City Suspends Lunchtime Trolley Service

City Suspends Lunchtime Trolley Service

The day following a city budget workshop that revealed a $4.5 million general fund budget deficit and a vote by city commissioners not to increase property taxes, the the city cancelled the downtown lunch trolley service that was costing taxpayers $50,000 per month. Tallahassee Reports recently published a story about the trolley costing taxpayers $18 […]

Leon County Home Resales Up in May, Prices Climb

Leon County Home Resales Up in May, Prices Climb

Sales of existing single-family homes in Leon county increased in May by 12.8% when compared to numbers sold in May one year ago. There were 343 single-family home resales in May 2017 and 304 resales in May 2016. Last month there were 283 existing single-family homes sold. The annualized rate of sales was 3,128 in […]

Leon County Loses Jobs in May, Unemployment Remains at 3.6%

Leon County Loses Jobs in May, Unemployment Remains at 3.6%

The latest employment information shows that Leon County lost 981 jobs in May 2017. This month’s loss follows a loss of 525 jobs in April. One year ago Leon County loss 1,224 jobs. Despite the job losses, the unemployment rate remained at 3.6%. One year ago the unemployment rate was 4.2%. The 3.6% is the […]

Leon County Ranks #1 in Crime Rate Again

Leon County Ranks #1 in Crime Rate Again

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement released crime data for 2016 and Leon County leads the state of Florida in crime rate for the third year in a row. The crime rate per 100,000 residents increased by 6.8% over 2015 numbers. The total crime rate in the state of Florida fell by 4.4% and also fell […]

Report: Gillum Campaign “Grossly Exaggerated” the Number of Donors

Report: Gillum Campaign “Grossly Exaggerated” the Number of Donors

This past Friday the Andrew Gillum campaign for governor announced the campaign had received donations from more than 7,000 contributors. However, a report by FloridaPolitics.com has found that the number is actually 5,300. FloridaPolitics.com reviewed the most recent campaign finance reports and verified 6,933 contributions. However, when duplicates were removed, the number of unique contributors […]

Commissioner Bill Proctor Speaks Up for Local Business Group, Inclusiveness at Blueprint Meeting…and Wins

Commissioner Bill Proctor Speaks Up for Local Business Group, Inclusiveness at Blueprint Meeting…and Wins

At the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency meeting today, Commissioner Bill Proctor made an impassioned argument and a motion for the inclusion of the Network Entrepreneurs and Business Advocates (NEBA) on the Economic Vitality Competitiveness Committee (EVCC). His colleagues responded by approving his motion 9-2. The motion was seconded by City Commissioner Scott Maddox. Mayor Andrew Gillum and […]

Economic Development Staff Proposes Citizen Advisory Groups Created “Internally”

Economic Development Staff Proposes Citizen Advisory Groups Created “Internally”

Through an “internal” process, the Office of Economic Vitality has created three citizen advisory groups with 43 positions that will aide the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency in deciding how to allocate  approximately $100 million in economic development monies raised through the Blueprint Sales Tax. While there was a structure for including various institutions among the groups, it […]

Budget Hawks Seek Feedback on City Budget Through Survey

Budget Hawks Seek Feedback on City Budget Through Survey

The Budget Hawks, a local financial watchdog group, is seeking feedback from citizens about the upcoming city budget process though a six question survey. Citizens can review and participate in the survey here. The City of Tallahassee is holding a budget workshop this week and one of the main questions before the elected officials is […]

With Business Incentive of $881K, Local Experts Say “Project Campus” Will Create 120 High Paying Jobs

With Business Incentive of $881K, Local Experts Say “Project Campus” Will Create 120 High Paying Jobs

The new structure of the Tallahassee-Leon County economic development apparatus is up to bat. At the next Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency (IA) meeting, elected officials will be asked to consider the approval of a business incentive of $881,000 for the purposes of persuading a local company to choose Tallahassee-Leon County over an out-of-state competitor for its […]