Name: Allison Newlon
Age: 42
Residence: San Antonio
Contact information: (813) 263-8644, www.AllisonNewlon.com
Occupation: real estate broker
Political affiliation: Democrat
Political experience: none
Office being sought: Pasco County property appraiser
What separates you from your competitors(s)?
As a real estate industry professional, I have been assessing the values of homes for buyers and sellers for over eleven years. I am uniquely qualified for this position due to the nature of my current occupation. I understand the shifting condition of real estate in this county as only one whose livelihood depends on it can understand it. As a taxpayer myself, I know the importance of meeting residents’ needs as they arise. As someone with no political background, I am sincerely interested in making the office the best that it can be through the use of technology and community outreach programs. This county office and the residents who live here would benefit from my hard work ethic and fresh perspective.
What do you hope to accomplish in your first six months in office?
During the first six months, I look forward to working with the dedicated staff to improve internal efficiencies and to make it quicker and easier for the customer to do business with the office by improving service and information available online.
What do you hope to accomplish by the end of your term?
By the end of my term I hope I will have achieved the following:
—Improved the health of the tax roll by using more effective ways to identify property owners receiving exemptions to which they are not entitled
—Improved the website to include more online services, more information and having easier access to information
—Successful implementation of community outreach programs
List your political endorsements:
none
Name: Mike Wells
Age: 65
Residence: Dade City
Occupation: Pasco County property appraiser
Political affiliation: Republican
Political experience: 1984 to 1992 Pasco Commissioners, 1997 to present Pasco Property Appraiser
Office being sought: Pasco County property appraiser
What separates you from your competitors(s)?
The most important credential for being an effective Property Appraiser is proven leadership. This office requires a business leader who has experiences in and understands budgeting, hiring and retention of quality personnel, meeting deadlines, setting customer service standards, interacting with taxpayers, business leaders, elected leaders as well as the press in an honest straight forward manner.
This is a big job that is multi faceted requiring extensive knowledge of the county, the property and the people in it. I have personally visited every square mile of this county. My County Commission experience gives me a unique institutional knowledge of the inner workings of county government. I have been a licensed real estate broker for over 25 years and am also a Certified Florida Appraiser.
My website is the main reason I have been able to cut personnel by over 30%. I have also reduced my operating budget each year for the past five years. They are part of a long term business plan conditioned on the premise of being stingy with your tax dollars.
What do you hope to accomplish in your first six months in office?
Should I be re-elected, I will do what I do the first half of every year, like mail out homestead verification cards and expense request to income producing properties, gathering and analyzing data for the 2013 tax role, scheduling and participating in speaking engagements to civic, fraternal, homeowners and veteran’s organizations, begin the cost/benefit analysis of best practices presented to me by staff and others, begin process of making operational changes as required by new legislation and constitutional amendments, begin work on early estimates and the June 1 estimates for all taxing authorities and receive and analyze input and requests from staff for the 2013 budget. This involves discussing wants and needs. Once the needs are determined we then, once again, conduct a cost/benefit analysis on every sizable request. Our budget request will be fine tuned and delivered to the Florida Department of Revenue by June 1.
What do you hope to accomplish by the end of your term?
Many in and out of the public sector talk about smaller and more efficient government. I plan to continue delivering on my pledge to reduce the size and increase effectiveness of the Pasco Property Appraiser’s Office. Through prudent expenditures on technology. I will close one location and reduce office size in the remaining locations. As the public becomes more accustomed to technology and as Statutes and Rules are updated to match our on-line world more and more services will be conducted via the Internet. Working with the Pasco Delegation, I want to begin delivery of TRIM Notices by email. While not decreasing the bottom line for the property appraisers’ offices it will benefit the taxpayers. Strive to deliver the most concise tax roll in terms of value estimates and exemptions possible. I was to move from the fifth most efficient out sixty-seven property appraiser offices to the most efficient.
List your political endorsements: Tampa Bay Times; Tampa Tribune; West Pasco Board of Realtors; Tampa Bay Builders Association; West Central Florida Federation of Labor; Congressman Gus Bilirakis; Senator Mike Fasano; Commissioner Ann Hildebrand; State Representative Will Weatherford; Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam; Attorney General Pam Bondi
