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 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 […]

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 […]

COT 2012 Budget Increases Non-Fuel Spending By $40 Million Over 2010 Expenditures

COT 2012 Budget Increases Non-Fuel Spending By $40 Million Over 2010 Expenditures

The COT press release on the 2012 budget reads: “No increase proposed for millage rate – City Manager Anita Favors Thompson today released the recommended $724.9 million fiscal year 2012 budget for review and action by the Tallahassee City Commission. The proposed amount is $2 million less than the current year budget and reflects feedback […]

CONSULTANT: COT Electric Needs $178 Million In Higher Rates

CONSULTANT: COT Electric Needs $178 Million In Higher Rates

Tallahassee Reports has obtained a copy of the 140 page draft report of the electric rate case study that has been discussed over the last several months. The study is highly technical and full of detailed tables. Tallahassee Reports has reviewed the information, and what follows, is an attempt to take highly technical information and […]

COT Base Electric Rates Have Increased 39% Since 2005

COT Base Electric Rates Have Increased 39% Since 2005

It has been reported that the City of Tallahassee electric department has been in the midst of a “rate study” over the last several weeks. The purpose of this study is to determine if the COT needs to increase base electric rates, the non-fuel part of your electric bill, to cover operational expenses over the […]

Commissioner Gillum’s “Tit for Tat” Rationale Overlooks Millions In Electric Rate Increases

The discussion over the $8 million electric utility surplus over the last few months has seen city commissioners and staff defending the need to deposit the “found” money in the electric reserve which already had approximately $95 million. Rationale for keeping the money has ranged from “its policy” to “its only $34 per residential customer”. […]

The City Has Responded; Questions Still Remain

Our recent report on the wealth of the City of Tallahassee electric utility published on January 19, 2011 generated a response from the City of Tallahassee. On Friday, Tallahassee Reports received an email from the City that indicated the report was one sided and should have included a different calculation. The initial report compared the […]