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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
On Thursday of last week, US Representative Gwen Graham and 46 other Democrats voted with Republicans to pass a bill which would require additional levels of certification for Syrian refugees. The issue is pitting select Democrats against President Obama at the national level and having ramifications here in Tallahassee. Politico reported that Democrats met with […]
Mayor Andrew Gillum appeared live on CNN this morning to talk about his position, or the City of Tallahassee’s position, he did not delineate, on the Syrian refugee issue. See the full interview here. We will have more on this story later this weekend.
This past week, Tallahassee Reports had the help of an intern in covering local news. The intern, who shall remain nameless, had significant experience. He had a four year degree in journalism and was working on a Masters degree. He had also worked as an intern with an NPR affiliate in South Florida. TR was […]
At a meeting today, Joe Berg, the vice-president of the All Saints District Association, put forth a plan to stop the building of a Hampton Inn at the corner of Gaines Street and Railroad Avenue. The plan includes a petition drive and is encouraging people to show up to a City Commission meeting. He also […]