The City Commission has avoided raising property taxes this year and instead has relied on an increase in the gas tax and one time transfers from reserve funds to reach a balanced budget. The recent workshops on the City’s budget have revealed that one of the major dynamics driving the $5 million general deficit this year […]
Just a couple of weeks ago the Leon Board of County Commissioners voted to approve a 5 cent increase in the gas tax. Based on previous agreements between the City and the County, 50% of the gas tax would have been appropriated to the City of Tallahassee. However, when presented with the gas tax proposal, […]
In a press release, posted just before the July 4th holiday, the City of Tallahassee formally acknowledged the resignation of Sunil Harman, the City’s Airport Director. Harman submitted his resignation on June 27, 2013 to take the Airport Director position in Okaloosa County. There was no reason given for his departure. Harman had been widely credited for […]
Tallahassee Reports has obtained information that indicates that the document prepared and distributed to City Commissioners during the last budget workshop appears to be misleading in representing that City spending has been on a downward trend since 2008. In fact, the opposite appears to be the case. At the City of Tallahassee’s budget workshop on […]
City Manager Anita Favors Thompson presented her proposed budget for fiscal year 2014 to the City Commission on Wednesday. The preliminary $854 million budget included a General Fund deficit, but the final proposal addressed the deficit through a $2.3 million property tax increase, a $2 million increase in the electric utility transfer, and a $3 […]
Just last month, Raoul Lavin of the City’s budget office, provided the first glimpse of the 2014 budget. His presentation focused only on the General Fund, which finances core city services, and indicated an upcoming deficit of approximately $5 million. Yesterday, City Manager Anita Favors Thompson released her recommended 2014 (FY14) budget for review by […]
Just last month, Raoul Lavin of the City’s budget office, provided the first glimpse of the 2014 budget. His presentation focused only on the General Fund, which finances core city services, and indicated an upcoming deficit of approximately $5 million. Yesterday, City Manager Anita Favors Thompson released her recommended 2014 (FY14) budget for review by […]
During the 17th meeting of the City’s Ethics Advisory Panel, on Monday June 10, the issue of oversight authority was front and center. The question of who an Ethics Officer would report to has been lingering over the meetings for the last few weeks. While the discussions had been cordial, it was obvious that a […]
While the City’s Ethics Advisory Panel is set to recommend significant changes to ethics rules for elected officials with respect to financial disclosure, business conflicts, and training, the question of who will be responsible for implementing these new rules has yet to be resolved. During the Panel’s meeting on May 30th, scheduled to be its […]
The City’s Ethics Advisory Panel held a public hearing Wednesday night in the City Hall Chambers. But before the public meeting, the Panel took care of some unfinished business with regards to the structure of the oversight authority for a new ethics code. The focus of the Panel was a recommendation by Panel member Jaber […]