The Carbon Footprint Numbers

With all the talk about carbon footprint, and with the City of Tallahassee moving aggressively toward reducing our already low carbon footprint through energy conservation, it is time to define carbon footprint in terms everyone can understand.  First, we have reported here that due to the use of natural gas we have one of the lowest […]

City Hoards Millions During Recession, While Leon School Board Cuts 150 Teachers

So you think the City of Tallahassee spends millions on electric utility conservation programs? Wrong! The City of Tallahassee collects millions for conservation programs. A data request by Tallahassee Reports indicates that the City of Tallahassee budgeted close to $15.5 million to various conservation programs for fiscal year 2008, which began on October 1, 2007. […]

Saudia Arabia – The Rest of the Story

The Mayor of Tallahassee, John Marks, is currently in Saudi Arabia on a seven day trip to develop business opportunities and exchange ideas. It has been reported that the trip will be at no expense to American taxpayers. However, a discussion with the Mayor’s Office indicated that the Mayor was joined by an administrative assistant and that both the Mayor […]

City Budgeting – a Tale of Perverse Priorities

Our recent analysis of spending on “green” programs has documented the clear priority of city leadership in achieving the “living green” dream. Green expenditures in the fiscal year 2009 budget include $10 million for smart meters, $7 million for energy conservation, and $300,000 for the creation of the green department. These 3 programs total $17,300,000 in spending in […]

Travel Records Show Mayor Hit The Road More In 2008

Travel records provided to tallahasseereports.com show that Mayor Marks has increased the travel billed to the city each year over the last three years. During FY 2006, Mr. Marks was on the road for 29 days at a cost of $16,460, in FY 2007 he was on the road 31 days for a cost of $16,731, […]

Smart Meter, Dumb Idea?

From the Wall Street Journal: Not everyone thinks smart meters are such a smart use of money. Utilities are spending billions of dollars outfitting homes and businesses with the devices, which wirelessly send information about electricity use to utility billing departments and could help consumers control energy use. Proponents of smart meters say that when […]

A Tallahassee Utility Authority-The Rationale

The push to acquire signatures supporting a Tallahassee Utility Authority began on April 15, 2009. To date we have gathered almost 750 signatures. The goal is to have as many signatures as possible when the Tallahassee City Commission has the public forum addressing possible changes to the City Charter. The date of the forum will […]

Charter Review Committee Says No To Change In Electric Utility Structure

On April 6, 2008 the Tallahassee Charter Review Committee began to take votes on recommendations to be forwarded to the City Commission. The Committee voted 5-4 to formally establish the responsibility of the Mayor in area of economic development, regional cooperation efforts, and diplomatic relations. The Committee voted 5-4 to pursue the establishment of an airport […]

Video of Commissioner Lightsey Going to Bat for Consumers

Last week tallahasseereports.com posted an article about the City Commission meeting on April 7, 2009 at which there was a discussion regarding Tallahasse’s carbon footprint. tallahasseereports.com has obtained a video of Commissioner Lightsey’s comments. [flashvideo file=”https://tallahasseereports.com/wp-content/uploads/carbonfootprint-lightsey.flv” width=”316″ height=”212″ /] Commissioner Lightsey’s comments during last week’s City Commission meeting. Commissioner Lightsey commented that the City should […]

Consumers Should Be Leery of Phone Bill

There is currently a bill moving through the Florida Legislature called the “Consumer Choice and Protection Act”  that will affect consumers in Tallahassee. The name of the bill is disarming and leaves little room for opposition. Who can be against consumer choice and protection? However, when you get past the title and dig a little, an interesting question arises. […]