FLCapitalTea

01/16/2026

✨Are you registered to vote? Do you need to update your registration?

✨Peep the comments below for a link to the supervisor of elections to get all the details on voting (even just checking your voter registration).

✨The steps are easy no matter what you need to do to register, update, or check your registration.

🫶We are better together and all our voices deserve a seat at the table in this year’s local elections.

01/16/2026

🐈 Our neighbors have requested to see all our local government pay compared to each other.

🐈In the interest of keeping the conversation going, we requested th county executive pay.

🐈Here are all the agencies together in one post:

County administrator Long: $405,362
City manager Goad: $304,647
Superintendent Hanna: $202,324

County assistants (including communications relations due to being on the same level on organizational chart as the assistant administrators:

- Cavell: $146,871
- Ezzagaghi: $191,008
- Lamy: $191,008
- Morris: $ 191,008

City assistants (including strategic innovation director due to same level as assistants on organizational chart)
- Doolin: $250,271
- Jumonville: $275,298
- Tedder: $255,702
- Ojetayo: $250,271
- Whitley: $208,000
- Farris: while on the same level as the assistants we do not have her salary yet. We will request it)

Superintendent assistants (not easily found organizational chart)
- Gayle: $144,092
- McAllister: $132,561
- Syfrett: $132,175
- Chancy: $130,000
- McQueen: $130,000
- Fitzgerald: $130,000

Totals as we know them currently
County: $1,125,257
City: $1,544,189 (if we assume Allison is close to Whitley’s salary we could add an additional $200,000 bringing the city total closer to $1.7 million)
School district: $1,001,152

🫶Keep the conversation going. We are better together

01/15/2026

✨Last night we prioritized attending the city commission meeting in person. We do this for a few reasons

1) We believe in matching our actions to our words. This means attending meeting, writing and speaking to our representatives, and observing first hand.

2)When we attend these meeting we gain a feel for the meetings which doesn’t always translate through the screen.

✨This post is a post about our observations there and our impressions and opinions.

✨We arrived around 3:30 but the chambers were so full that many of us had to wait outside before going in. This gave us the impression that this is a topic that many neighbors care about. If this many neighbors were taking off work then perhaps our community still requires time to have answers addressed.

✨Walking into the chambers, there was a section of medical students in white coats. This was encouraging that so many medical students would take time away from their studies to participate in our local government. Later our team heard that the students were given gift cards to be there by FSU (we have not confirmed this).

✨Dianne Williams-Cox and Richardson took defensive positions. Citing that selling the hospital will benefit even surrounding counties however there was no data or studies which they cited that led them to this conclusion.

-In fact, the national community reinvestment coalition states that it may actually drive up costs for communities.
-When they stated that this will provide more financial backing, this statement that is backed by data and studies, according to Equitable Growth.

✨Every speaker against the MOU agrees that an academic medical center is desirable and needed. Many stated wanting to allow more opportunities for the public questions to be answered, and assurances that the MOU will protect the community and will get the best price possible.

✨Another observation we noted was Dianne’s inattention to the speakers, which we have noted this in the past before. Every time we see her display of inconvenience for our neighbors, it is truly shocking.

✨Goad answered questions using what we can only describe as “word salad.” While his intention may not be to intentionally manipulate and confuse people, the impact of his explanations are overly long, hard to follow, and ultimately could be stated more directly without losing context.

✨Many neighbors loudly expressed dissatisfaction when the majority three voted to go aganst the city’s own policy which is to obtain two appraisals prior to any sale.

✨At the end of the meeting Dailey adjourned abruptly due to a group of neighbors holding signs printed on standard computer paper (I apologize I did not get a look at the signs themself), however there is nothing in city policy I could find about signs and the default guidelines typically allow signs without poles or posts, and they can’t obstruct free passage. The ultimate question is now if the city violated any rights.

✨Our final observation: during the break after the TMH item, we observed where everyone gravitated which was predictable but also interesting. Dailey left the chambers through the side. Williams-Cox and Richardson spent the majority of the time speaking together with mayoral candidate Darryl Parks. Matlow and Porter left chambers separately but both through the crowd stopping along the way to say hello to various neighbors. We remained in the chambers.

✨We will have some clips from the meeting and more posts that are less about our personal opinions on social observations and more about the items and content.

🫶Keep the conversations going, we are better together.

01/14/2026

Stay engaged.

It’s a packed house and the overflow room is being utilized.

Keep the conversation going 🫶

01/14/2026

Stay engaged. Remain involved. Keep the conversation going.

01/14/2026

We are better together and all voices deserve a seat at the table.

This doesn’t mean it doesn’t sell. This doesn’t mean we don’t have a partnership and research hospital.

What this does mean is that we allow for robust community conversations with plenty of notice to the public.

The commission meeting is taking place this afternoon.

Keep the conversation going

History has taught us that when benefits are vague and power is centralized, our communities pay the price.

01/13/2026

Stay engaged remain involved.

01/13/2026

We’ve been following this situation since the initial flooding. Our neighbors deserve more respect than the city is giving them. The city stated in a public hearing that they have accepted responsibility for the claim (4/21/2024). Yet they haven’t wanted to pay the full amount to make their home whole

The Williams family lost their home after it was flooded with raw sewage; the city of Tallahassee is denying their allegations. See link below ⬇️ bit.ly/49vuvGL

01/13/2026

✨Tomorrow, on the city agenda is an item to sell 4.5 acres on capital circle. Last meeting the commission voted to allow staff to advertise the property.

✨ This 4.5 acre lot is selling for more than the 180 acres in downtown Tallahassee.

✨Also on this agenda is approval of a TMH MOU with FSU. While everyone supports a research hospital, our community is owed a more transparent process and to have our concerns discussed before anymore votes take place.

-Protections for FAMU
-Transparency and every effort to ensure the best valuation for our public land.
-A neighbor brought to our attention FSU’s stance on HB 6017 (removal of provisions that precluded certain people from recovering damages for medical negligence resulting in death also know as a way to end “free kill”). This bill had 93% bipartisan support from the legislatives. FSU opposed HB 6017 which concerns our neighbors advocating for families right to pursue damages when medical negligence results in their family member’s death.

✨Ultimately many community groups in our neighborhoods are being left out of the conversation and their concerns are being pushed aside.

✨Contact our city commissioner, ask them to pause this sale to allow for a more robust community conversation. Ask them to schedule town halls to address all of our community’s concerns.

🫶Keep the conversation going, we are better together.

01/12/2026

Stay engaged remain informed

01/12/2026

*update* we’ve spent the day researching how the city functions as a conduit and what that entails for responsibility on our city government. It appears that a conduit is NOT like a cosigner. The organization (TMH in this case) is the solely responsible. We are still researching what happens when the bond doesn’t get paid.

✨TMH has a bond of $600 million with the city of Tallahassee as the conduit of the bonds between the hospital and the bond company (co-signer). $300million of the $600 million is the repayment.

✨The city has put up various programs in case there is default on the bond. Programs that fund our city. These programs are also duplicated on other bond the city has.

✨If FSU has ownership of the hospital, and TMH doesn’t pay the bonds, our city is then responsible for the bonds… and our programs are at risk.

✨Our city needs to ensure every protection is being taken for our community dollars. This sale needs to slow down and we need answers to important questions.

01/11/2026

✨Both Leon County Schools and the City of Tallahassee are holding meetings next week.

👀Peep the comments for the agendas

🫶Keep the conversation going, we are better together