Leon County voters have approved a measure called the Historic Harms Charter Amendment, designed to determine whether historical policies and practices have left lasting impacts on communities.
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Historic Harms Amendment: What happens after voter approval?
Melanie Andrade, deputy chair of public policy with Tallahassee A.L.E.R.T., says the amendment encourages residents to better understand how government decisions can and have affected their everyday lives.
“I often hear people talk about the prices of things, taxes, the lack of grocery stores in some neighborhoods, the lack of safety in some neighborhoods, and so I think this pushes people to understand the connection between governance and their regular lives,” Andrade said.
The Historic Harms Charter Amendment requires Leon County to perform community impact assessments to investigate whether previous government decisions have contributed to lasting impacts across communities.
Bruce Strouble, chairperson of Tallahassee A.L.E.R.T., says the goal is to look beyond current conditions.
“So we can make sure we’re addressing root causes and not just treating symptoms,” Strouble said.
Voter approval does not mean neighborhoods will immediately receive additional funding or resources.
The next step is for county commissioners to return to the conversation and establish an ordinance outlining the operational details of the assessments. That includes determining their scope, how frequently they will take place and how the county will carry them out.
County commissioners must return to the discussion by April 2027 to establish the operational details for carrying out the assessments.
“We’ll need to get the votes of our county commissioners to basically set the frequency that we’re gonna do it, the scope, and just the mechanics on how we’re gonna now implement this charter requirement,” Strouble said.
Once the operational details are established, the county can begin conducting the community impact assessments, and any lasting impacts identified through that process must be documented.
Strouble says the initiative is the first of its kind in Florida, putting Tallahassee at the forefront of an effort other communities could look to when examining how historical government decisions continue to affect residents today.
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