Preston Trigg, Hillsborough County Tax Collector

Today we were joined by Preston Trigg of the Hillsborough County Tax Collector’s office. Trigg is the Director of Administration and Special Projects and took some time out of his busy schedule to go over some of the different requests he gets on a daily basis. He works closely with Doug Belden and helps with not only the various media requests but the tax paying public’s requests as well.

Some of the important facts he shared with us is that anyone can get a public record and they don’t have to give their name, a reason, or put the request in writing. While we have heard that from some of the other speakers we have had what we have not heard is that it might be a good idea to put our requests in writing. Trigg spoke from experience as he once was a reporter himself for the Tampa Tribune and used to make his requests in writing. The benefits of making your requests in writing is that it helps prove that you made a request in the first place and assists in mitigating errors in the request. When talking about accessing public records the subject of charges seems to come up a lot and he addressed that as well. He stated that the law allows extra charges for a large volume of records or a record requiring computer or programming time. After discussing the charges, we went over what types of documents we have the right to receive and the ones we don’t. Every document, email, tape recording and other government records start out as a public record that we have the right to inspect. That being said there are many exceptions, such as school records, (exam scores) items in that are in the process of an investigation, private emails, and most records involving juvenile records to name a few. Along with all of the knowledge he has gathered from his days in the tax collectors office he also shared some of the tricks he picked up as a reporter. He stated that main thing that all reporters should remember is to follow the money because that will usually lead you to a good story. The next bit of advice he picked up was from a former editor and that was to always check the facts because you never know who you can trust.

In closing this visit was one of the most helpful in getting me prepared to do a profile paper in the coming weeks. To this point we have had the pleasure to meet with many different people to prepare for our profile pieces but this one will set the wheels in motion. Both his experience and knowledge lead me to believe that if we follow the methods that he shared with us today we should all be successful.

William March, Tampa Tribune

Recently we were visited in class by William March, chief political reporter for the Tampa Tribune. Mainly he spoke about how we can use the various tricks we have learned thus far in class to get information if we were to eventually cover politics. It seemed like he gets a lot of his information from the various websites he spoke about. That being said the most intriguing topic he discussed was the various stories he wrote and how he went about gathering the information.

The story that caught my eye the most was about the political contributions to the Bill Clinton campaign. He found that a business had given their employees roughly one thousand dollars apiece and strongly suggested to them that they contribute to the Clinton campaign. This of course is not allowed because the donation was really coming from that business owner not the folks doing the contributing. What was most intriguing about this piece was how the information was gathered. He took us to a variety of websites that showed not only the contributions but who made them and the exact dollar amounts. Then he used those same websites to show these individuals contribution history or lack thereof. It turned out in this case many of these individuals not only had never given a contribution before but didn’t even vote for the candidate they contributed to. This of course not only raised some eyebrows but lead reporters like March to start asking questions. All of this leads to several major convictions and the shut down of the company Future Tech International. Some of the websites he showed us were CQ Moneyline, Autotrack, and Open Secerts.org. All of these have not only been used to help break this story but many other stories over the course of time.

In all what we can take away from this visit was that we have many resources at our disposal to help tell a compelling story. The several examples he gave us help demonstrate what we can use these sites for and prove our point. In addition to the websites he showed us, he also explained some political terms to us that I had never heard. He stated that hard money is money that is donated directly to a candidate where soft money is donated to a party instead of a particular candidate. All of these little tidbits are what makes a story real and interesting to the reader. That being said many of the points he helped uncover during his presentation should be helpful for us going forward.

Clerk of the Courts, Downtown Tampa

Today we got the experience of visiting the court of the clerks and in particular four members of the clerk’s office. Pat Frank is the clerk of the court but she is certainly not a one woman show. She is joined by a staff of over nine hundred to ensure the various duties of the clerk of the court get accomplished everyday. We spent some time with Pat, Dana Caranante, Director of Juvenile Court Operations, Douglas Bakke, and Director of Family Law Domestic Violence amongst other things. They spoke to what their areas do in helping the clerk of the courts operate on a daily basis.

