Tallahassee Reports has learned that Mayor Andrew Gillum is seeking a 21% increase in the Mayor’s office budget in 2016.The increase would be funded through a portion of the proposed property tax increase. A review of the budget shows that in 2015 the Mayor’s office, when you remove the City’s lobbying contract which is a pass […]
In an exclusive interview with Tallahassee Reports, Steven Slade, the President of the Big Bend Chapter of the Florida PBA, voiced his frustration with City officials and their portrayal of the property tax increase in the local media. On Sunday the Tallahassee Democrat published an editorial asking the City to reconsider the proposed property tax […]
By Laura Forster Salt and Light Citizenship Ministry Co-Leader, Celebration Baptist Church Tallahassee’s own retired Lieutenant General Lawrence Snowden knows former enemies can become friends. During a service on May 24, 2015 at Celebration Baptist Church he shared how his one-time enemy, the Japanese in the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II, now […]
It is time to get real! Yesterday at the City Budget workshop , Commissioner Nancy Miller made an impassioned plea for a 27% increase in property taxes- her rationale: it is not much money when compared to the money shes pays for comcast cable. She said “we are fighting over $10 per month for many […]
If City staff thought the proposed budget with a 27% property tax increase would be rubber stamped by City Commissioners, they were proved wrong in the morning session of the workshop. The purpose of the meeting was to focus on the budget specifics so staff could get an idea if the City Commissioners were going […]
When City Manager Anita Favors released her proposed budget last month for FY 2016, which includes a 27% increase in property taxes, her press release called the proposal a “public safety budget.” The press release detailed the increase in positions for public safety and also mentioned the $500,000 allocated for street resurfacing. However, one item […]
On the eve of a crucial budget hearing, high level City of Tallahassee officials requested a meeting with police union members (PBA) to seek their public endorsement of the proposed 27% increase in property taxes. Sources tell TR that the PBA, after the meeting, declined to publicly endorse the tax increase, and instead, will remain […]
Approximately 95 citizens attended the Town Hall meeting sponsored by Tallahassee Reports last Thursday to address the City’s proposed 27% increase in property taxes. The meeting was held at the Killearn Country Club. The Town Hall was held so that City Commissioners could provide information and take questions about the proposed tax increase. City Commissioners […]
The Tallahassee Democrat has a major story in their Sunday edition on the City’s proposed 2015-16 budget, which includes a 27% increase in property taxes. However, when it comes to reporting the amount in the budget for non-public safety pay raises for city employees, the Tallahassee Democrat publishes an incorrect number. Byron Dobson, the Tallahassee […]
A recent draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade deal would give U.S. pharmaceutical firms unprecedented protections against competition from cheaper generic drugs, possibly transcending the patent protections in U.S. law. POLITICO has obtained a draft copy of TPP’s intellectual property chapter as it stood on May 11, at the start of the latest negotiating round […]