Trespassing?   At the place the county appointed for him to show and pay his property taxes?   During normal operating hours?



Oh.   So in other words, he was trespassing because he tried to pay in $1 bills.

I could see where they might have a point about unfolding the bills but... six minutes?  To unfold a dollar bill?  Yeah, I don't think so.

I don't see how they can possibly make the trespassing thing stick.

You have to remember there is the respect my authority  factor that could be in play or the guy was a ass hat causing a situation

maybe the clerks were disabled???

It is technically illegal to melt down pennies, but it isn't really enforced other than commercial recyclers won't take them unmelted.  However it doesn't matter since there are people who will buy sorted copper pennies for above face value.  I don't know whether they ship them over the border and melt them or whether they are hoarding them or what...

This .... Just go to a coin shop and ask to buy actual circulated copper pennies... bet you they don't sale them for a penny.   If someone came to a business I owned and tried to dump a bunch of coins on me for a large bill I would be very happy.  most people don't realize how much money there is out there over the face value of a coin.  When i worked crap retail jobs in my youth I would always look trough the coins that came in and swap them out for a modern coin if i found something good.

I know some guys in that county and here is what I heard from them

The guy was in line bragging how he is going to "show them" even though that office has nothing to do with setting the tax rates (way to go moron your barking up the wrong tree) and had each bill tightly folded. When they asked him to unfold it he went all crazy eye and the they asked him to leave to go unfold it. There are other people in line behind him just trying to get in, pay, and get out. He was inconveniencing them and the clerk just to be a dick over a tax that he had multiple chances to dispute the value and he had multiple chances to attend the budget meetings for each taxing entity.


Guy went full retard, screw him

Sounds like the best place to dispute paying taxes is at the location you're required to pay them.  Doubtful he was disputing the value of his property being taxed, just the taxes on his belongings he is forced to pay each year.

Absolutely the worst place to protest.  Those clerks had nothing to so with the setting the tax rate nor did the other people behind him in line.  

Really?  I have gotten a ticket for speeding when I was doing my State of Texas job. Day off without pay would have been cheaper and not have gone on my record.

They are customer service for the institution issuing the bill so this is the most obvious place to complain.  Every company has a CS group that handles upset customers so this is no different.  One must have very thick skin and patience to work in this capacity.

Imagine the publicity that would be generated if a major grocery retailer refused service to an elderly/poor extreme couponer that insists on price checking EVERY item, using OUTDATED coupons, and then digging in their purse for EXACT change.  Now imagine that person getting arrested and charged with trespass because the store refused triple coupon Wednesday.  Face it, we've all been inconvenienced by "that" person while shopping and wished bad things upon them.  I see no difference here except the guy landed in jail.

Hahahaha the sympathy for this guy being a jerk is amazing.

Some real butthurt in this thread.

Txl

I am really sorry that yall have such a hard time being adults.

Here is a question. Would you bitch and gripe to the dog catcher that the county hasn't cleaned out your ditch? I would doubt it. Since you have no conceptual idea on how your  your property taxes are generated it would make sense you feel the best place to bitch is at the counter (after values and rates have been set) to a person who cannot help you.

I would suggest talking to your local cheif appraiser or tax Accesor/collector and get some free education so you will be a more informed Texan. Unless you just like hearing yourself bitch, then carry on

It's just another case of when assholes collide.



 

Why the hell would you talk to animal control about maintinace  on a ditch ???  If you did a psych exam is needed.  And why would a person trying to make a statement about his taxes not make the statement in the tax accessors public office?  Don't think I am behind the guy 100% but it does seems normal for a person to complain about taxes in the tax office but it could just be me.  

Is the the dog catcher office in the same room as the tax office in your county?  Are you a tax man? Just curious as it seems personal to you..

nah some get butt hurt when you don't fall in line like they think everyone should.

me i don't really give a crap in the end as i pay my taxes with a check because i don't have the time to do what he did.

Awesome question, glad you asked. The employees of the tax office have little to do with your property taxes. They collect the money as it comes in and then it gets distributed to the entiites it belongs to.The person in charge, The tax Accesor\Collector works with the entities to develop a tax rate to fund their budgetary needs in Augustish after values are set in July for the upcoming fiscal year. So by showing up in October to gripe about the amount you owe will do about as good as hitting up your animal control officer to discuss County ditch maintenance.



I think we just answered that, but to make it clear, I would be attending the meetings of my taxing units to influence the budget. Most of all of those positions are elected positions. So if they are doing a bad job, don't vote for them or run against them. All the tax office does is help create a tax rate to fund thier budget.  BUT KEEP THIS IN MIND. When an taxing unit gets less money, you can almost expect the services they offer to suffer. Part of it could be mismanagement but it also takes money to do everything these guys do. Which would be: purchase the equipment, get fuel for it, repair equipment, train staff to operate the equipment, have a office and computers to do what they need, etc.



why be behind him at all? He is an asshat who inconvenienced a lot of people. As far as why you shouldn't complain at the tax office,  as we already discussed this but,THIS NOT THE VENUE TO MAKE A STATEMENT ABOUT YOUR TAXES. Sure you can, but you look like an idiot. But to try and be constructive, I would attend all the budget meetings for the taxing jurisdictions that I am beholden to to make sure my money is being spent wisely. I would also go to the CAD every May to see if/how/why my value went up and if I feel the reason is unjustified then I would protest and then go through those steps.




Animal control is done by the city. No. If you take everything I said to be true(just for the sake of this argument), would people not appear to stupid to show up after the values and tax rates have been set. I mean most people are not proactive enough to learn how the system works. And just like cavemen being introduced to fire they don't know what to do.

