Tallahassee commissioners signal opposition to charter

The city’s Charter Review Committee delivered its final recommendations — including a proposal to give city commissioners a pay raise — during Wednesday’s City Commission meeting.

City commissioners voted to accept the CRC’s report and take action on proposed charter amendments during their next meeting on April 10.  And while discussion was relatively minimal, both Mayor John Dailey and City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow signaled where they stood on a couple of the proposals.

Matlow said he was against giving city commissioners a pay raise while contract negotiations drag on between the Tallahassee Fire Department’s union and the city. Both sides have accused the other of delay tactics.

“I do believe it’s a non-starter to even discuss that with the ongoing (firefighter) negotiations, many who get paid less than we do,” Matlow said, echoing his previous comments on social media.

Dailey, meanwhile, appeared to throw cold water on giving the city’s Independent Ethics Board the authority to handle whistle-blower complaints involving city commissioners, the Inspector General’s Office and their staffs. The mayor noted that the CRC voted twice on the proposal, which has received vocal support from the Ethics Board and Matlow.

The CRC on March 7 initially voted 5-4 in favor of the amendment. Later that night, the CRC re-voted on the proposal, giving it unanimous support.

“It was a highly divisive vote,” Dailey said.

In October, the City Commission voted 3-2 to initiate its first charter review in 15 years, though its marching orders to the CRC were limited to only four issues: increasing city commissioner pay; increasing the size of the City Commission; moving two-candidate city elections from August to November; and requiring periodic reviews of the charter. The charter, a constitution of sorts, dictates how the city government operates.