Tallahassee Reports, through an analysis of budget documents, has discovered that the City staff knew about surpluses and overcharges as early as June of 2015 but did not inform City Commissioners. The City Commissioners, in September 2015 voted for a $6.3 million property tax increase due to staff’s claims that new revenue was needed for essential […]
Do you remember the contentious debate between the Budget Hawks, who claimed a property tax increase was not needed because the City had plenty of money, and the City staff, who argued for the increase because of the lack of revenue? Well, as of today, it appears the Budget Hawks may have been more right […]
If critics of City Manager Anita Favors Thompson’s $229,000 salary thought a new City Manager would make less, they were wrong. The City Commission is scheduled to vote on the new contract for recently appointed City Manager Rick Fernandez at their next meeting on December 9th, 2015. The recommended salary is $228,000. At the November […]
Senior United States Judge, William Stafford denied the City of Tallahassee’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by former City of Tallahassee firefighter Mark DeCarlo. Stafford said in an order dated September 18, 2015, that the “court finds that there are genuine disputes as to the material facts” in the case and informed the City […]
Mayor Andrew Gillum’s recent public positions on a number of national issues including Ban the Box and the Syrian Refugees, coupled with a recent interview with CNN host Van Jones in Jacksonville and his live interview on CNN last week, appears to be a well calculated media strategy that could lead to a run for […]
Tallahassee Reports has learned that the City of Tallahassee has penalized a local business, Gym Force Gymnastics Center, for being a “competitor’ to the City’s gymnastic services. The City owns and operates Trousdell Gymnastics & Aquatics Center located on John Knox Road. After filing an application to become an exhibitor at the annual Winter Festival, the […]
When the City’s appointment to the Ethics Board, Lila Jaber, announced her resignation, the City of Tallahassee set a deadline of November 20th, 2015 to receive applications to fill the vacancy. When November 20th arrived, the City had received eight applications. However, instead of choosing from the eight applicants, the City decided to extend the […]
James Balarezo, the current owner of the BodyTrac Health & Fitness located on Park Avenue, is expanding his business by acquiring the BodyTrac located in Killearn Lakes off of Deerlake Road at 8116 Killearn Plaza. He acquired the BodyTrac Park Avenue location in 2012. Mr. Balarezo told TR that he is excited about the new location and hopes […]
By Preston Scott Once again, the highly paid ambassador for People for The American Way (Foundation), Andrew Gillum, is out on his own as a rogue member of the City of Tallahassee Commission. The Mayor has repeatedly gone his own way, without even the courtesy of consulting his fellow elected leaders. This time Mayor Gillum […]
In the end, the All Saints District neighborhood received kind words from City Commissioners about their neighborhood activism, but ultimately it appears the outcome was decided before the vote. The group had gathered more than 1,500 signatures in a grass roots effort to stop a development proposal for a city-owned vacant lot off of Gaines […]