But a more truthful answer would be my desire to help people understand. If people know the proper way to bitch, and who to bitch at when our political system would be better because the politicians couldn't get by when they pull their BS. Take for example the talk in the Texas house about the good they are going to do in reducing your property taxes. It's all poltical red meat BS that gets gobbled up by voters who have no conceptual idea how the system works. If you do increase the residential homestead exemption the taxing units will still need to generate the same amount of tax revenue to fund their yearly operations. So how will they make up this deficit? By raising there rates. So the burden will be shifted on to renters and people who own a second home.


There is a way make better the property tax system in Texas, and it is limiting the amount of money a taxing unit can generate. Make a law where they can't bring in more money than they did last year. I can explain more later as I got to go hop in the shower as I probably have yall/you enough to chew on, and my phone is about to die.

Well obviously using your same tactics has flown past you.  No sane person would call a dog catcher to talk about a ditch.  That was my point and it was not a very good analogy you used.   You can go on an on about who dictates taxes and the correct office to complain at but you and most others on here are missing exactly what has happened in this case.


The man got his 5 min of fame and is on several news outlets and feeds.  Do you think if he would have made an appointment to talk to the tax accessor he would have had the same outcome he was looking for?  What has happened is exactly what he was looking for.  Maybe not getting arrested but he made a big splash (this was a use of a analogy by the way ... just a bad one)


Sometimes people you have to look at the whole story and understand what the desired response was.  sometimes  Its all about the paper cuts when you are protesting something.  One will not kill you but 10,000 will .


Oh and the remark about the dog catcher being a city job please please refer to to the first part of this statement and you may understand why I asked you about it.



Oh and just one more thing.....Some counties do have animal control officers not just cities.  Just a little bit of trivia for you i guess.

I wish my property taxes were only $497.17.

The whole story does not make much sense. Especially if you read both articles.
First, he wants to protest his taxes, fine, nobody really cares.

If you read the articles, paying in $1 dollar bills was not a problem.

Even the fact that he admits spending 40+hrs folding $250.00 of them "tight origami' style does not seem to be a problem either.
The clerk apparently accepted the money and was unfolding it which was taking a fair amount of time.

Why he cared that the clerk was tearing some of the dollars, I have no idea. They were still accepting them.
and maybe that was the problem, he might not have felt he was making them suffer or making enough of a statement

But then he took his money back and left the office and came back two days later.

The problem during the second visit seems to be that was yelling and being too disruptive,
and then he made the big mistake of fighting with LEO.
That tends to make them mad and is probably why he really got arrested vs. escorted out of the building.

Let's face it, once the cops wrestle you to the ground, it's too late to say...

Making the deputies unfold his dollars was probably worth getting arrested.


Read the articles,
you can probably figure out what really happened between the two stories.

Not a fan of my local dog catcher.

But are they county or city???? It must make a difference especially if you need a ditch mowed

Ding ding ding...  I think we may have a winner here ... Someone who has read all the news stories and has determine what the man was trying to do ... And what was it he was trying to do ... Yep you guessed it get attention... Seems like he was mad he did not get it at first when they took his dollars and took it to the next level.

But I only hand out $2 bills.  I'm classy like that.



 

I'm sorry my analogy went over yalls head.


the reason you WOULD NOT gripe to the dog catcher about the ditches is because they can do nothing about the ditches (we all agree on that)

so hassaling the gal at the counter about the amount you owe DOES THE SAME AMOUNT OF GOOD AS TALKING TO A DOG CATCHER ABOUT YOUR DITCH, she cant help you, she doesnt set the rates, she doesnt set the value, their office only assists the taxing entities develop their tax rates.


if that is not plain enough English to describe the asinineness of this then you can not be helped

You know Steve Wozniak (co founder of Apple) does that.    Maybe not strippers but for regular tips.   Someone even called the cops on him because they did not understand it was real money.   Of course he gets fresh printed bills and has them bound in a notepad to make it more fun... Must be nice to be that rich

Yeah I still don't think you understand what happened and why he did it.
He was looking for attention and got it.   Again as noted above he got in the press for his actions.  That is why people protest like this at ... Get ready for it the Tax Office ...    Did you read the part where I said he would not get the attention he was looking for if he made an appointment to talk to the accessor.


Sometime you have to stop thinking logically and look at the whole picture.

You for example keep trying to think that the correct person to complain to is the group that sets the rates and in your world that would be correct. The guy in the story decided to get as much attention as he could and that's what he got.  

Now for some reason I still don't think your going to understand what I just said.  Maybe because it will be your pride in the way or the ability to understand how others work is what you are not good at.  If it is that's ok most people don't have the ability to think outside their own little world.  That's just how most humans are.  It's in our nature.

no I get it, the guy is an asshat. My response was more for the folks supportive of the guy or questioning why this was not to correct avenue to do so. At this point we are both on the same page that the guy who did this was:

A) wrong for doing it
B) searching for attention
C) this is not the best way to dispute your taxes owed


so on that note enjoy your 3-day weeekend (if you get one)

No offence intended...  but please keep your clothes ON!

Just venting that I don't like my dog catcher.  I probably should send a terse email to my city manager or go to the next city council meeting but I'm lazy and this topic presented a good place for me to vent.

We are on the same page with a and b in my opinion but not fully on C.  Would I do it?  No.  Would you?  No.   But for the way he and others in the past have protested this was the appropriate way with what they were trying to achieve.    Again the point I am trying to make is you have to look at the big picture.   Several people now know about him and what he has done.  When you look at it that way it was appropriate.  

Remember in your world it is not appropriate but for countless others it was appropriate as that is the only way they understand how to communicate with each other.  Sad but true.


Also I get two weeks with a 3 day weekend ... Yippe