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

Leon County Commissioner for District 4, Brian Welch, took to Facebook this week to talk about the developments near Chiles High School.

Read his full statement here.

Red Tape Florida’s Skip Foster weighed in on a situation in Ormond Beach where some commissioners are trying to tie up the mayor in knots of bureaucracy by having him defer to “public information officers” when he is approached by the media.

It’s such an amazing moment when the Mayor of Munchkin City makes the impromptu announcement on the public square that “the joyous news be spread” that the Wicked Witch is dead.

In Ormond Beach, he would have needed to clear that with the public information officer first.

Read the full article here.

In Leon County, our growth industry is bureaucracy 

Anytime even the smallest new development is announced in Tallahassee, someone inevitably says “we are turning into Orlando.”  

Not only is that not happening, Tallahassee and Leon are getting much farther away from being a growing, vibrant community where our citizens see their incomes rise and our children stick around to build meaningful and rewarding careers. We can, however, find growth in at least one major category: We grow bureaucracy the way Iowa grows corn. 

The easiest way to measure the growth of a community is by looking at population. And if you believe the science and research – that communities with stagnant populations are most likely to suffer crime and poverty – the population picture is ugly. 

Since 2015, Leon County has added just 12,544 residents – a 4.4 percent increase over that period. 

In the short term, the picture is even worse. Leon County actually LOST population between 2022 and 2023 and early estimates show another loss in 2024. 

It’s a stark contrast to the period from roughly 1970 to 2010 – a 40-year period when  Leon nearly tripled in size. 

Compared to its fellow Florida counties, Leon’s population growth looks even more anemic. From 2020-2025 (est.) Leon ranks No. 63 out of 67 for population growth, just behind Union County, home to Raiford and Lake Butler. 

Public sector anything but low growth 

You might think that since the county isn’t growing, that the two local governments that serve Leon residents have also shown smallish growth, but that hasn’t been the case. 

The combined operating budgets of the City of Tallahassee and Leon County now total $1.285 billion, a $377 million or 42 percent increase since 2015. While local government doesn’t necessarily need to grow at the rate of inflation, those two local governments’ growth has far exceeded the rate of inflation during that time. 

Some of the categories on which local government spends money are eye-popping. 

The City of Tallahassee spends more than $1.47 million on its communications department; $839,000 on “strategic innovation” and $463,000 for its ethics office (even after it was recently rocked by its own ethics scandal).  

Leon County (and most other Florida and U.S, counties) have been able to grow at this high rate, without leaning into millage rate increases,  because property values have increased so sharply during the inflationary period of the last few years. Property tax revenue in Leon County has increased almost 50 percent from 2020 to 2025 ($147 million to $218 million). 

In Tallahassee, property tax revenue has increased more than 50 percent since 2020. 

But cumulative inflation for that period is just 25 percent.  

Back to the private sector 

More evidence of Tallahassee’s lack of growth is the lack of available housing inventory. This chart compares Leon County to the three counties closest in population (greater and less than). As you can see, Leon has fewer listings than any counties with similar size populations. Eventually this will result in upward pressure on prices as we know from our high school Econ 101 price curve. 

And that’s exactly what is happening in Leon County. 

Since the start of 2020, the median price of a home in Leon County has risen from $225,000 to $315,000 – a 40 percent increase in just 5 years. Those percentages in similar counties: Alachua up 19 percent; Hernando up 41 percent; Escambia up 26 percent; St. John’s up 38 percent. 

Orlando? Really? 

It shouldn’t be surprising that Leon County’s growth is anemic – anti-growth forces have opposed all sorts of new development, both residential and commercial, with varying degrees of success. 

From parking garages to gas stations to urban infill and many more, Tallahassee-Leon has consistently advocated against ALL growth, even as it claims to be for “smart growth.” 

Invariably, snide comments in social media posts on new development claim that Leon is on the verge of “turning into Orlando.” Here are Google Earth shots comparing the two: 

Of course, it’s a ridiculous comparison. Orange County (Orlando) population has grown more in the last two years than Leon County has in the last 35. 

