Shining light on the good, bad and ugly of bureaucracy in Florida

“The Comp Plan.” 

It’s one of the least understood – yet most important – documents in all of local government. 

It’s short for Comprehensive Plan, a state-mandated policy document that outlines goals, objectives, and policies for the physical development of the community over a 20- to 30-year horizon. It addresses land use, housing, transportation, conservation, infrastructure, and public services, and it is used to guide zoning, permitting, and capital improvement decisions. 

That’s a mouthful. 

As County Commissioner Nick Maddox pointed out at the last commission meeting, the fact that the new plan is causing everybody a bit of discomfort is evidence that it’s probably a good mix. The county commission approved the plan 6-1 with Commissioner Christian Caban laudably dissenting (more on that in a moment). 

So, what changed in the Comp Plan? According to experts consulted by Red Tape Florida, the most important change was making it less detailed. Tallahassee-Leon’s Comp plan has been notoriously long, compared to most others in the state. The result of that is a stifling of innovation and anything other than cookie-cutter development. 

The new plan shifts more responsibility to local officials and to the land development code. While this might seem dangerous to those mistrustful of bureaucrats, it actually puts more power in the hands of private property owners who find the comp plan virtually impossible to challenge. 

In recent days, the City of Tallahassee and Leon County have held public hearings on the new comp plan. These hearings marked a significant step in the region’s ongoing efforts to address housing affordability, manage growth, and enhance transportation infrastructure. 

The need for a comp plan is glaring – Tallahassee-Leon is losing investment dollars based on its current onerous restrictions, according to experts consulted by Red Tape Florida. 

The current plan is so detailed and impenetrable that it can lead to unintended consequences. For example, the current Comp plan requires an existing access to a canopy road be used, rather than a new access somewhere else on the property. That sounds good, but there has been at least one instance where an existing dirt road access required more trees to be taken out rather than a place elsewhere on the property where the canopy was less prolific. 

Now, there have been complaints from neighborhood groups falling into two main buckets: we don’t like the impact on our neighborhoods and the process has moved too slowly. 

Red Tape Florida will have more to say on those matters soon, but as a sneak peek, you should know that this process began around 8 years ago. 

A central focus of the plan is to tackle the city’s housing affordability crisis. By revising land use policies to encourage higher-density development and mixed-use zoning, the plan aims to increase the supply of affordable housing units. This approach is particularly crucial in areas experiencing rapid growth, where housing demand has outpaced supply, leading to escalating costs.  

That’s one reason Leon County Commissioner Christian Caban was the lone dissenting vote. He supported the plan advanced by staff, but did not approve of changes made at the county commission meeting that watered it down a bit. “If we’re looking at adding regulations to building homes in Leon County I think that will drive the cost of housing stock up and not do anything to increase the amount of homes with affordable housing,” Caban said. 

The City has not yet voted on the plan as that body lost a quorum at its last meeting due to illness and meeting conflicts. 

Mayor Donna Deegan’s newly unveiled 8-point plan to streamline Jacksonville’s civil plan review and permitting process is a masterclass in modern governance. It not only accelerates development timelines but also fosters transparency, collaboration, and innovation—qualities that many Florida cities, including Tallahassee, would do well to emulate.  

At the heart of Deegan’s initiative is a commitment to efficiency and responsiveness. By transferring the Development Services Division to the Public Works Department, the city has already eliminated bureaucratic silos that often stall progress. The plan’s embrace of digital tools — most notably the JaxEPICS permitting platform — has modernized the review process, reducing permit approval times from 100 days to just 40. This digital-first approach, coupled with the exploration of AI-driven comment analysis and an “Express Lane” for expedited reviews, positions Jacksonville as a forward-thinking city ready to meet the demands of rapid growth.  

Crucially, this transformation wasn’t crafted in a vacuum. Deegan’s administration actively engaged industry stakeholders, including the Northeast Florida Builders Association and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, to identify pain points and co-create solutions. This collaborative ethos ensures that reforms are grounded in real-world needs, fostering a sense of shared ownership and mutual benefit.  

Contrast this with Tallahassee’s development review process, which, despite some digital advancements, remains encumbered by complexity and delays. Developers in the capital city must navigate a labyrinth of approvals — from Land Use Compliance Certificates to concurrency applications and Natural Features Inventories — often resulting in protracted timelines and increased costs. A 2017 study by the DeVoe Moore Center highlighted these inefficiencies, noting that the average wait time for permits imposed significant opportunity costs on entrepreneurs.  

