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 […]
Since the City Manager informed the City Commission on June 16, 2105, that a 27% increase in property taxes would be needed to balance the General Fund budget and to meet community needs, a spirited debate over the budget has ensued between elected officials, city staff, and number of business groups and interested individuals. The […]
ThrowBackThursday : This article was originally published on November 3, 2014. Today, the City’s Ethics Board will discuss the hiring process for the Ethics Officer position. When the City Attorney and City Auditor filled the in-house ethics officer position last month, they passed on hiring the former General Counsel of the Florida Department of Law […]