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Tax Collector, Appraiser Deserve Re-Election

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 6, 2008

Two easy calls for Hillsborough voters this Election Day should be the selection of the tax collector and property appraiser.

Both incumbents have greatly improved performance and professional operations. Their opponents are running low-key campaigns that fail to make a case for change.

Voters should stick with constitutional officers who have proven they can do the job.

Tax Collector

In the tax collector's race, Republican Doug Belden is being challenged by former employee Beverly Harris, who has no declared party.

During his 10 years in charge, Belden has done an outstanding job of professionalizing his office, making it customer friendly and controlling costs.

When he was first elected, customers seeking an auto tag or fishing license had to wait more than an hour. The wait is now less than 15 minutes.

Some 97 percent of property-tax payments are processed the day they are received in the mail. Belden instituted a problem-tracking system that addresses customers' complaints and detects any problems in the organization's policies.

He's established benchmarks for performance and service and adopted a number of cost-cutting measures, such as rebidding the agency's health insurance contract every three years.

Because of Belden's focus on constant improvement, the Hillsborough Tax Collector's Office was given the Governor's Sterling Award earlier this year. The program, initiated by Gov. Lawton Chiles, recognizes public and private operations for outstanding performance. Judges were impressed by what they saw.

Even Harris acknowledges that Belden has improved the office. She offers only modest proposals for change. Her primary criticism is the one smudge on his record.

Two years ago, Belden had too much to drink and offended a woman in a Harbour Island restaurant. While his initial response was clumsy and defensive, he eventually admitted his blunder, apologized to the woman, as well as his staff and the community, and promised to change his ways. She accepted his apology.

Belden appears to have learned from the embarrassing incident. He's had no further personal problems. And he's clearly providing able leadership in his office.

For Hillsborough County tax collector, the Tribune enthusiastically recommends Doug Belden.

Property Appraiser

In the property appraiser's race, Republican Rob Turner is being challenged by Ken Ayers, who served as Tampa fire chief in the early '60s and has been in the real estate and insurance business for many years.

Ayers, 78, is not running a strong campaign, though he appears to be having a good time tweaking Turner for increasing "taxes" with his property appraisals.

Ayers is an engaging man who understands the real-estate business, but his criticisms of Turner are mostly off base.

State law requires Turner to annually value real estate at 100 percent of fair market value, based on prior year's sales and market values. While the roller-coaster market has created some painful appraisals for homeowners, that's not Turner's fault.

State Department of Revenue figures show that Hillsborough increases in property values are lower than the statewide average in recent years, which contradicts critics' claims that Turner is too aggressive.

Voters should remember that Turner took over an office mired in ethical problems. He promptly cleaned things up and now runs an efficient office. While the number of parcels that must be appraised has increased by 116,000 since he was first elected, he has reduced his employees from 178 to 147.

He has consistently sought to reduce government spending and has offered sound ideas on how to reform the property tax formula.

Ayers is adding some humor and spark to the campaign, but Turner deserves re-election. For Hillsborough property appraiser, the Tribune recommends Rob Turner.

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