While Tallahassee has introduced electronic plan reviews and concurrent processing to streamline operations, these measures fall short of the comprehensive overhaul seen in Jacksonville. The absence of integrated platforms like JaxEPICS and limited stakeholder engagement means that systemic issues persist, hindering the city’s ability to attract and retain development projects.  

Jacksonville’s approach demonstrates that meaningful reform requires more than incremental changes; it demands visionary leadership, strategic investment in technology, and genuine collaboration with the private sector. By prioritizing these elements, Jacksonville has not only improved its permitting process but also signaled to businesses and residents alike that it is open for growth and innovation. 

For Tallahassee and other Florida cities grappling with development challenges, Jacksonville’s model offers a clear roadmap. Embracing digital transformation, breaking down bureaucratic barriers, and fostering public-private partnerships are not just best practices —t hey are imperatives for cities seeking to thrive in a competitive landscape. 

In an era where time is money and efficiency is paramount, Jacksonville has set a new standard for municipal excellence. It’s time for others to follow suit. 

Tallahassee’s latest brainstorm? A proposed moratorium on new gas stations through the end of 2025. Because nothing says “forward-thinking governance” like halting business development in response to a single neighborhood’s discontent. This move, sparked by the Circle K controversy in the Canopy neighborhood, is less about urban planning and more about appeasing a vocal minority. 

Let’s be clear: new gas stations don’t sprout up because developers have a fetish for fuel pumps. They emerge in response to market demand. If there’s a need for more fueling options, businesses step in to meet it. It’s called capitalism — a system that, until recently, Tallahassee seemed to participate in. 

But now, the city is considering a blanket freeze on gas station development. Why? Because a group of homeowners in a single neighborhood didn’t want a Circle K nearby. Never mind that the proposed station met all zoning requirements and had been in the works for months. The city’s response? Threaten eminent domain, then pivot to a citywide moratorium. Talk about overkill. 

This isn’t just about gas stations. It’s about a troubling precedent: local government inserting itself into the free market, deciding which businesses are acceptable based on the whims of a few. Today it’s gas stations; tomorrow, will it be fast-food restaurants? Coffee shops? Where does it end? 

Moreover, this knee-jerk reaction undermines the city’s credibility. If businesses can’t trust that approved projects will proceed without political interference, why invest in Tallahassee at all? The message is clear: your investment is only as secure as the city’s latest PR crisis. 

Let’s also not kid ourselves about the so-called “evaluation period.” This isn’t some impartial study session. It’s a year-and-a-half timeout, cooked up under the guise of “planning,” when in reality, it’s a panic-driven overcorrection to a neighborhood spat. If Tallahassee genuinely cared about thoughtful zoning reform, it would follow its own existing planning processes — not slam the brakes on an entire sector of the economy while it figures out what it might want to do. 

And for those who think this is a visionary move, let’s look at other cities that have tried something similar. In Petaluma, California, outright bans ignited lawsuits and raised concerns about fuel access in lower-income neighborhoods. If Tallahassee wants to add itself to the list of overregulated cities that kill investment through regulatory whiplash, it’s well on its way. 

In the end, this moratorium isn’t about thoughtful urban planning or environmental stewardship. It’s about optics and short-term appeasement. And it’s a disservice to the principles of free enterprise and the long-term economic health of Tallahassee. 

For a city that prides itself on progress, this feels like a step backward. 

In the wake of a number of Red Tape Florida reports on the flailing Tallahassee airport, local government officials are rolling out a plan to throw money at airlines in hopes they’ll stay for more than a weekend. In the latest Blueprint agenda item, TLH outlines its strategy to use Minimum Revenue Guarantees (MRGs)—basically taxpayer-backed safety nets for airlines—as a shiny new tool to lure carriers into offering new routes. Of course, they stop just short of calling them “subsidies,” preferring euphemisms like “community-sponsored incentives.” But let’s call a spade a spade: if public dollars are handed to private airlines to offset risk and cover losses, that’s a subsidy in everything but the name. 

