Today Preston Trigg, Director of Administration & Special Projects for the Hillsborough County Tax Collector's office made his triumphant return to Public Affairs Reporting.
This time however, Trigg was not here to talk about the tricks and tools of dealing with public records; but about how to decipher a government budget and of course the infamous millage.
Trigg started out by saying, "All facets of media and journalism have to work through and around budgets." Certainly a sobering statement for those who wished they could just ignore it.
One of the bigger surprises I learned during Mr. Trigg's presentation was that not all government budgets are balanced meaning your revenue meets your expenses. States like California in addition to the United States federal budget are unbalanced.
When writing a report involving a government budget it is very important to use simple language and explain everything in the simplest terms. A budget is a simple it consists of revenues and expenses. Revenues being money coming in and expenses being money going out.
Types of revenues include: taxes, licenses, fees and utility payments. There are three types of expenses: personnel, operating and capital. Personnel is people; Operating is recurring; Capital is one-time.
The government can also incur debt. This happens when the government sells bonds which is money borrowed by government from investors and paid back over time with interest. Bonds are usually issued to pay for big-ticket items like roads or expansion.
As journalists the biggest sin you can make is publishing false information and working with numbers is not always the easiest or most exciting. To counter any misunderstandings Trigg harped on one point in particular. ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND. Ask budget officials, they are usually very helpful, because if you publish incorrect information it is more of a headache for them. So be safe and be mutually beneficial.
Last but not least is millage. Millage is a tax levied on your house based on the property value. For instance mil = 1/1000 and if 1 mil = $1,000 property value and the tax rate is 5 mils then your millage rate is $5.
There are several deductions that can be made on your millage rate. For instance the Homestead exemption if you live in your home and you're not renting it you get to subtract $50,000 from property value. There is also the Elderly tax exemption - If you're a senior citizen you get another 25,000 off of your property value.
Here are some helpful links in learning about Millage:
Online Millage Calculator
Some frequently asked questions about millage on the Hillsborough County Property Appraisers website
Your blog was very helpful! You gave particular equations that were helpful, as well as very uselful links to sites. I was excused from class this day, but your blog game me a good glimpse of what went on without seeming overbearing.
ReplyDeleteI really like the helpful links at the bottom of the blog, because I feel like someone could explain milage to me 1000 times, and I would still not understand it 100%. I also like how you talked about the bonds, because that was one of the most interesting parts of Trigg's visit for me.
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