Democratic incumbent Bob Henriquez faces Republican appraiser Todd Jones in his first bid for re-election. Jones was hit with a state Commission on Ethics complaint for failing to properly complete his financial disclosure form in September. Henriquez was elected in 2012 with 52 percent of the vote.
About the job: The Property Appraiser values property annually and administers tax exemptions. The values become part of a tax roll certified by the state revenue department. The position, a four-year-term, pays $159,980 a year.
Bob Henriquez
Party:
Democrat
Democrat
Profession:
Incumbent Hillsborough County property appraiser
Incumbent Hillsborough County property appraiser
About the candidate:
Henriquez, 52, is the former head football coach at Tampa Catholic High School. The Tampa native served eight years in the Florida House before leaving due to term limits. He's worked as an administrator for the Pinellas and Pasco offices of the Florida Department of Children and Families, a project planner for engineering firms, a planner for Hillsborough County government and a public affairs coordinator for the Tampa Bay Builders Association.
Henriquez, 52, is the former head football coach at Tampa Catholic High School. The Tampa native served eight years in the Florida House before leaving due to term limits. He's worked as an administrator for the Pinellas and Pasco offices of the Florida Department of Children and Families, a project planner for engineering firms, a planner for Hillsborough County government and a public affairs coordinator for the Tampa Bay Builders Association.
Education:
Princeton University, B.S., political science
Princeton University, B.S., political science
What is your top priority for office?
"It's always fair and equitable assessments, as well as providing the best customer service, transparency and accountability to our customers. To do that, we have to maximize the human capital in the office, done by cross training, so they're on the cutting edge n appraisal techniques, then employing the best technologies available in a way that's practical. We've done a great deal of reorganization and there is more to be done. I also want to do a study on how we're providing satellite services, whether we're maximizing our outreach and ability. There are also ways to provide more help virtually to folks to make it easier to deal with our office, possibly with kiosks or other ways to file applications digitally. The other major thing is to look at the dynamic structure of the office."
"It's always fair and equitable assessments, as well as providing the best customer service, transparency and accountability to our customers. To do that, we have to maximize the human capital in the office, done by cross training, so they're on the cutting edge n appraisal techniques, then employing the best technologies available in a way that's practical. We've done a great deal of reorganization and there is more to be done. I also want to do a study on how we're providing satellite services, whether we're maximizing our outreach and ability. There are also ways to provide more help virtually to folks to make it easier to deal with our office, possibly with kiosks or other ways to file applications digitally. The other major thing is to look at the dynamic structure of the office."
What changes need to be made to improve customer service?
"We feel like the office is much more responsible to citizens and can always do more to continue to improve outreach and education to the public so they know what our office does. We've made interacting with us much easier for our customers through our technological advancements and are also holding ourselves accountable. When I came in we were charging special district fees that, statutorily we could do, but frankly the amount of work we had to put in to maintain the special districts for the fee we were charging wasn't justifiable. Now our budget is much more responsible and transparent, and we're very proud of that. We've changed the culture of this office, so there's no such thing as an adversarial relationship with the public."
"We feel like the office is much more responsible to citizens and can always do more to continue to improve outreach and education to the public so they know what our office does. We've made interacting with us much easier for our customers through our technological advancements and are also holding ourselves accountable. When I came in we were charging special district fees that, statutorily we could do, but frankly the amount of work we had to put in to maintain the special districts for the fee we were charging wasn't justifiable. Now our budget is much more responsible and transparent, and we're very proud of that. We've changed the culture of this office, so there's no such thing as an adversarial relationship with the public."
How will you operate the office more efficiently?
"In my first four years we created a program to review processes that's actually received numerous awards. Instead of sending field representatives out we can do the job by using aerial photography and a windshield environment on their desktop. We also have a state of the art website and have enhanced our mobile site to allow people to file applications virtually, which has allowed us to be much more effective. We have laptops in our vehicles now and use Priuses, which are more fuel efficient and economical, and use tracking devices to keep track of where people are and whether we're doing the work smartly."
"In my first four years we created a program to review processes that's actually received numerous awards. Instead of sending field representatives out we can do the job by using aerial photography and a windshield environment on their desktop. We also have a state of the art website and have enhanced our mobile site to allow people to file applications virtually, which has allowed us to be much more effective. We have laptops in our vehicles now and use Priuses, which are more fuel efficient and economical, and use tracking devices to keep track of where people are and whether we're doing the work smartly."
What makes you qualified to be the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser?
"There's no better measure of competency than having done the job and done it well. Politicians make promises but trusted leaders provide results and give folks something to look at. We've been good stewards of people's money, we provide more and better services and accurate and fair assessments. With new technology we have a much more accurate tax roll. I have a long career of public service and a proven record of giving back."
"There's no better measure of competency than having done the job and done it well. Politicians make promises but trusted leaders provide results and give folks something to look at. We've been good stewards of people's money, we provide more and better services and accurate and fair assessments. With new technology we have a much more accurate tax roll. I have a long career of public service and a proven record of giving back."
Assets/liabilities/ income:
Assets: $276,550 Liabilities: $168,394 Income: $159,980
Assets: $276,550 Liabilities: $168,394 Income: $159,980
Personal:
Home: Tampa. Married, with three children
Home: Tampa. Married, with three children
Campaign fundraising:
Contributions: $128,161 Expenditures: $71,565
Contributions: $128,161 Expenditures: $71,565
On the web:
Website: www.bobhenriquez2016.com Twitter: @BobHenriquez
Website: www.bobhenriquez2016.com Twitter: @BobHenriquez
Todd D. Jones
Party:
Republican
Republican
Profession:
Real estate appraiser
Real estate appraiser
About the candidate:
Jones, 59, is a career real estate appraiser. He's a past president of the Florida Association of Property Tax Professionals and holds several certifications in the field, including the Counselors of Real Estate. He is a member of the Florida TaxWatch Tax Advisory Council, and has served on the Governor's Tangible Personal Property Taskforce. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Florida's Warrington College of Business. This is his first run for political office.
