. Francis Wildlife, Domestic Violence Coordinating Council and the Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation (TTHP) among others. The funding of these yearly contracts is at the discretion of the Board of County Commissioners. In total, these contracts add up to $776,734 annually for the County.

Outside Agency Spending

• Apalachee Regional Planning Council: $8,800
• DISC Village: $222,759
• Domestic Violence Coordinating Council: $25,000
• Legal Services of North Florida: $125,000
• Oasis Center: $20,000
• St. Francis Wildlife Association: $71,250
• Tallahassee Senior Citizens Foundation: $179,000
• Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation: $63,175
• United Partners for Human Services: $23,750
• Whole Child Leon: $38,000

Commissioner office budgets are expected to be maintained at $12,500 annually. Special event funding is also approved through this budget process, with participants including the Celebrate America Fourth of July Celebration, Dr. Martin Luther King Celebration and the NAACP Freedom Fund Award among others. Despite COVID-19 restrictions, the County continued to sponsor events throughout FY 2021, while adhering to CDC-recommended safety procedures. The Board recommends maintaining the Special Events budget of $37,000.

Finally, the Kearney Center, which currently has a five-year funding contract of $500,000 with the County, requested another five-year commitment in order to make financial ends meet, especially due to the extra demands that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the County CARES program, the Center was allocated an additional $2.7 million dedicated to facility renovations and other costs.

“The Waiting” is a “horromedy” film — a new spin on horror and comedy. It follows the story of Eric, a young man who takes a job at a haunted hotel and encounters some unfriendly spirits along the way. As an indie project with a limited budget, Rabbath defied all industry odds when his work was picked up by theaters throughout the Southeastern United States. His previous film, “A Brilliant Monster,” enjoyed similar success in 2019.

Early screenings of the film have garnered widespread acclaim, with showings already guaranteed at The Montreal Film Festival, Golden State Film Festival and Sochi Film Festival. Film critic Paul Mount of Starburst called “The Waiting” “another enjoyable and hugely accomplished feature from Rabbath, who has worked wonders with a tiny budget.”

“The Waiting,” which Rabbath described as being “100 percent Florida-made,” will be screened locally at the CMX Fallschase movie theatre starting March 12, with other showings in Atlanta, Miami, St. Petersburg, Orlando and other cities. Big Bend residents can find pleasure in the familiar locales in the film, with the entire production being done in Tallahassee and Wakulla.

In response to the declining COVID-19 numbers, the Leon County School Board is planning on utilizing an in-person format after this school year. While students and parents have had both digital and in-person options throughout the school year, Superintendent Rocky Hanna revealed at last week’s school board meeting that the school district will “not be operating school-based digital academies next fall,” meaning that a majority of students will return to brick-and-mortar schools. Students will, however, still have the option to enroll in Leon County Virtual School, and the school district plans on surveying parents on this service in the coming weeks.

Florida State University also seems to be starting a slow return to normalcy. In a statement released on Feb. 25, FSU President John Thrasher revealed that Spring 2021 graduates will be having an in-person graduation. The commencements, which typically take place over the course of a single weekend, will be held over the two weekends of Apr. 17 and Apr. 23 with 11 small-scale ceremonies to be held in the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. In the statement, Thrasher commended students who “have worked through some tremendous challenges in order to graduate.”

While graduates are permitted four guests, safety protocols including social distancing and mask-wearing will be put in place. Additionally, students who graduated during the 2020 semesters will be given the opportunity to walk in-person during the summer.

Also, President Thrasher announced that FSU is planning for in-person classes to begin during the upcoming summer.

In an email sent Feb. 25, Thrasher stated, “We look forward to more students on campus this summer, and we will have a robust offering of in-person classes as well as hybrid, flex, and online classes…..This fall, we anticipate classes that were designed for in-person delivery will resume the face-to-face format, and we expect faculty and staff to return to campus.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic winds down, the policies and procedures that were put in place as a response to the crisis are slowly reverting to their original forms as people and organizations prepare for post-pandemic life.

During the City Commission Retreat held in January, the commissioners directed staff to reinstate COVID-19 mitigation plans for spring special events in the area. These events, which would be co-sponsored by the City, must have approval by the commission in order to proceed. Community events like the Springtime Tallahassee festival have been prohibited in the city due to COVID-19 precautions since March 2020.

The Springtime Tallahassee Festival, which was founded in 1968, was created to support legislators that were in favor of keeping Florida’s state capitol in Tallahassee as opposed to moving the distinction to Orlando. Since then, the festival has become one of the top special events in the southeast, attracting over 20,000 visitors every year. It is estimated that out-town visitors spend upwards of $6 million, stimulating the local economy.

According to the meeting agenda, “Special event permit applications are now required to include COVID-19 mitigation plans.”

These plans are meant to demonstrate how the event organizer will follow CDC guidelines as well as federal, state and local regulations regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

During their Jan. 27 meeting, the City Commission approved four events to take place during the spring season: Word of South, Red Hills Horse Trials, LeMoyne Arts Festival and the Southern Shakespeare Festival. In order to be approved, Springtime Tallahassee is expected to submit its specific COVID-19 safety plan prior to the next City Commission meeting.

The policy statements, which are projected to have no fiscal impact according to the County agenda, are listed as follows.

