Business and Economy
As a political and major college town, Tallahassee enjoys a stable economy and comparatively low unemployment. While winter is high season for tourists in South Florida and summer attracts the most visitors along the Florida Panhandle, Tallahassee's busiest months occur in March and April when the Legislature is in session. As the state government center for Florida, Tallahassee is home to more than 2,000 registered lobbyists and more than 300 professional and business organizations.
Fifty-six hotels and motels, many with meeting facilities, offer nearly 5,000 rooms. Additional meeting and exhibit space is available at the Tallahassee/Leon County Civic Center, the University Center Club and the FSU Conference Center.
The City’s government is made up a city commission of a mayor and four at-large commissioners; all elected to staggered four-year terms. The City owns the local electric utility, which contributes substantially to the city's revenues.
Leon County is governed by five district and two at-large commissioners, also elected to staggered terms of four years. The Chair of the County Commission rotates annually among commissioners. The Clerk of the Court, Sheriff, Tax Collector, Property Tax Appraiser and Supervisor of Elections also are elected to terms of four years.
Other than politics as usual and academics, Tallahassee has become a haven for filmmakers who are looking to capture the small town feel of the old South alongside a burgeoning small city.
Some of Tallahassee’s features include southern plantations, open fields, fields of cotton, corn, and wheat, southern oaks, pine forests, oak hammocks, canopied country roads, farms, rural communities and an old town feel. Also, there are cypress swamps, bayous, and assorted plants and animal species add to the look of this distinct area.