Is It Time For A Tallahassee Utility Board?

The Tallahassee Charter Review Committee has been meeting over the last two months with the charge of reviewing possible changes to the Tallahassee City Charter. Among the issues that have been discussed is a separate regulatory board for the utility functions of the city. After five months of research, including dozens of interviews with city employees and Tallahassee […]

Tallahassee Charter Review Committee Begins Staking Out Positions

Like a bear cub trying to determine what to do with the porcupine he has cornered, the Tallahassee Charter Review Committee continued to tiptoe around the major issues until the final 45 minutes of their 5th meeting today when the positions of the committee members were revealed. The issue that garnished the most attention was the role of the […]

Will Smart Meters Be Cost-Effective?…You Will Decide!

Smart meters are the latest rage and Tallahassee is on the cutting edge. Our electric utility began investigating smart meters before 2005 and received the go ahead to spend approximately $40 million from the City Commission in late 2007. This puts us ahead of the Texas utility Oncor and Southern California Edision  who are spending $690 million and $1.3 […]

An Interview with City Commissioner Mark Mustian

Tallahassee Reports sat down with City Commissioner Mark Mustian to get his view on a number of issues. What do you think are the most pressing issues facing the City of Tallahassee? First is what to do with the electric utility. Should we keep it, sell the complete utility, or just the generation? I think […]

Is City Parking Program Another Green Program?

Tallahassee Reports continues to get a number of emails from those affected by the new City of Tallahassee parking program. Most of these emails focus on the fairness issue and the money involved. Click here to see an application for the City Employee Parking program. A review by Tallahassee Reports indicates that one reason the parking […]

Green Era Priorities Trump Child Safety Programs

In the 2009 budget, the Tallahassee City Commission cut $50,000 from the elementary school crossing guard program and cut another $30,000 by eliminating the DARE program. However, in November of 2008  the City of Tallahassee found $89,000 to donate to the Leon County School system for the “Schools on Solar Program.” Why?…In a letter, responding  to the […]

City Commission and City Manager Silent on Tallahassee Transmission Line Problems

Over the last five years the Florida Public Service Commission(FPSC) and the staff of the Tallahassee Electric Utility have documented problems associated with the transmission lines that connect Tallahassee to the Florida electric grid. Fact 1: At a City Commission Target Issue Workshop in May 2004, electric utility staff pointed out that “regional load growth is outpacing transmission […]

The Creation of the City’s Green Department Not Fully Disclosed to Taxpayers

Facts uncovered by Tallahassee Reports indicates that the information surrounding the creation of  the Environmental Policy and Energy Resources (EPER) Department, aka The Green Department, was not fully disclosed to taxpayers. Fact 1: The newly created Director position, costing citizens approximately $120,000  was not advertised internally or to the public.

An Interview with Cynthia Barber, Director of the City's Green Department

Tallahassee Reports had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Cynthia Barber, the Director of the Environmental Policy and Energy Resources Department, aka, The Green Department. I found her to be accommodating and well versed in the mission of her newly formed department. What are your qualifications? I have an undergraduate degree  in Business […]