A citizens’ task force has come up with a list of suggestions on how Tallahassee and Leon County can improve disaster response in the wake of Hurricane Hermine. The group, which has been critical of city government in the past, insisted this is simply an effort to be helpful.
The Citizens for Responsible Spending put together the task force. Among its members, former City of Tallahassee Assistant Manager and Private Utility Company Executive Sam Bell.
“We believe that there’s some real meat in there for the community and perhaps the state as a whole,” Bell said during a release of the group’s report on Monday (10/24) at the Florida Press Center.
Although not directly critical of how the City and County handled the hurricane, the task force had some suggestions for the future. Among them, that there be a better defined emergency chain of command. Also, better and more frequent communication with the public before during and after a disaster. Former Florida Governor Jeff Kottkamp chaired the task force.
“We wanted this to be received as it says in the preamble in the spirit it’s given, which is let’s see how we can do it better next time,” Kottkamp said, adding the suggestions are being shared with city and county officials.
