Tallahassee Reports has learned that the City of Tallahassee paid $238,426 to an outside law firm for legal services associated with the lawsuit filed by former City firefighter Mark DeCarlo. A jury awarded DeCarlo $850,000 in a discrimination lawsuit. Public documents obtained through a public records request reveal that the City of Tallahassee paid Sniffen […]
On Monday the local Democratic Party held a forum at City Hall for local candidates. At the forum current Superintendent Jackie Pons and candidate and current City Comissioner Scott Maddox stole the show with pointed jabs at each other. Candidate Rocky Hanna was not allowed to participate because he is running as an independent. Pons […]
The Community Redevelopment Agency, which is composed of City and County Commissioners, recently released their annual report for fiscal year 2015. In the report was a list of “Promotional and Special Events” sponsored by the CRA. During the fiscal year, the CRA sponsored fourteen (14) events with approximately $65,000 in tax dollars. Listed below is a […]
DOMI Ventures LLC, which is the owner of DOMI Station, a local business incubator, is seeking $25,000 from the City of Tallahassee to sponsor start-up businesses. The issue is scheduled to be voted on at the next City Commission meeting, which will be held on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. Based on the documents provided, the […]
Tallahassee Reports has learned that the recent jury verdict in favor of fired City of Tallahassee firefighter, Mark DeCarlo, included $700,000 for “mental anguish.” The total judgement awarded was $850,000. See our previous report here. Tallahassee Reports has obtained a copy of the verdict form. The entire form can be viewed here. The image below (click […]
The City’s Independent Ethics Board has been considering adopting an ethics pledge for Board members since November of last year. However, it appears the Board members cannot get comfortable with the language. In addition, during the meeting, City Attorney Lew Shelley, representing the City Commission, spoke to the Board and urged them not to adopt […]
If you live in the Northeast part of town, past Interstate 10 (I-10), you are in a part of town that is responsible for a large share of City property taxes and City electric rates. In other words, you are a major financial supporter of City services. However, if you live in this part of […]
Six years after the City Commission voted to end deferred compensation – the practice of augmenting Commissioner salaries with $20,000 – one former City Commissioner continues to receive financial benefits every month due to the program, even though she retired after the program was voted down. This is how. The City of Tallahassee’s Charter says […]
Julie Montanaro of WCTV is reporting that a verdict has been reached in a Tallahassee whistleblower trial involving a City of Tallahassee firefighter. WCTV reports that former firefighter Mark DeCarlo, who claimed he was fired for blowing the whistle on leaky hoses and unsafe equipment, was awarded nearly $850,000 dollars in lost wages and benefits late […]
Since the Great Recession, Florida Department of Education data shows that K-12 Leon County teacher salaries have lost ground to average salaries state-wide. However, during the same period, Leon County was able to retain teachers at a higher rate when compared to state of Florida trends. The graph below shows the annual comparison of the […]