Hillsborough County Tax Collector Director of Administration Preston Trigg

Hillsborough County Tax Collector Director of Administration Preston Trigg gave a surprisingly fascinating presentation to our class on October 7, 2008. It was the first time someone had explained to me the homestead exemption in such detail and clarity. According to Trigg, the homestead exemption is a $50,000 deduction of the assessed property value of a primary residence. This deduction insures residents pay less taxes on the homes in which they live. I purchased my first home two years ago and have personally filed for the homestead exemption. Up until last Tuesday, I honestly had very little understanding of what that meant. Though most of the employees at the Hillsborough County Office are very accommodating, I had a hard time getting someone to explain anything about the exemption.

Trigg continued to clarify Save Our Homes. This exemption was enacted to amend the Florida constitution to limit the increase on property value assessments for homes receiving homestead exemption. Amendment ten says that value assessments can only go up three percent each year, except for the year after a home is sold.

Trigg also gave an excellent overview of public records. For the most part, we have already touched on many of these topics. However, Trigg gave great examples of real life situations where we can and will use this information. For one, Trigg reminded us to put requests for public records in writing. Though we are not required to do so, making requests official may help if an agency is unwilling to produce the records. By writing our requests we can use them in the event we go to court in order to prove the agency’s wrongdoing.

Financial disclosures were also subject matters that Trigg talked about. He reminded the class to look for public records that expose information about the highest paid employees in an agency. He said to look for people whose salaries have dramatically increased all of a sudden. Public records reveal five years of gifts an official has received, one year of payroll records, educational expenses, travel records, and automobile stipends; all of which a reporter can use in an investigation.