If you would like to ask a City Commissioner a question about the proposed property tax increase, you will not have to travel downtown. Tallahassee Reports, with the help of the Killearn Country Club, is hosting a Town Hall meeting to address the proposed 27% increase in property taxes. Commissioners Scott Maddox, Nancy Miller, Curtis […]
On Friday the City of Tallahassee issued a press release describing a two day workshop designed to help develop a shared vision for the future of South City. The workshop is scheduled for May 19-20 with the majority of the meetings being held at the law firm of Hopping Green and Sams located in downtown […]
The City of Tallahassee Ethics Board met on Thursday, March 12 and added two new members. Based on the new referendum, the four current members, appointed by various members of the community earlier this year, were required to select two additional members. The board accepted applications through March 6 and during the latest meeting reviewed […]
The recent discussion about the Ban the Box initiative at the City Commission is a clear example of how a politician’s ambition can get out of hand. We all know politicians have ambition. However, good politicians can tie their ambitions to policies that are consistent with the constituents they represent. And really good politicians can […]
The debate over the “Ban the Box” proposal, put forth by Mayor Gillum, received an endorsement by the City Commission, but not before Mayor Andrew Gillum questioned the “sincerity” and “legitimacy” of the arguments put forth by fellow Commissioners against the proposal. The vote was 3-2 with Gillum, Commissioners Miller and Richardson voting to endorse […]
Tallahassee Reports has obtained documents that show Mayor Andrew Gillum is being paid by a group that is advocating for cities accross the United States to adopt “Ban the Box” policies. A debate began two weeks ago about Mayor Gillum’s controversial proposal to remove the criminal background questionnare from the City of Tallahassee’s employment application. […]
The city of Tallahassee has been wrestling for a way to prioritize sidewalk construction for the last couple of years. A mix of neighborhood politics, costs, and planning requirements come together to give elected officials, their constituents and city planning staff a headache over which neighborhoods get the next sidewalk project. Over the past 10 […]
One of the provisions of the ethics amendment, passed by two-thirds of City voters during the recent elections, limited campaign contributions to city candidates to $250 per person or business entity. Before the passage of the charter amendment, the limit was $1,000. The language in the charter amendment appears to put the effective date of […]
On November 5, 2014, the Quality of Life Target Issue Committee, which is chaired by Commissioner Nancy Miller and Commissioner Gil Ziffer, directed the consideration of the issue of whether the City of Tallahassee should file an amicus curiae, “friend of the court” brief, in the case of Mariama Monique Changamire Shaw v. Keiba Lynn […]
The Florida Bar has a conflict of interest rule which states a lawyer must not represent a client if the representation of one client will be directly adverse to another client. Maybe this rule needs to be applied to campaign consultants. In the recent primaries for the City Commission, the political consulting firm of Vancore-Jones […]