Pat spoke at length about her role as both the Clerk of the Courts and Comptroller. As comptroller she is responsible for overseeing the funds that the county commissioners spend and dictates to them what they can spend. Currently she is handling a portfolio of about one point seven billion and that is on top of her duties as the clerk of the court. The three most important things to remember as a comptroller is, in order, return of principal, how liquid are the assets, and finally rate of return. Their duties as clerks of the court include keeping records of the court proceedings, collecting child support, issuing passports, and assisting with traffic tickets. I also found it very interesting that she said each year they give back to the county a ridiculous amount of money. In two-thousand and five they return eight million, in two-thousand and six it was nine point eight million and in two-thousand and seven with was still four point six million. That does not even take into account the sixteen million returned to the state for the clerks association. Overall she has many duties that have quite the effect on all of our everyday lives.

After speaking with Pat, three members of her staff spoke to us about their roles within the clerk of the court. We heard about the most requested documents from the court and the way the clerk of the courts handle these requests. Another unique thing they told us about was all the technology that has recently been added to make things easier. The main goal is to make life easier for the general public by making a lot of documents that are requested available online. In addition to making things available online they have setup kiosks to help the general public with some of their questions when visiting the courts.

In closing this was a unique experience and should prove to be valuable for all of us when doing our profiles. Not only did we get a better understanding of how the clerk of the court works but gained some perspective on what all goes into making a court system function. This was also valuable from a citizen’s point of view as a lot of this information could prove to be useful in the real world someday.

Public Meeting Assignment #2

On September 25th 2008 I was able to attend the Animal Services meeting held in downtown Tampa. During these gatherings they must have at least one member from the Humane Society and at least one member from the Veterinary Medical Society on hand. Connie Johnson was the Chairwomen of the event I attended and presided over the various discussions that were had. In attendance were several of the commissioner’s delegates including Joni Stokes, and Megan Hendricks along with Holly O’Brien, President of the Human Society. Dennis Mccullough, the active director of the Hillsborough County Animal Services, was also in attendance and provided a lot of the information that was discussed at this meeting.

Mccullough started things off by talking about a van that was recently purchased, at no cost to the tax payers, and was on it’s was to Philadelphia for a new paint job. This van, paid for by the The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, will be called 9 lives and will go around providing various animal services needs in the community. He also stated they have recently got some volunteers that are trying to find out why the vaccine vouchers are not being used throughout the community. Those volunteers will be speaking at the next Animal Services meeting to go over their findings and try to help correct this ever growing problem. Also announced was that on October 1st they are hosting a kid safe program at an elementary school in Wimauma aimed at teaching kids how to approach animals correctly as well as how to take care of animals. Also staring on October 1st the days to drop off either abandoned or stray pets will be narrowed down to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. In addition to that, going forward all persons dropping off a pet will be asked to filled out a form stating weather it is a stray or not. This will help determine how many people are truly giving up their pets versus bringing in strays. Mccullough also let it be known that TruTv, formerly known as Real TV, is shooting an episode of Animal Court here in the Tampa Bay area. They did not let it be known when it will air but the dates and times will be posted online once provided. Lastly Mccullough stated that every kennel ran by animal services now has a bed. Over three hundred beds were bought and paid for by Bob Rainer and the animals are trilled with not having to lie on the floor anymore.

Holly O’Brien then presented Sherri Silk, Executive Director of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, to talk about a free shot clinic for cats and dogs on January 10th 2009. This clinic will be at Sulphur Springs Park and will include free pet licenses, which are required in Hillsborough County. The announcement of this event lead to some lively debate about how they are going to verify that they are only offering these “free services” to people that really need help. This was not the idea of the city or the county it was the result of a study done by the University of Florida and they stated this is something that this area really needed. The argument of the veterinaries in attendance was that their clients do not access to this free service so why should others get this special treatment. The board ultimately stated to them that this was going too happened regardless of what they thought and that this would not hurt their business in any way as no money would be driven away by this event.

