Leon County s four-member delegation to the Florida Legislature may bring home more than $3.5 million in local project spending in the proposed state budget lawmakers will vote on Friday.
In addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars that will go to the operations of Florida A&M and Florida State universities and Tallahassee Community College, there s money for a local mental health initiative and programs for at-risk youths in the next fiscal year s $100 billion spending plan.
Lawmakers also set aside $100,000 in planning and site acquisition for a new State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee s Capital Circle Office Complex.
And the county s pretrial intervention program for military veterans is in line for $1.4 million, once the Legislature passes the budget later this week.
Tallahassee celebrates launch of mental health crisis response team
The city of Tallahassee officially launched its new mental health crisis response unit during a Wednesday news conference.
The Tallahassee Emergency Assessment Mobile unit (TEAM), which has been up and running since March 29, responds to non-violent mental health emergencies in the city rather than traditional uniformed officers.
The TEAM is a collaboration of the Tallahassee Police Department, the Tallahassee Fire Department, the Consolidated Dispatch Agency and Apalachee Center. It consists of a licensed mental-health professional, a medic and a police officer trained in crisis intervention.
Mayor John Dailey, who proposed the pilot project, praised staff who he said worked “creatively and tirelessly” to bring it to fruition. City commissioners approved the project last fall.