Right now, TLH says its hands are tied by FAA grant rules that limit airport-sponsored incentives to things like waiving facility fees and tossing in a few marketing dollars. Since other cities are sweetening the pot with off-airport money—courtesy of city halls, tourism boards, chambers of commerce, and anyone else with a public checkbook—TLH wants in on the game. So the solution? A $10 million MRG fund over 15 years, sourced from “economic development resources.” Translation: tax dollars from sources they hope no one scrutinizes too closely. 

That sounds lovely—until you remember this airport has been down this runway before. 

Take AirTran. In the early 2000s, the city threw more than $2 million in revenue guarantees and marketing support at them. The moment the money dried up, so did AirTran’s interest in Tallahassee. Or look at JetBlue, the most recent flame. TLH finally wooed the airline into launching service to Fort Lauderdale in 2024, thanks in part to over $3 million pledged by eager local boosters. But the route was pulled within months. It turns out you can’t bribe people into buying plane tickets they don’t want. 

The math is optimistic. According to TLH’s consultants, a $10 million investment will miraculously return $1.1 billion in economic impact and over 1,100 new jobs. How? Well, that part is fuzzy. The estimates are “based on assumptions” about aircraft size, load factors, airline strategy, and other conveniently unprovable forecasts. But don’t worry—they have charts. 

In practice, MRGs guarantee airlines a minimum revenue threshold. If a flight underperforms, the public makes up the difference. TLH even gives an example: a hypothetical airline flying from TLH to LaGuardia is guaranteed $1.5 million, but if it only makes $1.2 million, the city writes a check for the shortfall. Any leftover MRG funds get “rolled over” to lure in the next suitor. 

There’s a notable bit of revisionist history in how they discuss JetBlue’s now-defunct route to Fort Lauderdale. It flopped due to low performance—but TLH says that, had they had an MRG in place, they could’ve saved it. Or maybe just delayed the inevitable? The silver lining: fares dropped, traffic surged briefly, and they estimate consumers saved $620,000. Of course, JetBlue also bailed, but hey—stats! 

The document tries to spin this all as a win-win. Airlines reduce risk, passengers get lower fares, the city gets “economic impact,” and no one dares say “corporate welfare” out loud. But at its core, this is a bet that taxpayer-funded parachutes will entice airlines to stick around longer than the next quarterly earnings call. Whether that’s smart economic development or just subsidized hope remains to be seen. 

Tony Knox is a character. He has run for governor twice. He speaks his mind. 

But mainly, he shines shoes. 

Lots and lots of shoes. 

He had a gig at the Tallahassee airport for more than a decade in the 1990s and 2000s before his contract wasn’t renewed. 

The 72-year-old has shined the shoes of Jeb Bush and countless other politicians, lobbyists and members of the process. He’s worked the League of Cities convention every year since the year Ronald Reagan left office. 

And last year, he tried to get back into the Tallahassee airport to provide his services to the members of the process and other businesspeople who fly in and out of town. 

But Knox ran headlong into a lack of creativity and flexibility that have contributed to TLH being the most expensive airport in the country. 

Knox spoke with a lot of Tallahassee leaders about this – from commissioners to City Manager Reese Goad and finally Airport Director David Pollard, who asked to see a picture of what his stand would look like. 

The response from Pollard: it doesn’t match our new airport design. 

“He didn’t like the stain on the wood,” Knox said.  “He told me that have a beautiful airport and that the stand looks too bad. But they wouldn’t even tell me what they wanted the stand to look like.” 

Knox sent him the picture, which you see as a part of this story. 

Knox then asked if the airport wanted to design its own stand, but was told they couldn’t afford to do it. A recent piece in Red Tape Florida revealed that the airport has $1.5 more in revenue than expenses, with the excess shuttled off to the fire services fund or other unnamed general funds.  

Knox says the typical shoe stand costs a couple hundred dollars to construct. “The chair costs more than anything else,” he said. “You’re basically just building a small porch with one step.” 

But apparently the airport wanted something much grander and more expensive that would match TLH’s marble-heavy aesthetic. 

Knox doesn’t know about all of that – he just wants to work and meet people, and perhaps most importantly, train new workers. 

“Tony Knox isn’t going to stay there and shine shoes all day,” Knox said. “I teach a person how to work. I’ll teach you how to present yourself and shine shoes. Most people don’t even know how to talk to people.” 

Ryan Cohn, EVP and partner at Sachs Media in Tallahassee, has been a Knox customer and proponent of independent airport governance. He says Knox’s story is another example of the missed opportunities that hold the airport back. 

