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Tallahassee, FL – Just three people spoke in opposition at Wednesday's public hearing on the city's proposed $726.4 million budget for the 2011 fiscal year. Margie Menzel reports.
The City of Tallahassee's proposed property-tax rate is $3.7 for every $1,000 of property value - no change from the current rate. The tentative 2011 budget is roughly $12 million more than it was earlier in the budget process, drawing criticism from Curtis Baines, who said he has tenants who must choose between buying food and paying their rent and city electric bills...
"So it's groceries, utilities or rent, and too often they make the wrong choice and I'm put in a situation where I have to evict someone because they're not making the right choice in my mind," he said.
...and from Michael Rosenthal, who said the city can't afford more spending.
"I was very disappointed when I read the agenda for today and you tweaked the numbers, and the numbers have gone up quite a bit. So you're not even making measly, pathetic budget cuts," said Rosenthal. "You're actually increasing spending. You're increasing spending, it looks like, 1.1 percent over last year's budget and 1.7 percent over the June budget."
The city commission has tentatively approved the proposed millage rates and will hold a final public hearing on the budget on Sept. 29.