Property Assessed Clean Energy (HB 387)

This bill will expand the capabilities of the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs in Leon County, where there are currently commercial and residential programs of this kind already in place. Should the bill pass, it would allow for an expansion of projects eligible for financial coverage under PACE, such as storm and flood resistance, wastewater treatment improvement, water conservation and emergency battery storage systems.

Florida Competitive Workforce Act/Prohibited Discrimination (HB 107/SB 256)

This bill, which will support the proposed Florida Competitive Workforce Act (FCWA), will “prohibit employers from providing less favorable employment opportunities to employees based on their sex.” The FCWA initiative seeks to prohibit discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, employment or housing status. The Florida Legislature has considered similar policies to support the FCWA initiative, although the Board has not heard any of these initiatives in recent years.

Regional Planning Councils (SB 62)

Contrary to the two other proposed statements, the Board took the staff recommendation to oppose this bill as it would “limit, reduce or eliminate” the defined duties of the Regional Planning Councils in the State of Florida, which have been in place since the council’s establishment in 1980. Under the proposed bill, the designated regional planning councils would be abolished, with their responsibilities being reassigned to local governments and state bureaucracy. 

The study examined 17 rural Wisconsin schools, reporting that with widespread mask-wearing and other protective measures, “COVID-19 incidence among students and staff members was lower than in the county overall,” implying that with the proper protocols, students should be able to return to brick and mortar schools. For the fall 2020 term, 13,597 of 14,944 school districts had reopening plans, with 51% still using a hybrid in-person and online model, according to another study.

Mental health has been a forefront issue during the pandemic, with some researchers declaring a complementary “global psychological pandemic” of mental health instability and suicide. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and perhaps the face of the coronavirus response in the U.S., has also encouraged that schools open back up, granted they abide by CDC guidelines.

As vaccination efforts continue, some teachers across the country are still not comfortable returning to the classroom, with unions in Virginia and California arguing that vaccination does not equate to workplace safety. According to Dr. K.C. Rondello, an epidemiologist and clinical associate professor Adelphi University College of Nursing and Public Health, reopening processes should be “very particular to each community” depending on each area’s infection rates.

Rondello addressed the mass panic that ensued during the early days of the pandemic, explaining that there was very little information on COVID-19 at the time. Since then, data has shown that “the vast majority of those fears” have been unfounded. Should schools follow CDC guidelines of social distancing, mask-wearing and frequent handwashing, data shows that there should be no major risks associated with bringing children back to in-person schooling.

In order to be eligible for the program, landlords must be private Tallahassee residents with no more than five rental properties in the area. Landlords may apply if their tenants have experienced instability due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are homeless or are at risk of being evicted. Those with vacant properties can also apply to the fund and be paired with a tenant in need of housing.

On the housing insecurity crisis, Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey commented, “Housing insecurity is a nationwide issue that has been amplified due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As we work together to address the problem locally, the Landlord Risk Mitigation Fund is one way that we are helping to keep more of our community members in their homes.”

Incentives for participating include a $500 one-time bonus upon leasing a unit to a homeless individual, $1000 in excess of the security deposit for unforeseen expenses and up to $2000 in excess of the security deposit to cover unpaid rent from a tenant who is unable to pay.

Resources for landlords participating in the Landlord Risk Mitigation Fund are funded through community partnerships with United Partners for Human Services, Big Bend Continuum of Care, Legal Said Foundation, Legal Services of North Florida and others. Further information on the City’s housing programs can be found on Talgov.com/Landlords.

The new senior center, which will be constructed on property donated in the new Canopy Development adjacent to Welaunee Boulevard, was ranked as one of the City’s top priorities in 2014. According to the agenda item, the current Tallahassee Senior Center (TSC) is “bursting at the seams” with additional parking, staff and space needed to meet the large demands of the public, with nearly 500 participants on a daily basis.

The project is estimated to have a total fiscal impact of $17,200,000, with funding allocated in both the 2021 and 2022 Fiscal Year plans and sourced from 2021 Sales Tax. The guaranteed maximum price of the new senior center will be determined “once the contract is negotiated and project team is substantially complete.”

The Culpepper/One Day Came proposal was just one of the seven responses received after the city released a Request for Proposals to the public. According to the meeting agenda, Culpepper/One Day Came has “104 years of combined company experience in the construction industry.”

According to the agenda item, the funding, will be allocated by the U.S. Treasury, must be used for its intended purpose of housing assistance in accordance with the Consolidated Appropriations Act passed by Congress in December. The funds would also be supplemental to the Coronavirus Relief Funding allocated under the federal CARES Act.

In order to be eligible for rental assistance, each renter household must have at least one person who qualifies for unemployment or has experienced financial struggles due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They must also be at significant risk of homelessness and have a household income at or below 80% of the Area Medium Income (AMI). The program must prioritize applicant households with individuals who have been unemployed for 90 days and with income at or below 50% of AMI.

Households that are approved for assistance may receive 12 months of assistance and are eligible for an additional three months should the situation call for it and funds are available. All funds from the program are intended to be paid directly to landlords and utility providers, unless the landlord wishes not to participate in the program, in which the household would receive the funds directly.

The County Commission approval of the $8.9 million in funding will facilitate housing for approximately 2,000 to 3,000 households in Leon County.