Archive for the ‘city commission’ Tag

COT Has Been Spending Reserves Each Year Since 2006

To understand where you are, sometimes it is useful to look at where you have been. With the recent approval of a 15% property tax increase to plug the hole in the COT’s General Fund, Tallahassee Reports decided to take a look back.

The first task was to look back at the budgets over the previous years to try and determine if there was an explanation, hidden somewhere in all those numbers, for the tax increase that was required in 2010 to provide the citizens of Tallahassee with the most basic governmental services.

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How Many Aides Do COT Commissioners Have?

During a recent public hearing on the COT budget, a number of citizens criticized Mayor Marks for having four aides. Each time a citizen leveled the charge, Mayor Marks shook his head as to say no that is not the case.

A quick perusal of the budget for the Office of the Mayor indicates there are four budgeted positions. However, that number includes the Mayor. So for 2010 the Mayor has 3 aides. In 2008 he had 3.5 aides.

The expenditures for the Office of the Mayor in 2008 was $689,000, in 2009 the estimated expenditures is $573,000, and the budgeted amount in 2010 is $592,000.

The other four commissioners each have one aide. The 2010 budget for the part-time commissioners’ offices is $161,000, except for City Commissioner seat #1, which is $12,000 less at $149,000. This seat is occupied by Mark Mustian.

COT Clarifies Use of Reserves

Tallahassee Reports has written about the $172 million in reserve funds the City of Tallahassee has tucked away. Part of the $172 million includes approximately $95 million in a “rate stabilization fund.”

During an informative discussion with Assistant City Manager Raoul Lavin, he detailed the parameters regulating the use of the rate stabilization fund.

The uses of the fund are limited to four categories. Each category has a minimum and maximum target level. They are as follows: Rate stabilization ($23-$50 million), Future Generation Needs ($37-$74 million), Retirement of Debt ($62-$116 million) and Fuel Hedging Program ($30 million).

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Questions About Assistant City Manager Answers

On Tuesday, September 8th, Assistant City Manager Raul Lavin addressed several issues on The Morning Show with Preston Scott. Research by Tallahassee Reports indicates that answers given by Mr. Lavin on the deferred compensation and the electric utility reserve funds are not consistent with information contained in publicly available documents.

Deferred Compensation

On the deferred compensation, Mr. Lavin said:

“It is my understanding that this came up as part of a charter review commission discussion about commissioner salaries and benefits and after that it was brought forward to the commission in a publicly noticed meeting[...]”

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COT Reserve Funds Exceeds $172 Million

With the Tallahassee City Commission taking a serious look at raising taxes and cutting services, Tallahassee Reports - and a number of other interested citizens – have begun to dig into the proposed 2010 budget.

Tallahassee Reports has focused its analysis on the City’s “Reserve Accounts.”  The City has reserve accounts for the General Fund, Electric Fund, Gas Fund, Water Fund, Sewer Fund, Airport Fund, and Solid Waste Fund.

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COT Commissioners Make More Than Gainesville Counterparts

Data from a public record request submitted by TallahasseeReports.com to the City of Gainesville indicates that there is a significant disparity between the cash benefits of the elected leaders in Gainesville and Tallahassee.

The City of Gainesville has a Mayor and six City Commissioners who work part-time. The Mayor makes $39,000 a year and the City Commissioners make $30,000. None of the elected officials have a car allowance and none have a sole employer paid deferred compensation plan. 

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City Charter Violation Discussed After Compensation Vote

The ongoing investigation by Tallahassee Reports into the April 13, 2005 vote that increased City Commissioner compensation by approximately $21,000 continues to uncover new details.

Discussions with city officials has revealed that the initial report that the elected officials received employer paid deferred compensation and that appointed officials received employee paid compensation was incorrect. In fact, both the appointed and elected officials receive employer (citizen) paid deferred compensation.

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Commissioner Mustian Weighs In On Compensation Issue

The research into the deferred compensation issue continues to reveal new information. Today, Commissioner Mark Mustian, the only Commissioner that voted against the measure, stated the following:

I saw the deferred compensation as an increase in salary and my view was that is was something that needed to be addressed in the City Charter.

Further research has determined that the key question to be answered is who gave the go-ahead for the the deferred compensation for the elected officials to be employer paid?

The question has been submitted to the City in the form of a data request.

Did City Commissioners Violate City Charter With Compensation Vote?

The investigation and research into the April 13, 2005 vote by the City Commission, which resulted in an approximate increase of  $22,000 in City Commissioner compensation, continues to reveal new details and raise troubling questions.

Tallahassee Reports has learned that the elected City Commissioners are the only city employees who receive employer paid deferred compensation. The benefit afforded other appointed officials is consistent with the traditional understanding of deferred compensation. Depending on their age, the appointed officials are allowed to reap the tax benefits of deferring up to $21,999 of their own salary.

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Data Request Provides More Info on City Benefits

A data request submitted by Tallahassee Reports, and quick turn-around from city officials, have led to detailed information on how the City Commissioners obtained an employer paid deferred compensation benefit on the order of $20,000 a year.

This is what we know:

  1. The benefit was passed on April 13, 2005 by a 4-1 one vote.
  2. Those who voted for the benefit were Marks, Gillum, Katz, and Lightsey. Mustian voted against the measure.
  3. The language included in the item produced by city officials states the option was described as “approve extension of the deferred compensation benefit currently provided to city manager and city attorney to all elected and appointed officials.”
  4. The vote made the action retroactive to September 2004.

Based on this information, Tallahassee Reports has submitted another data request seeking further clarification.