By Skip Foster, Red Tape Florida founder
When I launched Red Tape Florida, I wasn’t building a business. I was testing an idea.
The idea: local government needs scrutiny that is informed, data-driven, and relentless. Not performative outrage. Not partisan theater. Just facts, public records, and clear arguments that follow the money.
Thankfully, the response to RTF has proved the point.
Stories traveled. Traffic grew. Business leaders began forwarding documents. Citizens sent tips. Even local officials who don’t love the coverage started reading closely — because the work is hard to dismiss when it’sbacked by their own numbers.
When I see folks now – even those who have traditionally been aligned with the powers that be in local government – they invariably whisper “keep it up” or “that last one was great.”
Red Tape Florida has become a consistent civic voice in Tallahassee and beyond. In Ormond Beach, Temple Terrace, Siesta Key, Gulf County, and dozens of other communities, we’ve dissected questionable economic development deals, challenged inefficient fee structures, published records that would have stayed buried, and aired reform ideas that struggle to find oxygen elsewhere.
Here are some highlights:
- A story on a $35,000 luxury watch that became a North Florida Fair retirement gift.
- A story on a Tallahassee shed renovation that turned into nightmare.
- A state legislator responding to Red Tape Florida reporting and calling on Gulf County to shape up
And many more.
But the platform still runs on one resource: my time.
Deep investigations take hours. Records requests take persistence. Data work doesn’t do itself. Consistency requires discipline.
If Red Tape Florida is going to scale — in frequency, depth, and impact — it needs infrastructure.
Today, we’re launching the Red Tape Florida Supporter Program.
This is not a paywall. All content remains free and publicly accessible.
This is a voluntary model for readers who believe civic accountability shouldn’t fade when it becomes inconvenient or time-consuming. Supporters help fund deeper investigations, more records requests, and increased output across the platform.
There are three supporter levels:
- Civic Supporter — $25/month
- Core Supporter — $50/month
- Founding Supporter — $100/month
Supporters receive early access to major investigations, periodic impact briefings on reach and influence, and invitations to occasional gatherings. Most importantly, they help sustain a growing platform built on reform and accountability.
Red Tape Florida isn’t a traditional newsroom. It’s a civic accountability platform with a clear point of view: government should work, taxpayers deserve answers, and someone needs to show the receipts.
If you believe Tallahassee and communities across Florida benefit from sustained, informed scrutiny — and practical reform — I invite you to become a supporter.
The next phase will be bigger, more consistent, and more ambitious.
This is how we build it.