Learning to Tame the Beast

It's hundreds of pages long. It's made up primarily of numbers and mathematics. It contains words like capital expenses and bond referendums....It's a budget and it's indecipherable, or so I thought until Hillsborough County Tax Collector Preston Trigg taught me how to better understand one of these monsters.

First he explained how all government agents have budgets and that all of them are public record in the state of Florida. Some of these budgets contain facts and even demographic information. Most also contain an executive summary-a quick rundown of the contents of the budget. These budgets, according to Trigg, are the key to uncovering corrupt behavior, because the root of most corruption is money.

Budgets are usually done every fiscal year which, in most cases, starts October 1st and ends on September 30th. They are also made up of two main parts: revenue and expenses.

Revenue is the money that is coming into a business or agency. For government agencies, this usually includes things such as taxes, federal grants and money left over from the previous fiscal year. It also includes things like fees paid from traffic tickets and other violations. Bond referendums are also apart of the revenue section of the budget. These are essentially loans to the government from citizens that are eventually paid back with interest. Trigg says to be aware of large jumps in revenue such as property taxes and water bills. If these jumps are seen, it is the duty of the reporter to make the public aware of the increases. Every normal citizen will want to know if their taxes go up. Many people won't be very happy knowing that they have to pay higher taxes, unless these new taxes can be justified. That's where the expenses portion of the budget comes in.

Expenses is the money going out or being spent by the business or agency. There are typically three areas of expenses on a budget. These include personnel, capital and operating costs. Most budgets show whether the expenses have increased or decreased and by what percentage. Line items for every individual expense are also available in most budgets. Personnel expenses are those that deal with paying people like salaries and health benefits. Capital expenses involve one time purchases of $1,000 or more like a vehicle or a new building. Operating costs are expenses that involve normal monthly bills like utilities and travel. Major increases in the areas of personnel and capital should be looked at carefully. For example, an 18% increase in salaries would be an incredible jump and should usually only be justified by the hiring of more employees. However, some agencies may be trying to give themselves pay raises at the taxpayers' expense. Also, capital purchases like a new private jet for an agency's president is a bit excessive and should be reported.

But Trigg wasn't done with his lesson yet. He also taught me the complex mileage property tax system. All homes are taxed according to what they are appraised at. One mil is equal to one tax dollar for every one thousand dollars a home is worth (1mil=$1 of tax/$1000 of worth on home, 10 mils=$10/$1000, etc.) Many counties set the mil for property tax however, the homestead exemption, which lowers the value of a home for tax purposes by $50,000, has caused these property taxes to decrease dramatically. For example, a home originally worth $100,000 would pay $1,000 in a 10 mil system. With the exemption, that same home would only be taxed for $500 in a 10 mil system. This has hurt county budgets tremendously, according to Trigg.

Overall, budgets are an incredibly useful tool that should be relied on heavily for reporting. These budgets help better inform the public on where their tax money is going and it also helps to expose those who misuse the public's hard earned money.

Every Dog Has Its Day (Meeting 1)

The Tampa City Council Meeting held on March 11th began as usual with roll call, an invocation and The Pledge of Allegiance. But then I looked in the front corner of the room and saw a tail wagging. That's when it was announced that two firefighter paramedics from Tampa Fire Rescue would be receiving commendations today.

Lt. Roger Picard and Lt. Brian Smithey both responded to Haiti immediately after a 7.0 earthquake rocked Port-au-Prince, the nation's capital, back in January. But they didn't go alone. Party Girl, Powder, Cinder and Doak, all four of whom are trained fire rescue dogs, accompanied them on their mission. Picard and Smithey, along with their helpful companions, were a part of a 10 day effort that saved seven lives in Port-au-Prince.

Lt. Smithey spoke to the council and said that he gives the credit to his canines for bringing those seven people out of the rubble and back to their families. "It was a privilege to represent Tampa, the state of Florida and the United States down in Haiti," said Smithey. Although Smithey was brief in his statement, his partner had a rather compelling tale to tell.

Lt. Picard began by telling the council that his recount of the events that occurred in Haiti would not be read from a script, but like his heroic actions, would come from the heart. Picard recalls being taken to a Caribbean market around 9am. The collapsed edifice had been five stories high and it was reported that five people may still be trapped inside. Thousands of pounds of rubble stood between the team and the victims. Picard was in the basement of the building when he saw a hole in the ceiling about 25 feet above him. He and Party Girl climbed a ladder and it was there that he heard something that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. The voice from above sounded like an angel to Picard. It was a 7 year-old girl who was crying out for help. The girl was rescued, along with four others from that same building.

When Picard and Smithey returned home from Haiti, they were honored at a ceremony at Tampa's Fire Station No. 1. Mayor Pam Iorio told the men that they made her proud to be the mayor of Tampa. But missions like these are nothing new to Picard and Smithey. Both were at Ground Zero after the Twin Towers were hit on 9/11 and both responded to several hurricanes that struck the Gulf Coast. Despite his experience, however, Picard believes that this was his proudest moment. "There has been no greater time ever in my 31 years as a firefighter paramedic that I have been so proud to represent the city of Tampa."

