Initiatives
Growing Tallahassee’s Economic Future
Attracting clean business, keeping our graduates at home
In recent years, the trend has been that too many of the best and brightest graduates of our colleges and universities no longer look to Tallahassee as a place to stay. Our sense of community is best served by boldly confronting realities of the new world economy - and finding the best and most significant ways to ensure our role in it. I believe in maintaining a serious effort to attract new opportunities in the form of businesses that fit with the “green” community we want to build, that bring with them good jobs, expanded payrolls, and a smart plan for growth and employment for our graduates. This requires an economic investment and a willingness to take risks that are measurable but surely worthwhile.
This is the rationale behind our recent decision to bring the manufacturer Danfoss Turbocor to Tallahassee. The Turbocor deal was constructed to limit the city’s financial risk and create a business model that had a good likelihood of success. This will create 150 new jobs and a $10 million payroll added to our community’s strengthening economy.
Our community will benefit from taking this kind of common sense approach to encouraging solid, clean business growth in Tallahassee.
read more:
Turbocor deal moves Tallahassee forward, Tallahassee Democrat, December 16, 2005
Building flourishing neighborhoods
Tallahassee suffers from a shortage of affordable housing for our teachers, police officers, firefighters, government employees and small business owners, people who are the cornerstone of our community. Homes in an affordable price range are particularly scarce in locations where the newest schools, roads and other public facilities are being built with public tax dollars.
Work-force housing, which the Florida Legislature is also now attempting to fortify through the proposed Community Workforce Housing Innovation Program - requires developers of 50 or more units to produce a percentage of “affordable” housing units. Ten percent of the houses must have a maximum price of $159,378, which may escalate based on annual market rates. The housing would be available for purchase by individuals or families with an annual household income of up to $75,200. In crafting the ordinance, we have drawn on creative ideas from the development community, taking a hard look at what we need to do to encourage growth and reduce cumbersome regulations that reflect a philosophy of no-growth - including such things as cutting the time involved in getting projects permitted.
Many years ago Tallahassee was a community that was racially segregated. Today, we want to begin to reverse the trend of being economically segregated. If we continue to fail to help ensure adequate and affordable housing for the people who do the vital jobs that make Tallahassee so enjoyable and secure, we will have failed in our job to sustain this vibrant and diverse community.
read more:
Ordinance is one step toward affordable housing, Tallahassee Democrat, March 2, 2005
City helps developers with costs of building inclusionary housing, Tallahassee Democrat,
April 9, 2006
Neighborhood Infrastructure program
A solid updated physical infrastucture in our city attracts positive growth and supports our families. Commissioner Katz instigated this program which focuses on neighborhoods in need of repairs. With input from citizens and City staff, 45 projects have been slated for completion. In the Bond Community there are several projects that include pavement reconstruction, sidewalk construction, curbing and drainage systems for 12 streets throughout the community. Through changing the face of these neighborhoods, we change the way people live. This work needs to continue by completing current projects and extending our effort into other neighborhoods in need.
Building Business/Community partnerships
Community assistance bidding preference
As our community grows and attracts new businesses, Tallahassee can reflect its commitment to building a quality community by offering businesses bidding to do business with the city a competitive advantage when they select an option of “giving back” up to one percent of the contract amount to meet community needs.
Commissioner Katz has worked with Commissioner Andrew Gillum to launch this innovative new program, the first of its kind.
Securing Tallahassee’s energy future
A year after the coal referendum, we have now studied the specifics of investing in the Taylor County coal plant. We have learned that over the next 20 years the cost of electricity will be the same for us whether we commit our future to coal or not. So there is no cost savings incentive.
A decision to buy into the coal plant, requiring us to borrow 400 million dollars, incurring a cost of over 1 billion in the next 30 years will tie up the financial future of this city for decades. These cost estimates don’t even include carbon dioxide emission surcharges associated with plant operation or costs involved in upgrading technology to meet mercury emission standards that go into effect in 2018. With this financial commitment to a plant that doesn’t even begin operation until 2012, we will eliminate the possibility of using cheaper, better and cleaner technologies as they develop.
Other options provide the diversity needed to avoid price spikes but allow continued flexibility not possible with the huge coal investment, such as recent proposals to the City to diversify into Biomass. Without the financial outlay for coal, we can consider other sources as they show promise. Additionally, we can still purchase coal to diversity our energy mix as needed from a plant in Georgia. Another promising new idea is Demand Side Management Portfolio, which would offer incentives to participate in decreasing Tallahassee’s energy demand, such as utilization of cutting edge technologies in air conditioning, heating and lighting.
We must make an intelligent energy decision for our community, because it’s the most important financial decision this city will ever make.
Growing community dialog
One lesson that might be taken from Tallahassee’s recent coal referendum is that there was no forum where honest, factual discussions could take place to help us make common sense decisions for our community’s future. Whether you were in favor of or opposed to the referendum, the decision was surrendered to the normal political tools - polling, phone calls, marketing and paid “experts” who don’t live here like we do.
We need a forum where we can engage with our neighbors, where citizens plug-in and decision makers listen, where civil dialog is celebrated and grows.
America was built on the concept of the Village Square, where citizens brought their ideas, their visions, their disagreements, and the best solutions rose to the top. Tallahassee would benefit from beginning this kind of ongoing community dialog.