“Imagine if our airport actually felt like Tallahassee,” Cohn said. “Before your flight, you could sip a Lucky Goat latte while getting a shoeshine, browse local books from Midtown Reader, and buy handmade candy from Lofty Pursuits. That’s the kind of experience people remember.” 

“But that takes vision,” Cohn added. “Instead, we got an airport bar named after Monroe Street.” 

For his part, Knox says he isn’t giving up. 

“I just want to shine shoes,” he said. 

By Jami Holder 

To readers of Red Tape Florida:  We are pleased to announce a new content-sharing partnership between Red Tape Florida and the Devoe L. Moore Center at Florida State University. From time to time, the Devoe L. Moore Center will share research and other writing that is relevant to Red Tape Florida’s mission of shining a light on excessive local government regulation and bureaucracy. Today is the first installment in that partnership. 

Floridians are currently suffering from an affordable housing crisis. According to a recent report from the Florida Housing Coalition, more than 2.1 million Florida households were cost-burdened, or spending more than 30 percent of their monthly incomes on housing costs. This crisis is occurring as a result of a housing supply shortage. Even with an influx of new apartment complexes being built across Florida, the market is still not providing enough housing options for low and moderate-income households.  

S.B. 184, a bill sponsored by Florida Senator Don Gaetz, R-Pensacola, would require local governments to allow Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in certain areas of all cities in Florida. ADUs, also referred to as granny flats, casitas, or in-law suites, are small-scale developments contained within pre-existing single-family housing lots. The passage of the Senator’s bill could soon become a promising step in promoting the development of ADUs and other forms of medium-density and urban infill housing. 

ADU’s are part of a trend toward medium-density housing and are increasingly popular alternatives to large-scale apartment complexes. These types of housing help restore “missing middle housing” because they aim to fill in a gap between single-family homes and high-density apartment buildings. Missing middle housing types include townhouses, duplexes, triplexes, condos, and, in some cases, ADUs. They are typically designed to be cohesive within an existing neighborhood design. This housing also minimizes urban sprawl by allowing for urban infill within pre-existing neighborhoods to avoid new subdivision development. 

ADUs can address the state’s affordable housing crisis by providing Floridians with a cheaper alternative to single-family houses. For example, ADUs can be especially beneficial for seniors, who may wish to age in lower-density residential areas rather than in apartment communities. ADUs can also provide families with flexible housing options for young adults and can provide property owners with an additional source of income. 

Despite these community benefits, ADUs currently face a number of legal and regulatory barriers in Florida. Several of Florida’s 67 counties do not mention ADUs in their local ordinances at all, and some counties explicitly prohibit them from being built in single-family zoning districts. When they are allowed, ADUs face restrictions in size, location, and owner-occupancy. These burdensome regulatory barriers deter homeowners from constructing ADUs on their land. 

If Floridians wish to have more affordable housing options, restrictions against ADUs should be eliminated. ADUs should be allowed by default in all single-family zoning districts in Florida, and excessive minimum lot size requirements should also be reduced so new units can more easily be developed. Additionally, property owners should be encouraged to rent their ADUs on the long-term market instead of as vacation rentals or short-term leases.  

Sen. Gaetz’s bill is a great step in the right direction by Florida lawmakers, but more bills should still be introduced to further ease regulatory barriers to ADUs.  Policies that relax restrictions on market-driven housing will be necessary to meet the affordable housing challenges faced by Floridians. 

Jami Holder is a Research Intern at the DeVoe L. Moore Center in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy at Florida State University and an Interdisciplinary Social Sciences major with a concentration in urban planning.  

via: floridapolitics.com

Builders and homeowners often get exasperated by delays — waiting costs time and money.

Good news might be coming soon for people in Florida who build houses or need home repairs.

A new proposed law (HB 683) aims to make the process of getting building permits for smaller jobs faster and easier. On Friday, the House passed it unanimously, 114-0.

Read the entire story on Floridapolitics.com

Sometimes, break even isn’t break even. 

At a high level, the City of Tallahassee budget site (which is a wonderful service to residents, by the way) shows that the Tallahassee Airport is spending exactly what it is taking in. 

But a deeper dive shows that is not the case. 

For years, the airport – with the highest fares in America – has been making a profit of more than $1.3 million. That money has been shuttled off to the fire services fund up until this most recent year when $1.506 was sent to what was simply described on the web site as “other funds.” 

