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Hillsborough Elections Chief Mum On His Overdue Taxes

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By MIKE SALINERO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 11, 2008

TAMPA - Hillsborough Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson would not explain Thursday why he has had difficulty paying his property taxes on time but said he will pay all his overdue taxes.

"They will be paid in the next few weeks," Johnson said regarding tax bills in Hillsborough and Sarasota counties that became overdue April 1. "I will pay the late taxes and any late fees that accrue."

Johnson has not paid $1,682 in 2007 property taxes he owes on 20 acres on Thonotosassa Road near Plant City, according to the Hillsborough County Tax Collector's office. He bought the property through a limited liability corporation called Fort Bully LLC.

In Sarasota County, Johnson has yet to pay $7,338 he owes in last year's taxes on a condominium at Rivo at Ringling in Sarasota.

This is not the first year Johnson has been delinquent on his tax bill. In 2004, he was late paying his taxes on a house and lot on Cherry Tree Lane in Plant City. The following two years he didn't pay taxes on the property at all. When he sold the property in 2007, Johnson had to pay $1,122 in past due taxes, penalties and interest.

Then in September, the Hillsborough tax collector sent Johnson a letter saying the office had made a computation error, and he still owed $2,052 on the Cherry Tree Lane property. The office said Johnson never replied to the letter and sent him another one April 4.

Johnson said he never got the September letter; that's why he didn't reply. His title company is now researching the matter, Johnson said.

"If there are taxes to be paid, I'll pay them," he said, "but I'm not aware of any."

Last month, Johnson applied for an agricultural exemption, called a "greenbelt" exemption, for the Thonotosassa Road land. A rancher has leased part of the property to graze 12 cows. The Hillsborough Property Appraiser's office has yet to rule on the application.

Records show Johnson, who makes more than $130,000 a year, has two mortgages on the Thonotosassa Road property totaling $920,000.

He bristled when asked whether he has overextended himself financially.

"That's a personal matter and I don't think it's really any of your business," Johnson told a reporter.

Johnson, 55, is seeking re-election to the elections post this year as a Republican. Democrat Phyllis Busansky, a former Hillsborough county commissioner, also has filed to run for the post.

Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303 or msalinero@tampatrib.com.

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