Once the proceedings ended I was able to interview several members of the board along with some attendees. Most notably I was able to speak with Joni Stokes who revealed to me that every time they try to do something good for the community the veterinarian society makes it difficult by interjecting how their actions would negatively impact their bottom line. She did not express any private concerns that this free shot clinic would be in danger of not happening because it is out of the veterinaries control. Sherry Silk also took the time to talk to me and expressed excitement about this upcoming event and revealed that she was a part of an event just like this in Detroit and it was a huge success. She provided me with her phone # (813) 774-4309 and told me to give her a call if I knew of anyone that could ever use her services at the Humane Society. All in all it was a unique experience and it is really refreshing to see that there are so many people willing to give their time, effort and money to such a worth cause. I really enjoyed my experience and look forward to my next opportunity to sit in on a public meeting.

Major Robert Lucas, Hillsborough County Jail

This afternoon we were given a tour of the Hillsborough County Jail by Major Robert Lucas, whose career has spanned over 30 years of law enforcement. During this tour we visited three main facets of the jail before seeing some behind the scenes operations. We first saw the booking room, the holding area and then finished off the tour with a trip to the lockdown facilities.

Upon entering the jail the first place you see is the booking room where anyone that is brought in has to wait to either be booked or wait to make bail. At this point in the process their behavior is paramount to how long their stay could ultimately be. If they act up or show any kind of aggression towards the officer working with them they will be put into a holding cell until they choose to cooperate. Some of the folks that are bought in make bail, those that do can remain in their normal street clothes until they pay bail and are released. For the rest of the individuals that are brought in and cannot make bail they must change into orange jump suits and get escorted to their holding cell. Two unique items we learned about in the booking area was the fact that the people that are brought in actually can make a unlimited amount of phones calls as long as they are cooperative with the staff. This is a strong departure from what is portrayed in the media and on the big screen. Secondly they now use a machine for the people that are actually taken to a cell called the BOSS or the Body Orifice Chair. This chair is used to help determine if someone has something in a cavity that is not found during a routine search.

The holding area that we visited next was nothing out of the ordinary from what was expected. The prisoners seemed to have a lot of freedom in the sense that they were just walking around, playing basketball, and cleaning various things throughout the facility. One thing that did jump out at me was that it was very quite, much quieter than I expected. Following the holding area we went to the lockdown facilities and again it was very quite but the key difference here was that every one of the prisoners was in their cell and none were just milling about.

Some little known facts were also presented throughout our visit like they no longer do the lunch line treatment and their budget this year will be $377,000. In fact 85% of that budget will go to the salaries of the employees working at the jail. All in all it was a very unique experience and one that I will not soon forget. Lastly in regards to media and the jail what surprised me was that at times the jail staff actually found out what was going on through the media, now that sounds like good journalism.

J.D. Callaway, Hillsborough Sheriff's Office

Today we had the pleasure of visiting the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office and Operations Center in Ybor City. J.D. Callaway, a graduate of the University of South Florida, joined us to go over the different type of requests they receive from the local media and how they deal with those requests. Callaway offered up many different examples of requests that have come to him over the years. In addition to talking about what his duties are in his current position he even went back to his Tampa Tribune days and told us about a case involving getting a individuals DNA off of a used ice cream spoon. This wide ranging presentation proved very useful in that we now know what the media is looking for and how they go about getting it.

One of the most interesting subjects he spoke about was how the electronic media has changed things. He mentioned that the media now actually listens to the police scanners trying to pick up on some code and use that information to break a story. The fact that the information could be completely erroneous does not seem to matter, that reporter simply has to change the story once the accurate information comes out. Contrary to popular belief the local sheriff’s office does all it can to assist the media with telling a good accurate story. The major difference here is the sheriff’s office main priority is getting the story right and media’s main priority is getting it first.

The local sheriff’s office provides a news release detailing who, what, when, where and why or how the incident happened. Once the news release is available they then provide an individual’s charge report, and follow that up with a (CRA) criminal report affidavit. Almost all the information a reporter will need about a case is provided in one of these three documents. Despite most of the information being in these reports usually all this information just prompts the reports covering the story to ask more questions which is exactly what Callaway is for. Another major tool reporter’s use and request often are copies of search warrants. These are used to help see what direction a case is going and can give a reporter an idea as to what will eventually be happening in a case.

