A Diamond In The Rough

To most people the words, “tax collector,” tend to cause an awkward feeling of nausea to rise up from deep within their belly. For a journalist on assignment, those words have a pleasant ring to them.

Preston Trigg, Director of Administration and Special Projects with the Hillsborough County Tax Collector’s office, visited a University of South Florida journalism class on Tuesday. During his presentation he not only dispelled many myths and stereotypes about those two dirty words, but it illuminated the plethora of information that is available through the tax collector’s office.

“The tax collector’s office is a good place to get a lot of info,” said Trigg. “And it’s pretty easy to get.”

Trigg’s detailed Power Point presentation served as the perfect outline for a journalist to follow and offered many simple ways to break a story.

I, as well as many of my fellow students I am sure, was amazed at just how easy it is to find out where a person lives, how much their home costs, and even whether or not they have a Jacuzzi in their yard.

As a citizen of the United States it was a bit unnerving, but as a journalist it brings about a feeling of optimism. To be able to sit at home on my laptop and access a few files that can break a major fraud case is simply amazing.

Trigg cited an instance in which Jim Norman, a county commissioner, had purchased homes in Arkansas. The loan that he used was given to his wife, by someone who ended up having connections to the county commission.

Numerous other scandals were discovered as well, just by thorough reporters taking the time to sort through pages of information. For example: If the assessed valued of a person’s home is a lot different than the just value, there is a good chance that something is wrong. This is how property taxes are assessed, so if the value of the home is underestimated, there is a possibility that there could be some wrong-doings going on.

Before he departed, Trigg left us with some valuable wisdom.

“Spend more time with the legislative secretary than with the legislator,” he said. “Please don’t underestimate the value of relationships.” He was referring to the importance of having connections that were willing to go that extra step to be sure to provide you with all possible information, which can be an extremely useful tool as a journalist.