Picard and Smithey received plaques for their efforts and were congratulated and thanked by the entire council, but the dogs weren't forgotten. Party Girl could not contain herself as she jumped for joy when she was handed a gigantic dog bone from her trainer, Lt. Picard. The commendations and the dog bones that were given are just another great reminder of the old saying: every dog has its day.

To know more about this story, follow the links below:

TBO.com Story

St. Pete Times Story

St. Pete Times Video

More Than Just Autopsies

I always thought that the only thing done at a medical examiner's office were autopsies. I was wrong, and Hillsborough County Medical Examiner Dr. Vern Adams helped to explain why my assumption was so off.

Dr. Adams first explained that the main role of the examiner's office is indeed autopsies. They do not examine every dead body in the county, however. The medical examiners only look at bodies of those who may have died under unusual circumstances, like an act of violence. Even though every body isn't looked at, about 1,500 autopsies took place in 2008, and the right to perform these autopsies is protected by law. Although these autopsies are a major function of the HCMEO, it would be wrong to say that it is their only function.

The HCMEO also has nine investigators in its office. These investigators help determine how the cause of death occurred. Many of them are on scene when a body is found that appears to have died of unnatural causes.

Also, the HCMEO has toxicologists who help to determine what substances were in the body at the time of its death. The medical examiner's office has a large toxicology lab with multiple machines and instruments used in this type of testing. One machine allows toxicologists to see if the body had any drugs in it, as well as how much of the drug was in the person's system. They can also test for things like arsenic and carbon monoxide poisoning.

The HCMEO is also responsible for the proper disposal of unclaimed bodies. Many families cannot afford to bury their loved ones and some of the bodies who come through the office don't even have any family to bury them. Most of these bodies, according to Dr. Adams, are cremated unless they are unidentified.

Also, when a dead body comes into the office that is an organ donor, the medical examiners must remove the organs. These organs are then picked up and given to those who need a transplant.

Finally, the HCMEO is in charge of keeping all of its records on file, many of which are public. Records like autopsy reports, transmittal sheets for all evidence, cause of death, and police reports are all public. Some records, however, are not available to the public. Those include autopsy photos and information regarding bodies that are involved in an ongoing investigation. All medical records are required to be kept by the office for 30 years. All of these records are held in a large room and are color coordinated for a more efficient filing system.

Overall, my trip to the HCMEO was a real shock to me, and that's not just because I happened to see a dead body in the main autopsy room. Dr. Adams showed me just how many functions the office has and just how important the office is to the residents of Hillsborough County.

Budget Cuts Hurt Worse Than Paper Cuts

Most of us have jobs and understand the strain and stress that comes from being in a working environment. Few of us, however, can truly understand the stress that Clerk of the Circuit Court Pat Frank is under these days. Imagine that you show up to work and find that your workload has been doubled. Then you realize that most of the people who were there to help share this workload have been laid off. Welcome to Pat Frank's world.




The Hillsborough County Courthouse is a major point of interest in the county. It contains many departments that are relied on heavily by our judicial system. It contains departments that handle civil, domestic violence and felony cases. There are also departments for juvenile court, misdemeanor cases and traffic court. Clerks at the courthouse have to keep records from all these departments, as well as evidence records and all of the minutes for every Hillsborough County Commissioner's meeting. They even keep the commissioners' voting records. Frank also says that she is in charge of investment portfolios for the county that equal around 1.8 billion dollars.

Also, the county has seen a rise in petty theft, domestic violence and home foreclosures. This is due to the current recession and it means more work for the employees at the courthouse. However, the recession is also taking its toll on the courthouse in a different way.

According to Frank, the Hillsborough County Courthouse is looking at a possible 8% cutback in its budget. This would mean cutting employee's salaries or letting some employees go. These cutbacks have forced Frank and the courthouse to prioritize its departments. For example, the felony and domestic violence departments would be less likely to face cutbacks because their cases are a higher priority than say traffic court. The last cutback caused 117 vacancies, and this one would mean even more vacancies and fewer staff to help with all this work.

All of this comes at a crucial time to the courthouse. Frank says that they are currently trying to digitize many of their public records in order to maintain them over time and allow for easier access. Frank says that many of the records are currently held in a wear house that could not withstand 110mph hurricane winds, which can be common to Florida. These records could be destroyed and lost forever. The problem is that cutbacks are causing the digitization process to take much longer. Only 8 million records were digitized in the last 6 months and that pace will become even more sluggish if the 8% budget cutback takes effect this May.

Frank hopes that judges will advocate to the legislature on the courthouse's behalf. If they don't, then the courthouse could be in for a world of hurt.

To search some of the public records at the courthouse, visit the links below.

Clerk of the Circuit Court

Court Progress Docket Search

13th Judicial Court

Official Records Search