Preston Trigg: Hillsborough County Tax Collector's Office

Today in class we were to read up on tax records and we got a better understanding of tax records from Preston Trigg, Director of Administration and Special Projects at the Hillsborough County Tax Collector’s office.

Trigg explained to us some of the history behind the tax collecting in Florida. He went on to explain that it was established by the Florida Constitution and that it is referred to as a constitutional officer, along with the sheriff clerk of court, property appraiser and elections supervisor.

The tax collector’s office collects and distributes property taxes, special assessments and they collect approximately $2 billion a year.

Trigg also explained that the tax collector’s office issues driver’s licenses, license tag renewals, titles for boats and cars, hunting and fishing licenses and handicapped parking permits. According to Trigg, tax records have been urged to privatize and limit public access on driver’s licenses.

Trigg then described to us some of the records that are available to a reporter if they were doing a story on a certain subject. Some of the records that are available are as follows: property tax, business tax, and motor vehicle records.

Property Taxes deal with the value of houses, plus taxes and delinquencies, which are a link to the property appraiser. Most of the records that a reporter would use for their story would be property taxes because of the simple fact that it is the more accessible to the general public. The property tax records are accessible online.

Preston Trigg’s visit gave me a better insight on what is done and what is kept at the Hillsborough County tax collector’s office and how records are once again are easily accessible but hard to get.