Sunil Harman, City Airport Director, Resigns

Sunil Harman, City Airport Director, Resigns

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 […]

Is City Staff Gaming the City Commission?

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 of Tallahassee Budget Debate Begins

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 […]

BREAKING NEWS: CITY STAFF PROPOSES INCREASE IN PROPERTY TAXES AND ELECTRIC UTILITY TRANSFER

BREAKING NEWS: CITY STAFF PROPOSES INCREASE IN PROPERTY TAXES AND ELECTRIC UTILITY TRANSFER

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 […]

CITY STAFF PROPOSES INCREASE IN PROPERTY TAXES AND ELECTRIC UTILITY TRANSFER

CITY STAFF PROPOSES INCREASE IN PROPERTY TAXES AND ELECTRIC UTILITY TRANSFER

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 […]

Frustration Boils Over At CRA Meeting, Policy Goals Finally Adopted

Frustration Boils Over At CRA Meeting, Policy Goals Finally Adopted

The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board finally voted to accept five broad policy goals, but not before frustration among some members boiled over. City Commissioner Scott Maddox, visibly frustrated, said, “it is hard for me to imagine a more confusing process. This is absurd and ridiculous! There have been six hours of meetings and we […]

Blueprint Committee Approves Projects, Votes Down Performing Arts Center

The Leon County Sales Tax Committee met today to begin the tough task of deciding which projects will be considered for the approximately $500 million in funding if the sales tax referendum is passed by voters. The whittling down process began by identifying the projects that had unanimous support by the committee. The members unanimously […]

After Debate, Ethics Panel Votes For Charter Level Ethics Officer

After Debate, Ethics Panel Votes For Charter Level Ethics Officer

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 […]

CRA Workshop Turns into Frenchtown Redevelopment Discussion

The CRA Workshop, that was initiated by some Board member concerns about about the appropriate focus of the CRA, turned into a discussion about redevelopment projects for Frenchtown. And some Board members were clearly caught off guard. County Commissioner Kristin Dozier said that “I thought it would be a different process. We did not agree to […]

Ethics Advisory Panel Struggles With Oversight Issue, Chairperson Barnett Calls for Charter Amendment

Ethics Advisory Panel Struggles With Oversight Issue, Chairperson Barnett Calls for Charter Amendment

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 […]