What is “other funds?”  We can’t find it on the site. But it begs the question, why is the City making its most-expensive-in-the-nation airport a profit center. Sure, $1.5 million is only about 7.5 percent of the total budget, but the airport is the butt of local jokes and is an albatross around the city’s neck, why not reinvest that money into … something. 

Also, how about some local vendors in the airport?  

The book selection in TLH is embarrassing – couldn’t a local bookstore be a better alternative? What about a Lucky Goat, Red Eye or Ground Ops coffee shop? Why does everything have to be some vanilla airport vendor? 

And why is change always so off the table? 

This August piece in the Tallahassee Democrat featured some excellent arguments from Sachs Media executive Ryan Cohn on an airport authority, but City Manager Reese Goad dismissed the idea for no other reason than it had already been talked about before.  

That’s not good enough. 

The Greater Tallahassee Chamber – which had at one time strongly advocated for an authority – seems to have backed off that position and sided with Goad.  

We recently featured our own ideas on changing the dynamic at the airport, followed by some even better ones from local CEO Eddie Gonzalez Loumiet.  

Another way the airport could do better at holding down costs is through salary control. The total salary line for airport employees has increased around 30 percent since the 2021-2022 budget, from $4.13 million to $5.35 million. The rate of inflation during that period was around 18 percent.  

Dividing total FTEs (58) into total salary lines, gives an average salary of $92,313. 

It should also be noted that the airport has allocated expenses back to the city for functions that are well represented by airport personnel. For example, the airport sends $157,000 back to the “home office” for accounting expense even though there are 3 full-time equivalents (FTEs) listed in “Admin-Finance.” 

The bottom line: TLH airport — which isn’t growing, features the highest prices in the country and which isn’t exactly known for its stellar service — should be reinvesting every penny it makes into improvement.  

Red Tape Florida recently released an investigative piece on the slow growth and high fares at Tallahassee International Airport, and the feedback was enormous.

Local Tallahassee resident, Co-Founder of Launch Tally and WellConnector and Sr Advisor, Informatics Strategy, APHL Board Chair at Ruvos, Eddie Gonzalez Loumiet weighed in on the issue at hand and offered some insightful suggestions.

Here are some ideas…some may already be in the works and some may not make sense for our region but maybe it will keep the conversation going…we need to think differently…

Build a Regional Air Alliance

• Form a multi-county/regional partnership with neighboring counties and cities to jointly market TLH as the airport for the broader region (not just Tallahassee).
• Leverage joint funding for incentives to attract airlines

Create a “Fly TLH” Incentive Program

• Offer rebates or local tax credits to businesses that book a minimum number of flights through TLH annually.
• Develop a frequent flyer cash-back or perks system that rewards residents who consistently choose TLH over Jacksonville or Panama City.

Develop an Airline Incubator Program

• Partner with start-up regional airlines or charter operators and help incubate new routes with subsidized landing fees, marketing help, and operational support.
• Pitch TLH as a test market for new short-haul or hybrid models (examples: semi-private flights or subscription-based air service like JSX).

Strategic Public-Private Partnership

• Create a public-private fund involving FSU, FAMU, TSC, major local employers, and the state to subsidize or offset the financial risk for new airlines/routes.
• Example: Amazon, Apple, or JetBlue helped fund new airport developments in other markets. It could also be a way to attract them to do business in our region.

Tech + Travel Innovation Hub (one of my favorites)

• Position TLH as a smart airport innovation zone, inviting tech startups to test autonomous luggage handling, biometric security, or AI-enhanced travel experiences. We can be a beta testing ground..make it easy for these companies to do biz in Tallahassee.

Redefine TLH’s Brand

• Launch a bold rebranding campaign that positions TLH as “The Capital Gateway” or “The Smartest Airport in the South.” We have a ton of smart marketing folks in our community..they can come together (work as one) to help.

Now, if we want to change the game…we will need a quarterback willing to lead the vision and execute.

Oh, there is one more….Free Parking.

Offering free parking at TLH could be a game-changing incentive….especially in a city like Tallahassee, where travelers drive to the airport.

Immediate traveler savings: For many, parking adds $50–$100 to a trip. Free parking makes TLH more competitive vs. JAX or Panama City. And it is not only about the $ but the time and convenience…how many people get a family member to drop them off at the airport at 5AM or get picked up at 11PM to save on parking…..