While the issue is being demagogued, Tallahassee-Leon is experiencing exactly what you would expect from a low-growth area – high poverty, particularly concentrated in certain areas, and decades of high crime.  You can draw a direct line between our failure to grow and the desperation in our poorest neighborhoods. 

Leon County’s rolling rate of people below 150 percent of poverty (2019-2023) is 25.6 percent – well above the state average of 21.3 percent. And the 32304 zip code has become infamous for being one of the poorest in the state.  

And while Leon County’s violent crime rate is no longer worst in the state, it is still above the state average.  

An Urban Land Institute 2002 working paper on the relationship between growth and economic strength presciently identified this type of nexus. 

The study found the following benefits of growth: 

• Maintains the current standard of living, at a minimum; 

• Accommodates the steadily growing population of the United States that results from annual birthrates and immigration levels that continue to outpace the number of deaths and the rate of out-migration; 

• Provides additional choices of where to live and work;  

• Generates new jobs, new income, new tax revenue, and higher property values; 

• Stimulates greater opportunities for the revitalization of urban areas. 

Further, ULI compared high-growth metro areas to low-growth and found that the higher growth areas had more jobs, better transportation, better education and better recreation, even as the market tried to keep pace with an influx of new residents. 

Back to poverty, should we really hate Orlando so much when the average Orlando household makes more than $1,000 per month than the average Tallahassee household?  That extra income in our county would transform the lives of Tallahassee’s struggling families.  

We are a new site, powered by Hammerhead Communications, which will shine a light on local government bureaucracy in a unique way. 

You will find that most of our content falls into three buckets:

1. Accountability: There are far too many stories of excessive government red tape that are never told – RedTapeFlorida.com will shine a light into the dark corners of bureaucratic inefficiency. 

2. Affirmation: Along with that vinegar will come honey – telling the stories of when government does things the right way to encourage best practices. 

3. Advocacy: We will offer our thoughts on the best way to address shortcomings and build on successes. In particular, you will read a lot about our belief that the increased costs of government red tape are connected directly to the issue of affordable housing. 

We might even break a little news regarding how local government does business in other ways.  

While our initial focus will be on Tallahassee, we are already expanding into other markets around the state. This effort will be focused on local government – the state of Florida has already taken steps to reduce red tape, but some of that has not trickled down to the local level. 

As our site launches, you will see compelling stories about red tape and its impact on our economy, such as: 

• The inside story of the Thomasville Road/Midtown Tallahassee controversy and the failure of the bureaucracy to adequately communicate the ramifications of the project. 

• A column on how reducing regulation can impact the issue of affordable housing. 

• A story of how the joint Tallahassee-Leon County urban design studio is proving to be an effective operation.  

As you can see, those initial stories cover the three buckets of accountability, affirmation and advocacy. 

Often, it’s the small business entrepreneurs and their blue-collar employees — such as plumbers, electricians, roofers and the like – who bear the brunt of the added time and cost these regulations impose. And, then of course, those costs are inevitably passed down to consumers such as homebuyers or the small businesses that occupy commercial property. 

There is also an economic development price to be paid for localities who have a reputation as not being business friendly because of glacially slow permitting or other red tape. 

Here is one thing RedTapeFlorida.com will not be: Involved in any way in political campaigns or electoral politics. We started this “off-election-cycle” to make this point clear – RedTapeFlorida.com is about policies and procedures, not precincts and polling. 

One feature you will see on our site is “Retribution Watch.” For too long, private sector people have been afraid to tell some of the stories you will read for fear of retribution. We will not allow that to happen without shining a light on such unscrupulous behavior. 

It’s also this fear of retribution that has caused us to keep our list of sponsors private, even as some businesses choose to tell their specific stories publicly. 

As you encounter red tape, we hope you will share those with us, using this link. You might also have suggestions on public records requests in your community or other ideas for the site. 

