Archive for April, 2009
Travel Records Show Mayor Hit The Road More In 2008
Travel records provided to TallahasseeReports.com show that Mayor Marks has increased the travel billed to the city each year over the last three years.
During FY 2006, Mr. Marks was on the road for 29 days at a cost of $16,460, in FY 2007 he was on the road 31 days for a cost of $16,731, and in FY 2008 he was on the road 44 days at a cost of $24,062. City officials reported that in 2008, approximately $6,000 was reimbursed to the city by various organizations.
5 Comments Tags: costs, Florida League of Cities, Florida League of Mayors, Mayor Marks, National League of Cities, NCBM, NFBPA, Tallahassee, U.S. Conference of Mayors
Smart Meter, Dumb Idea?
Not everyone thinks smart meters are such a smart use of money.
Utilities are spending billions of dollars outfitting homes and businesses with the devices, which wirelessly send information about electricity use to utility billing departments and could help consumers control energy use.
Proponents of smart meters say that when these meters are teamed up with an in-home display that shows current energy usage, as well as a communicating thermostat and software that harvest and analyze that information, consumers can see how much consumption drives cost — and will consume less as a result.
A Tallahassee Utility Authority-The Rationale
The push to acquire signatures supporting a Tallahassee Utility Authority began on April 15, 2009. To date we have gathered almost 750 signatures.
The goal is to have as many signatures as possible when the Tallahassee City Commission has the public forum addressing possible changes to the City Charter. The date of the forum will be announced on Wednesday April 22, 2009.
You can support the movement by going to TallahasseeReports.com and downloading the form. Fill out all the information, sign the form, and then either fax it or mail it to our office.
3 Comments Tags: city charter, city commission, Tallahassee, Tallahassee Utility Authority
Charter Review Committee Says No To Change In Electric Utility Structure
On April 6, 2008 the Tallahassee Charter Review Committee began to take votes on recommendations to be forwarded to the City Commission.
The Committee voted 5-4 to formally establish the responsibility of the Mayor in area of economic development, regional cooperation efforts, and diplomatic relations.
The Committee voted 5-4 to pursue the establishment of an airport authority and transfer operations of the Tallahassee Regional Airport to such an authority.
The Committee voted unanimously to recommend no change in the structure of the Electric Utility, but recommended the pursuit of joint ventures and sales alliances.
The Committee voted 7-2 to recommend no change in the current method of electing City Commissioners.
The Committee voted 8-1 to recommend no change to the City Charter with regard to management of personnel.
1 Comment Tags: Charter Review Committee, city commission, Mayor Marks, Tallahassee Regional Airport
Video of Commissioner Lightsey Going to Bat for Consumers
Last week TallahasseeReports.com posted an article about the City Commission meeting on April 7, 2009 at which there was a discussion regarding Tallahasse’s carbon footprint. TallahasseeReports.com has obtained a video of Commissioner Lightsey’s comments.
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| Commissioner Lightsey’s comments during last week’s City Commission meeting. |
Commissioner Lightsey commented that the City should wait and conduct further research into the various options available, as well as consider any possible future taxes and offsets before launching into an RFP process for any new energy projects.
She defended the customer base saying that the customers already pay higher rates because of the various carbon reducing programs and that adding any further projects without some sort of offset would be “a very very hard sell.” She would later say that City is “already very clean” and that at some point “someone’s got to speak for the customer base.”
The video showcases her comments in their entirety.
1 Comment Tags: city commission, Debbie Lightsey, EPER, going green, Mayor Marks, Tallahassee
Consumers Should Be Leery of Phone Bill
There is currently a bill moving through the Florida Legislature called the “Consumer Choice and Protection Act” that will affect consumers in Tallahassee. The name of the bill is disarming and leaves little room for opposition. Who can be against consumer choice and protection?
However, when you get past the title and dig a little, an interesting question arises. Why does the telecommunications industry need to spend millions of dollars in campaign contributions and hire over 100 lobbyists to get a bill with such a friendly title through the Florida Legislature?
Here are some facts on the “Consumer Choice and Protection Act”:
No Comments Tags: AARP, Consumer Choice and Protection Act, costs, Florida Legislature, FPSC, Tallahassee, telephone service
The Facts Behind Tallahassee’s Carbon Footprint
On Tuesday, April 7, 2009, the Tallahassee City Commission heard a presentation from the head of EPER (the Green Department) entitled “Carbon Footprint Reduction Plan.”
You can view the slide presentation here.
Among the facts revealed are:
- The City of Tallahassee has a Carbon Reduction Task Team that investigates the feasibility of implementing policies that reduce carbon emissions in Tallahassee.
- EPER is charged with tracking how the carbon footprint of Tallahassee compares to other municipalities.
3 Comments Tags: Allan Katz, Andrew Gillum, carbon footprint, city commission, Debbie Lightsey, EPER, going green, Mayor Marks, Tallahassee
