Tallahassee Reports has learned through a public records request that Tallahassee City Manager Anita Favors Thompson sent out an email soliciting donations from a city lobbyist, city vendors and city employees for a charitable event involving City Commissioner Gil Ziffer. City Commissioner Gill Ziffer told Tallahassee Reports he was not aware of the email. The […]
Over a six month period from October, 2012 until July, 2013 something special happened in City Hall. Something that a lot of people in this community had been seeking for a number of years. But those people were told they were naysayers and critics. The powers in City Hall told these people “take your three […]
The City of Tallahassee staff will formally ask the City Commissioners to vote against some of the major recommendations made by the Ethics Advisory Panel (EAP) on Wednesday during a City Commission workshop. The Ethics Advisory Panel, made up of nine citizens, including a retired Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court and a former President […]
The City of Tallahassee recently updated the financials for their operations in the fiscal year 2013 and the budgeted numbers for 2014. One of the items updated was the “Schedule of Reserves.” The “Schedule of Reserves” details the City of Tallahassee policies and reserve level requirements for eleven different funds. Reserves are used to address […]
Data from the Florida Department of Revenue indicates consumer spending in Leon County continues to rebound from the recession low of $6.3 billion experienced in 2009. In 2007, before the recession officially began, consumer spending on goods and services in Leon County was $7.2 billion. During the recession, sales of goods and services decreased by […]
A new proposal to address the arts and cultural needs of our community is starting to gain momentum. For so long, the talk about arts and culture has been focused on the controversial proposal to build a downtown 1700 seat performing arts center. Given the financial constraints and the failure of that project to gain […]
Killearn Estates, the northeast neighborhood of 4,000 homes, and the City of Tallahassee are in a tug a war over who is responsible for maintaining a chain of lakes that covers approximately 200 acres. It is a debate that is complicated, colored by a history of mistrust, and shows no signs of going away. It […]
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) have been a hot topic in my home for nearly a year. As a concerned parent, I have firsthand knowledge what these standards are doing to my children. Ever since last year, my now third-grade daughter has repeatedly expressed frustration in math. I’ve witnessed her love of math slowly […]
Now that both the City and the County has adopted a budget for fiscal year 2014, Tallahassee Reports has acquired the most recent budget documents and developed a table comparing spending trends between the two local governments since 2008. A comparison of the County and City operational spending trends since 2008 are shown in the […]
The Leon County School Board race for District 1 gained a candidate yesterday with the candidacy of incumbent Forrest Van Camp, but lost one today. Patrick Madden told Tallahassee Reports he was dropping out of the race due to Van Camp’s candidacy. He said Van Camp is “clearly the most knowledgeable, experienced and qualified” person for […]