At last weeks public hearing on the City’s proposed $750 million budget, Mayor Gillum aimed his most pointed comments at a group of citizens who proposed a $100,000 cut in the Mayors office budget. Mayor Gillum called the proposal a lie and then minutes later asked upset citizens to treat him with respect. This is […]
In a public hearing that started at approximately 6:30 pm and lasted past 10:30 pm, 50 speakers let their voice be heard on Wednesday night at City Hall. After patiently listening to all who asked to speak, the Tallahassee City Commission voted 4-1 to approve a tentative 13% increase in the city’s property tax increase. […]
The Citizens for Responsible Spending held a press conference today to address the City’s proposed 23% increase in property taxes. The purpose of the conference was to provide recommendations for new sources of revenue and spending cuts that would balance the budget and not require a tax increase. The speakers were business owner Barney Bishop, […]
At the August 19th meeting of the City Commission, each City Commissioner gave their thoughts and wishes on how the budget process should move in the coming weeks, culminating with a vote in mid-September. After the vibrant discussion, which referenced the input from a number of citizens interested in addressing the proposed 23% property tax, […]
Tallahassee Reports has recently written about the $40,000 increase in lobbying services that is included in the City of Tallahassee’s proposed budget. The budget calls for a 23% increase in property taxes. The reports can be seen here and here. Based on these reports, a couple of readers asked about the bid process for the […]
Roughly two weeks before Mayor Andrew Gillum recommended Lila Jaber as the City Commission’s appointment to the newly formed independent ethics board, Ms. Jaber submitted an application for consideration. The application is required for most citizens interested in serving on one of the many citizen boards. On all applications, including Jaber’s, which can be viewed […]
Current Chairman of the City’s newly formed independent Ethics Board, Lila Jaber, failed to disclose a business relationship between her law firm, Gunster, and the City of Tallahassee when she applied to be the City’s appointment to the Board. Also, Ms. Jaber is listed as the the vice-chair of the Big Bend Minority Chamber of […]
Being a stones throw away from the state capital does not seem to have an impact on state lobbying expenses for the City of Tallahassee. Tallahassee Reports, prompted by the revelation that the City of Tallahassee is seeking an additional $40,000 for lobbying contracts in this years budget, gathered information from other local governments about […]
Tallahassee Reports may have finally found an answer to City Commissioner Scott Maddox’s question about the Mayor and the City Commissioner’s budget. This part of the general government budget funds salaries and activities related to the Mayor and the four elected City Commissioners. Commissioner Scott Maddox asked about an increase in the Mayor and City […]
Tallahassee Reports has learned, that so far this year, Mayor Andrew Gillum’s office has spent approximately $30,000 on three interns. Based on annual rates provided to TR, the interns are scheduled to be paid $40,000 by the end of 2015. The table below was provided when asked about the amount of city tax dollars used […]