The Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency was back in session on May 8 in City Hall after cancelling their first meeting of the year.
Despite the light agenda filled with housekeeping matters, the Blueprint board – comprised of the five city commissioners and the seven county commissioners – was a salt-in-the-wounds affair that resurfaced grievances about there not being enough meetings to handle the people’s business.
City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow’s lawsuit against the board also became a flashpoint, and one commissioner was scolded after contacting an auditor about a numerical oversight.
Compared to past Blueprint meetings that have lasted into the wee hours, this was one of the shortest for the board with many of the projects that previously caused an uproar solidly underway, but also over budget. Just hours before their meeting, much of the board was celebrating the ground breaking of the Orange-Meridian Park.
With the 2026 election creeping over the horizon and some of the members of the board pondering whether to toss their hat into the ring for the mayoral campaign, many were on their best behavior while others, seeking re-election, made sure they were heard.
Matlow’s Blueprint lawsuit could rise from the ashes
Blueprint attorney Susan Dawson shared that Matlow filed a motion for reconsideration on his lawsuit with a hearing to come in June.
Matlow sued the agency’s Intergovernmental Management Committee (IMC) — consisting of City Manager Reese Goad and County Administrator Vince Long — two years ago to determine whether the two-person committee is subject to Florida’s broad open government laws regarding open meetings and public access to records.
The topic was brought up after Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey asked about the issue, doing the same at a previous Blueprint meeting in September 2024.
Before learning of the reconsideration, the lawsuit was thrown out by veteran Tallahassee-based circuit Judge John Cooper, first elected to the bench in 2002. Cooper pointed to “fatal flaws” in Matlow’s suit, including the failure to assert “claims tied to particular actions allegedly taken by Blueprint.”
In previous reporting by the Tallahassee Democrat, City Manager Reese Goad told the Tallahassee Democrat that, as of Sept. 23, the agency paid $55,821 in taxpayer dollars for legal services and costs. Blueprint’s attorney expects that number to rise as the case continues.
Dailey’s question came after motion attempts from County Commissioner David O’Keefe to require the city manager and county administrator to regularly attend scheduled BP meetings. The motion died after it was considered improper by the Blueprint attorney and Blueprint Chair Dianne Williams-Cox refused to take it up.
“We will invite them… I’m sure they’re somewhere doing real important work instead of sitting in these meetings because, you know, we’ve had marathon meetings into the night,” said City Commissioner Williams-Cox. “They’re open to meet with us anytime you want to meet with them you can call (Reese) Goad, you can call Vince (Long).”
Disputes over audit ethics
O’Keefe spoke on several occasions throughout the afternoon, but he caused heads to turn when he admitted to taking matters into his own hands during a routine financial audit.
As a CPA, or certified public accountant, O’Keefe said he spotted a financial irregularity in regards to the $1 million for Cascades Gardens redevelopment that he said is due to be paid back in 2027. He said that could lead to a significant audit finding against Blueprint.
“I’ll remind everybody that the auditors don’t work for management, they are reporting on management’s numbers to us and so I looked at the report and… I figured there was something missing,” O’Keefe said. “So I reached out to the audit partner and asked them about it.”
O’Keefe further explained that he had reached out to Blueprint staff first with his questions but upon not receiving a response, he went directly to the source.
Artie White, director of planning, land management and community enhancement (PLACE), countered that staff responded and shared their response with the entire board.
“When we have contracts with vendors, I don’t think it’s incumbent on each and everyone of us to make that call to them. If staff is not responding, there are other means to handle it internally,” Williams-Cox said.”I just don’t think that we should be calling the auditor, who’s in the middle of their audit and then for them to respond to you, as opposed to responding to the staff.”
Williams-Cox’s concerns were piggybacked by Dailey, who both make up the majority vote at the city and typically see themselves on the other end of the progressive slate in local government, which O’Keefe is a part of.
“I too, share concerns about having individual directors reaching out to the auditors during the auditing process and weighing in that is completely out of the norm,” Dailey said. “That is, in my mind, not appropriate, if all 12 of us weighed in with the auditors during the auditing process that just muddies it. The whole idea is for the auditing process to be separate and for us not to get involved.”
The board’s next meeting will be well after summer in September which will include the first public hearing for the proposed Blueprint budget.
Arianna Otero is the trending and breaking news reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com and follow her on X: @ari_v_otero.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Fireworks fly at first Tallahassee, Leon Blueprint meeting as old grievances emerge
Reporting by Arianna Otero, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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