Jones, 59, is a career real estate appraiser. He's a past president of the Florida Association of Property Tax Professionals and holds several certifications in the field, including the Counselors of Real Estate. He is a member of the Florida TaxWatch Tax Advisory Council, and has served on the Governor's Tangible Personal Property Taskforce. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Florida's Warrington College of Business. This is his first run for political office.
Education:
University of Florida, B.A., communications; University of South Florida, M.B.A., finance
University of Florida, B.A., communications; University of South Florida, M.B.A., finance
What is your top priority for office?
"We will stimulate the economy by helping real estate transaction activity by removing uncertainty for lenders in the underwriting process. We will encourage investment in Hillsborough County by working with tax payers, because there's a well-founded perception of unfairness in the assessment challenge process. This becomes important when you understand that property tax is the biggest operating expense for a home or business. An investor looking at places to deploy capital in Florida looks at the difference between Hillsborough and Miami-Dade and it's a no-brainer because they know in Hillsborough they have little to no chance of getting fair treatment by way of evidence. The Miami skyline is 100 blocks long. Our skyline is 10 blocks long. That's not an accident. I can fix that."
"We will stimulate the economy by helping real estate transaction activity by removing uncertainty for lenders in the underwriting process. We will encourage investment in Hillsborough County by working with tax payers, because there's a well-founded perception of unfairness in the assessment challenge process. This becomes important when you understand that property tax is the biggest operating expense for a home or business. An investor looking at places to deploy capital in Florida looks at the difference between Hillsborough and Miami-Dade and it's a no-brainer because they know in Hillsborough they have little to no chance of getting fair treatment by way of evidence. The Miami skyline is 100 blocks long. Our skyline is 10 blocks long. That's not an accident. I can fix that."
What changes need to be made to improve customer service?
"There are a number of mobile apps that I would like to create that are inexpensive and would make interacting with the office simpler, quicker and more efficient. We also need to get people the information they need to make buy and sell decisions. The office has massive amounts of data that isn't available to the general public that could be available. The website crashes regularly and doesn't have information it had prior to the redesign. Some information the website never had and many other assessors do as a basic function. If you do a data search you can't even export that data to an Excel spreadsheet. The current attitude in the office is they want to make it as difficult as possible for tax payers to get the info they need to build cases to challenge their assessments."
"There are a number of mobile apps that I would like to create that are inexpensive and would make interacting with the office simpler, quicker and more efficient. We also need to get people the information they need to make buy and sell decisions. The office has massive amounts of data that isn't available to the general public that could be available. The website crashes regularly and doesn't have information it had prior to the redesign. Some information the website never had and many other assessors do as a basic function. If you do a data search you can't even export that data to an Excel spreadsheet. The current attitude in the office is they want to make it as difficult as possible for tax payers to get the info they need to build cases to challenge their assessments."
How will you operate the office more efficiently?
"The property appraiser's office uses stat modeling to develop the proposed assessment which, at best, gives them 60 percent accuracy. We can tighten those models up. There's room for improvement, but you can't get that kind of improvement without a subject matter expert challenging staff. That said, about one-third of current staff will retire before the end of the next cycle. As a subject matter expert who spent his whole career protecting taxpayers, I know how to scout for replacement talent that will up the game for Hillsborough County and make things better for people who want to live, work and invest here."
"The property appraiser's office uses stat modeling to develop the proposed assessment which, at best, gives them 60 percent accuracy. We can tighten those models up. There's room for improvement, but you can't get that kind of improvement without a subject matter expert challenging staff. That said, about one-third of current staff will retire before the end of the next cycle. As a subject matter expert who spent his whole career protecting taxpayers, I know how to scout for replacement talent that will up the game for Hillsborough County and make things better for people who want to live, work and invest here."
What makes you qualified to be the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser?
"I've been a professional real estate appraiser for over 30 years and hold the three highest designations in the appraisal field. If you break your tooth, you go to a dentist, not a democrat. Our sheriff has a law enforcement background. You can't be a state attorney or even run for judge if you aren't already a lawyer. Why is our property appraiser a high school football coach? Hillsborough County is missing out on all kinds of opportunities."
"I've been a professional real estate appraiser for over 30 years and hold the three highest designations in the appraisal field. If you break your tooth, you go to a dentist, not a democrat. Our sheriff has a law enforcement background. You can't be a state attorney or even run for judge if you aren't already a lawyer. Why is our property appraiser a high school football coach? Hillsborough County is missing out on all kinds of opportunities."
Assets/liabilities/ income:
Assets: $4.3 million Liabilities: $165,000 Income: $280,000
Assets: $4.3 million Liabilities: $165,000 Income: $280,000
Personal:
Home: Tampa. Married, with one adult daughter
Home: Tampa. Married, with one adult daughter
Campaign fundraising:
Contributions: $152,150 Expenditures: $149,917
Contributions: $152,150 Expenditures: $149,917
On the web:
Website: www.toddjones2016.com Twitter: @ToddJones2016
Website: www.toddjones2016.com Twitter: @ToddJones2016