If you would like to be a sponsor, please reach out to us here. We have a variety of packages including an “affiliate” sponsorship for just $175 a month for those who may not be directly involved in these matters but simply want to support the mission. 

You can follow us on all major social media platforms (@redtapeFl), and we hope you will share the site with your friends and colleagues. 

Through accountability, affirmation and advocacy, we look forward to lessening the burden of government red tape in a way that benefits our entire economy. 

Skip Foster 

President 

Hammerhead Communications 

An inside look at Tallahassee’s midtown debacle 

By Skip Foster, Red Tape Florida 

The story of last week’s Thomasville Road controversy started 15 years ago. 

But the key date was, believe it or not, Nov. 9, 2019, when a small group of people unwittingly set into motion the series of events that culminated with a community-wide uproar. 

Before we get there, let’s start with some background. 

When vision collides with common sense 

About 15 years ago, a committee of local residents set out to make Midtown Tallahassee a more livable, walkable, and vibrant place. These well-intentioned volunteers came up with a grand plan that sounded like something anyone would support – spacious sidewalks, lush landscaping and vibrant public spaces aimed at boosting economic development. 

But a funny thing happened on the way to actual implementation. It turns out, what the local bureaucracy thought was appropriate public engagement and communication, actually resulted in just 30 people deciding the future fate of Midtown.  

And what those 30 people chose was not just wildly unpopular, it was viewed as openly hostile to businesses and to workers who commute through one of the city’s most vital arteries. 

Most critically, the conversion of Thomasville Road to one-way traffic for two years — a move that could cripple businesses — was never disclosed to the very property owners with whom local government was negotiating for right of way access. As a result, business owners only recently learned about a change that could devastate their livelihoods. 

In fact, the two-year, one-way plan doesn’t appear in any documents reviewed by Red Tape Florida. 

Not in the Midtown placemaking committee. Not in any documents of the Capital Regional Transportation Planning Authority (CRPTA). Not in Blueprint. Not in either the Tallahassee City Commission or Leon County Commission. 

Some Midtown property owners only found out after they had negotiated the sale of their property rights. Heartbreakingly, multiple business owners shared that their employees  started asking last week if their jobs are in jeopardy because of the plan.  

While Friday’s decision by FDOT to kill the Blueprint Midtown placemaking plan was welcomed by most in Tallahassee, it almost didn’t happen.  

Red Tape Florida has learned that even the office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis became engaged on the issue, making it clear to all stakeholders that Blueprint-proposed changes to Thomasville Road were a non-starter. 

Here is Red Tape Florida’s inside story of how a Tallahassee “placemaking” project collided head on with common sense.  

From idea to implementation 

The Midtown Action Plan – which became a part of the Blueprint process — was the product of discussion that began as early as 2009. A working group was formed, consisting of heads of local business and neighborhood associations, private business owners and two retailers. Sadly, the two retailers have since gone out of business. 

The plan that resulted from this effort is filled with aesthetic and brand improvements to the area which encompasses part of the Thomasville Road and N. Monroe corridors, such as murals, colorful planters, “xeriscaping” and such. 

Then the plan moved into an implementation phase. For years, elements of the plan materialized in small increments, such as the North Monroe/Lake Ella pedestrian crossing. 

However, initial references to Thomasville Road were vague and the plan initially only spoke only in broad generalities. 

By 2019, some specifics were taking shape and a communications plan was implemented. Blueprint, in collaboration with CRPTA, held a public meeting at the Tallahassee Senior Center on November 9 and asked attendees to vote on three options for changes to Thomasville Road in Midtown. 

Options 1 and 2 both eliminated the turn lane and had minor differences with regards to sidewalks. Option 3 kept the turn lane, except it converted to a median where there is no place to turn. 

There were 49 total votes. That’s less than 2 ten thousandths of the county’s 2019 population of just over 293,000 residents. Option 2 — eliminating the turn lane — was the “winner” with just 30 votes.  

Did commissioners understand the vote? 