To wrap up are visit we were given a sneak peek at the war room and the call center. In these two areas the staff gathers together and discussed what has or is going to happen. This session helps them prepare for the day and get a better idea as to what is going on around them. In the call center they have an elaborate display where they can see multiple things at the same time. This location is where the 911 calls are answered and the officers are sent from. Overall this was a good learning tool and gives us a better understanding as to what role the sheriff’s office plays in assisting the media.

Public meeting assignment #1

On September 9th 2008 I was able to attend my first Board of County Commissioners meeting, with the subject up for discussion being the budget for 2009. While I had seen these hearing on television before I never really had any idea what they were all about. I quickly learned that this is a very systematic process that has good structure and energy, which helps keeps the public well informed. With this structure in place they first introduce the topic at hand, and then they give the commissioners an opportunity to say their piece on each topic being discussed. Once the commissioners say their piece the attending public gets a chance to have their say. Each member of the public must signup prior to the meeting and introduces themselves once they arrive at the podium. Once at the podium they can take about as many topics as they would like in the allotted amount of time. After the public’s time has elapsed the various commissioners flag different items they would like to discuss at the next county commissioners meeting. Lastly to wrap things up the chairman announces the date, time, and place of the next public hearing.

One major subject arose during the stage of the hearing where Eric Johnson, Director of the Management and Budget Department, stated that due to some road projects coming back under budget the county is left with an excess somewhere in the one hundred million dollar range. With that news being given to the commissioners several of them especially Jim Norman and Al Higginbotham quickly stepped up and noted that is it the responsibility of the board to find a way to get this surplus of cash back to its constituents. Most everyone on the board agreed with the exception of Ken Hagan, Chairman of the Board, who stated that the county might better off using these extra funds to finish off other projects that have been on the table for several years. Rose Ferlita closed this discussion by stating that the people would let them know what to do once they had their opportunity to speak.

Next it was the publics turn to bring whatever subjects they had on their minds to the forefront. Lead by Tracy Thomas, a transplant from New Orleans, the public came out one after another in support of Ms. Bernadine King, former Human Resource Coordinator for Hillsborough County. King had recently been let go and many of the people she has helped over the years came to this meeting in support of her regaining her position. These pleas led to some lively debate between the commissioners as all but one of them saw this as an opportunity to retain a special employee within the community. That one was Mark Sharpe, Vice-Chairman of the Commissioners, who stated that by taking such an action the board would be setting a dangerous precedent. The public also addresses the issue of the surplus of cash due to the lower than expected cost of road projects. Overwhelmingly the public stated that they wanted their money back but at the same time they wanted to also be told exactly how they would be getting the money so they could keep tabs that they were actually getting the money back. Several of the constituents stated they wanted the money back and at the same time wanted the board to see that they stop any and all layoffs. This prompted Sharpe to react again by stating that money is either going to be given back or used to pay the salaries of the employees that are retained, both cannot be done.


I had the opportunity to speak one on one with two different people while at this hearing. First was Tracy Thomas of New Orleans, who was very helpful and forthright with why she was present at this hearing. Her entire family was displaced to Tampa as a result of Hurricane Katrina and it was because of the efforts of Ms. Bernadine King her life is now back in order. Both Thomas and her mother spoke on behalf of King and became emotional when speaking about what they had to go trough and all of the wonderful things King had done for them to get back on their feet. Today Thomas is going strong by owning a her own marketing form called T-Squared Marketing and she even told me she hosts Woman’s Symposiums on the side to help empower women. I also was able to grab a few moments with Mark Sharpe to ask him about his stance on King and why he thought giving her job back was a bad idea. In our conversation he stated it wasn’t about King rather about making this something people come to expect from the board. In fact he stated that he has gotten many E-mails to support her and has heard nothing but good things about her but restated that he does not want to open a can of words and start something the board might not be able to stop.

In closing this was a tremendous experience for me as I was both intrigued and entertained. I must say I had the impression that I would go into this meeting and they would be talking about items that had no relevance to me and I would be bored for two to three hours. Much to my surprise I was able to be mentally involved in the ongoing conversation and even thought about a few comments I would like to have made, if I was properly prepared. I now look forward to my next public and I can only hope it will be as good as my first.