Field Trip #5: Tax Collector

We went to the Tax Collector's office Oct. 7 at the County Center. We met with Preston Trigg, the Director of Administration and a former reporter for The Tampa Tribune.

Public records knowledge is essential if you want to be a journalist, Trigg said.

As a former reporter, Trigg was able to put things into perspective for us. He said that, while we have the right to get public records without requesting them in writing, the tax collector's office prefers the request be in writing so that they know exactly what we want. Trigg pointed out that it would be more beneficial for us to take that route because we would have a record of the request should the agency make a mistake or there is some other problem.

He also pointed out that the Tax Collector's office does not charge for any records.

"You're taxpayers...you shouldn't have to pay twice."

Trigg gave us an overview of a reporter's first week on a beat and what he or she should do to prepare.

First, a reporter should ask for the budget and an organizational chart (who reports to whom). The reporter should also look into the financial disclosure of reporting individuals.

"Always follow the money. It's all about the money," Trigg said.

The reporter should also get five years of any gift disclosures made by reporting individuals. Trigg used Pam Iorio's wedding as an example. Because she is a public figure working for the government, Iorio must disclose all of the gifts she recieved at her wedding.

The reporter needs to get one year of payroll records and all travel records for the 10 highest paid officials in that agency. In addition, he or she must get records of automobile stipends of all individuals driving public vehicles, as well as a listing of all written Ch. 119 requests made in the past year.

Trigg went through the Hillsborough County Tax Collector Web site to show us how to get public records, too. On this Web site, a reporter can get property tax information, which also shows whether a person has pain the tax or not, and homestead exemptions. A reporter can access the Web site to see business licenses.

You can tell a lot about a business by what type of licenses it has, Trigg said.

A reporter can then move on to the Property Appraiser's Web site. This is where a reporter can find out about those ten homes that McCain forgot about. He or she can also access the warrenty deed and the sales history, which is found on the Clerk of Court Web site.

Trigg supplied us with a lot of information and great perspective on public records searching since he used to be a reporter. Overall, this trip allowed us to find out more about access to public records as well as the work done at the agencies from which we can request them.