Those 30 people voting at the senior center ultimately led to the solution that was approved by the CRTPA board, which included three Tallahassee City Commissioners (Jeremy Matlow, Curtis Richardson and Dianne Williams-Cox) and four Leon County Commissioners (Bryan Desloge, Kristin Dozier, Nick Maddox and Rick Minor) 

But what presentation was shown to the CRTPA board that led to its approval on Oct. 19. 2020? 

Well, let’s look at two consecutive slides. First, a slide showing how many people were engaged in the process. 

While 883 people were reportedly engaged in the public process, the vast majority of those were from a survey that didn’t clearly include the elimination of the turn lane on Thomasville Road as an option. It also remains unclear how many “unique” participants this entails – that is, were there repeat attendees? 

Now, here is the next slide commissioners on the CRTPA would have seen: 

See that 61 percent number? Well, remember the vote at the senior center? 30 votes for Option 2, divided by 49 total votes equals … you guessed it … 61 percent. One has to wonder if commissioners thought that 61 percent of the total number of people engaged in the process supported eliminating the turn lane, rather than just 30 people (note: Blueprint literature does not mention whether other stakeholders were surveyed on those three specific options). 

Blueprint board buried in paperwork 

Next stop for the Midtown plan was the Dec. 10, 2020, meeting of the Blueprint IA board (made up of all five city commissioners and all seven county commissioners). 

The Midtown plan appeared in what is called “consent” — a block of items that are approved together, usually unanimously without any discussion. The 595-page Blueprint agenda included 62 pages of information on the Midtown placemaking plan. References to the elimination of the turn lane were on pages 110 and 112. There was no mention of the road becoming one way for the two years of work on the project. 

The minutes show that the consent package, including the Midtown placemaking plan, were approved 12-0 without discussion of the plan. 

Businesses Left in the Dark 

The next major development in the project seems to be September of 2024, when property owners along Thomasville Road received a letter about right of way acquisition. The letter included the same literature and renderings about eliminating the left turn lane. 

But it did not include any mention – none – of Thomasville Road becoming one-way for two years. In fact, there is no mention of that reality in any Blueprint literature reviewed by Red Tape Florida. And, of the four business owners contacted by Red Tape Florida, none knew of the “one way for two years” plan until the last week or two. 

It should also be noted that there does not appear to be any media coverage of the plan to eliminate the turn lane and at least two business owners on the impacted stretch of Thomasville Road did not know about that facet of the project until just a couple of weeks ago. 

For perspective, here is how Blueprint describes its public engagement policy: 

Did FDOT save the day? 

So, where does the Florida Department of Transportation come in? 

The Blueprint project was initially aligned with a planned Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) repaving project. The idea was to complete both projects simultaneously, along with utility maintenance. 

But, ultimately, all parties must agree to the entire scope, including the Blueprint plan. Put another way, as FDOT officials made it clear to multiple attendees during the March 4 open forum on the project: “It’s our road.”  

FDOT officials were already strongly hinting to some in the overwhelmingly opposed-to-the-new-plan March 4 crowd that the state would likely reject the plan, given the level of opposition. Three days later, they made it official. 

To FDOT’s further credit, in the days before the public meeting, Project Manager Travis Justice and his team took steps to inform Midtown businesses by proactively visiting  them to alert them about the impact of the project and make them aware of the public meeting.  

FDOT was concerned there hadn’t been adequate communication. 

Where do we go from here? 

It will be interesting to see how city and county commissioners deal with the fallout from this meeting. Red Tape Florida has learned that more than one commissioner has expressed frustration that Blueprint so badly missed the public’s wishes when it comes to this plan. Blueprint apparently went to some lengths to engage the public, but why aren’t they getting a true sense of what the community wants? What other decisions have been made with incomplete or inaccurate community input? 

For now, when it comes to Thomasville Road, FDOT has bailed out the community and prevented Blueprint from taking a wrong turn. 

Skip Foster, Red Tape Florida