Dave Pratt No Longer Behind the Mic -- But He is Behind on Property Tax

Dave Pratt, former "Morning Mayor" of KUPD (97.9 FM), has "parted ways" with the country music station that employed him for five years. Judging from Pratt's property tax statement, it may have been a bad time to lose his job. The legendary local DJ missed a deadline last month to pay...

By Ray Stern

December 19, 2008

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Dave Pratt, former "Morning Mayor" of KUPD (97.9 FM), has "parted ways" with the country music station that employed him for five years.

Judging from Pratt's property tax statement, it may have been a bad time to lose his job.

The legendary local DJ missed a deadline last month to pay more than $11,000 in property tax, incurring about $300 in interest fees. His Paradise Valley home, assessed at nearly $5 million, costs Pratt a hefty $23,000 a year these days in property tax.

If Pratt's lucky, he'll sell enough copies of his new autobiography, Behind the Mic: 30 Years in Radio, to save the family farm.

It's worth noting that a scrappy little news blog called "scottsdalearizonanews.com," run by local small-business owner Pete Kosednar, dug up this minor bit of dirt on Pratt.

With the closing of the Scottsdale Tribune and weak coverage from the Scottsdale Republic, we hope to see more local news on Kosednar's site. -- Ray Stern

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Ray Stern is the former news editor of Phoenix New Times. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Arizona for more than two decades. He's won numerous awards for his reporting, including the Arizona Press Club's Don Bolles Award for Investigative Journalism.