Behavior shift: People often drive 2–3 hours to fly cheaper. Free parking could help tip the balance back in TLH’s favor—especially for last-minute or short trips.

Perceived value: “Free parking” is simple and powerful marketing ….easy to remember, easy to sell. To me this is the best part. The publicity alone could drive more attention to TLH as we are thinking different about travel.

“Fly TLH Free Parking” Program

Why not try it? Conduct a pilot program for 12–18 months offering free parking for travelers who book through TLH (would require proof of boarding pass).

Could be tiered: first 3–5 days free, then reduced pricing. We won’t know if it will work if we don’t try it…

Free Parking for Loyalty

Partner with local banks, business groups, or airlie to offer free or discounted parking based on flight frequency, employer affiliation (state worker, FSU/FAMU/TSC, etc.), or enrollment in a “TLH Perks” program.

Weekend or Off-Peak Parking Free

Free parking Friday–Sunday or for early morning/late-night flights to encourage use of underutilized times. Again, proof of a boarding pass is needed.

Free Parking as a Business Incentive

Offer companies and agencies free airport parking for employees who book business travel from TLH

Make it part of Tallahassee’s business retention and expansion strategy.

Amplify the Strategy

Combine free parking with targeted airline recruitment, marketing, and economic development initiatives.

Use it as leverage in regional business conversations: “We don’t just want you to stay in Tallahassee—we’ll make it easier for your people to travel too.”

Just some initial thoughts and ideas…..

(Why is one almost triple the other?) 

How much is a fair discount for work not done by local government? And why does that question have so many different answers, even within the same county? 

Red Tape Florida took a look at work done by private providers – businesses who do electrical inspections and the like. 

Florida law is crystal clear – if a homeowner or contractor uses a private provider inspector to perform electrical or other types of building inspections in lieu of the local building official, the local government must discount the permit fees by the amount of the cost savings realized for not having to perform the services. 

In Leon County, that discount is 60 percent. Same in Bay County. In the city of Clearwater, it’s 50 percent. In Martin County, it’s 65 percent. 

But in Tallahassee, that number is just 20 percent.  

Why? 

The fee for the permit is supposed to cover the costs incurred by the government. In fact, statutes require building departments to operate as enterprise funds. They are only allowed to use the revenue generated from permit fees to fund the operation of the department. But Tallahassee is taking 80 percent of the money it would receive for doing the inspection itself, even though it’s not actually doing the work. Which also begs the question of where that money is going? 

According to John Reddick, the City of Tallahassee’s Growth Management Director, it’s because of the city’s “maintaining of high-quality service.” 

“Due to the relatively larger scale of projects in the city limits, the types of construction and requests from builders can demand significant time and attention from staff,” Reddick said.  

But the actual providers have another theory – that the city simply doesn’t want private providers to do the work. That was the case in Bay County before a lawsuit was filed by Al Wilson, who runs a private company called the Florida Building Code Compliance Authority. Bay County was giving just a 25 percent discount to private providers, much less than the discount mandated by statutes. 

After successful litigation, Bay County is now up to 60 percent, which means hundreds of dollars per inspection no longer flow into local government coffers in exchange for no work being done. 

But lest you think this is inside baseball for builders, contractors and developers, the people actually paying this added expense are the eventual homebuyers. It’s part of the reason why overregulation is such an underreported factor when it comes to the affordable housing crisis.  

“These local governments are just thumbing their nose at the will of the Legislature,” said Wilson, who has become a crusader against overregulation. “They take money for work they don’t do, and force you to sue them to make it right. 

“But the people paying the price aren’t people like me, it’s the homebuyer. When you start adding up a few hundred dollars here and a few thousand dollars there, it can really make a huge difference in the eventual sales price,” Wilson said. 

What’s stark about the situation in the state capital is that right across the street at Leon County’s office, the discount is 60 percent – about three times what Tallahassee is offering. 

Why is Leon County so much higher than the City of Tallahassee? 

According to Justin Poole, Leon Director of Building Plans Review and Inspection, the number was determined by his predecessor 6 years ago. But he thinks it’s too high. 

“After six years of experience with private provider projects, I can easily say that 60 percent is too much of a discount,” Poole said.  “Dealing with private provider projects is an administrative nightmare, and in my opinion, the discount should be around 25 percent.”   

Stay tuned for future updates…