Tallahassee commissioners swap tense comments over projected 2025 city budget deficit
Wednesday's City of Tallahassee budget workshop turned sour after commissioners learned of a predicted $3.8 million deficit in the as-yet completed 2025 fiscal year budget.
City commissioners received an update at City Hall from Robert Wigen, director of Resource Management, on the budget development for the 2025 fiscal year when they heard of the shortage.
Despite Wigen taking the time to explain the increases to specific line items causing the deficit, Commissioner Jeremy Matlow took the time during questions to highlight upcoming pay raises for city employees in light of the impasse on the firefighter contract negotiations.
"There's a huge pay imbalance at the City of Tallahassee, there's a huge imbalance of what people are being compensated and what it takes to survive," Matlow said.
Matlow's remarks sparked a testy back-and-forth between commissioners related to the budgetary process and highlighted the 3-2 split at City Hall.
No pay raises without the firefighters
According to the budget agenda, the increases include "$1.5 million for the estimated increase in health costs, $1.2 million increase in the transfer to StarMetro to return to the pre-pandemic of funding, $755,000 increase in pension costs, an increase of $447,156 for utility costs, and $427,342 for other transfers."
"We don't believe it's a cause for alarm or immediate action but the information that we get on what the expenses are, where the inflation is, what we're estimating is for raises and pension and health care," Wigen said.
Matlow raised concerns about the projected budget, noting how the commission was six months out from adopting their 2025 fiscal year budget and how staff should have worked to present a balanced budget first.
"You are recommending, in the budget that leads to a deficit, is that that 4.2% include across-the-board that's the city manager and the assistant city managers, everybody included," Matlow said. "So there is an assumption that there is a 4.2% raise at the top."
City Manager Reese Goad makes $272,935, as shared with the Tallahassee Democrat by Director of City Communications Alison Faris, and a 4.2% increase would raise his salary by nearly $11,000.
Following Matlow's objection to the recommended across-the-board wage increase, which will apply to all general city employees, he then mentioned that wage increases should not be taking place while the city has yet to work out a contract with the firefighters.
The Tallahassee Professional Firefighters Association, the Tallahassee Fire Department's labor union, has been negotiating with the city since March to come to an agreement on a new contract, but they are at an impasse with the city.
Tallahassee firefighters are paid through revenue from the fire service fee, separate from the general fund in the city's budget. The general fund has several revenue sources such as utility transfers, water, gas and electric taxes as well as property taxes.
Matlow suggested that they take from the general fund to give to the firefighters. His comments drew disagreement from fellow Commissioners Dianne Williams-Cox, Curtis Richardson, and Mayor John Dailey.
Richardson says there is no city majority
The meeting set the tone for what will likely be another contentious budget battle. Last year, city commissioners voted 3-2 to increase their property tax rate some 8.5% — with millions in proceeds going to the Tallahassee Police Department
"I've been coming here for six years, I've never seen my colleagues across the aisle express any meaningful desire to roll up their sleeves," Matlow said.
Williams-Cox shot back "what aisle?" All the city commissioners serve at-large and are non-party affiliated.
"I've never seen any desire to have any meaningful budgeting conversations at this table about reductions in savings and fiscal restraint out of the city last year," Matlow said. He then asked to see a proposed budget at the next workshop with a surplus.
Dailey said Matlow's understanding of the budget process wasn't grounded in reality.
"Commissioner Matlow, you have been with us for six years but clearly you truly do not understand the budgetary process and how we go through this formal budget and that is on clear display today," Dailey said. "Robert, you and your team are nationally award winning for budget transparency ... I do trust your math versus Commissioner Matlow's."
Matlow was not fazed.
"I'm offended but not surprised by grade school insults thrown by the mayor about mathematical abilities," Matlow said. "I don't believe anybody's math has been in question here at all and that what is in question is how we direct our priorities to our budget."
Williams-Cox said that the budget process was not the time to introduce new methodologies and that what the city currently had in place was working.
"There's been a methodology adopted for how we do the budget process, and it works because in the end we have a balanced budget," Williams-Cox said. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. ... It is unfair for the public to have to listen to this back and forth."
For his part, Richardson condemned the use of divisive political language and said there is no majority.
"This thing about a majority, my colleagues across the aisle, I have served in three different collegial bodies ... I have never, ever been part of a majority," Richardson said.
In recent years, the commission has seen a 3-2 voting split with Richardson, Williams-Cox, and Dailey on one side and Matlow and Commissioner Jack Porter on the other on many issues of import. Later in the day, the commission voted in typical 3-2 fashion to let voters decide if commissioners deserve a $45,000 raise.
Upcoming budget workshops
The next budget workshop will be held on June 12.
Budget hearings will begin in September.
Arianna Otero is the City Solutions Reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com or on Twitter/X: @ari_v_otero.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee City Commission told of projected $3.8M budget deficit
