Local government officials joined a rising chorus of opposition to a property tax-cutting proposal going before voters in November, warning that, if approved, Amendment 3 will cause deep cuts to a vast landscape of services.
An Oct. 14 town hall in Tallahassee, hosted by Florida State University’s Askew School of Public Administration and Policy, brought into sharp focus the potential impact of the measure: It would slash $5 billion from cities and counties next year and almost $12 billion by 2031, according to state economists.
“This would completely up-end our form of government in this state,” said Tallahassee City Commissioner Jack Porter, who said the loss of local tax dollars would make many Florida communities dependent on the state for needed aid – which is far from certain.
She called it the “ultimate preemption” by state Republican leaders of hometown decision-making.
Lost revenue will lead to host of reductions, officials say
Leon County is projected to lose about $70.7 million a year in property tax revenue by 2028, when Amendment 3 would be fully phased in.
Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil responds to emails on his computer in his office Wednesday, March 2, 2022.
Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil said that while city and county officials will be reluctant to eliminate deputies and cops on the street, a host of law enforcement programs aimed at supporting troubled youth, the homeless and other community services are certain to be axed.
“They’re going to cut away the very things that made us so successful in driving crime down, particularly here in the Big Bend,” McNeil said.
Cecka Rose Green, executive director of the Children Services Council of Leon County, said that her organization was created by county voters in 2020, and has built itself up to a $9 million budget financed by property taxes.
But about one-third of these dollars would be eliminated with Amendment 3, she said. Services for expectant mothers, after-school and summer programs would have to be dramatically scaled back or eliminated, Green added.
“The collateral damage is wide, it is tall and it’s long,” she said.
Cecka Rose Green, Executive Director of the Children’s Services Council, attends a meeting Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025.
Amendment 3 would increase the state’s homestead exemption on non-school property taxes from the current $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and then to $250,000 in 2028. A five-year Florida residency is required before homeowners qualify for the expanded exemption.
To blunt an expected shifting tax burden, the measure also would cap increases in assessments on non-homestead properties, like second homes and commercial real estate, from the current 10% to 5%.
Amendment 3 needs support from at least 60% of Florida voters in November to become part of the state constitution. But polls currently put the measure as drawing anywhere from 48% to 56% support, with more than 20% of voters still undecided.
Law enforcement groups, unions, city and county officials, environmental groups, economic development organizations and the Florida Democratic Party are among those fighting the measure. On the other hand, Florida Realtors are the primary endorsers, having put $19.5 million into a “Vote Yes on 3” campaign.
Increase in Florida property tax revenue sparked pushback
Tax collections have been going up, which helped spawn the pushback of Amendment 3.
According to Florida TaxWatch, the business-backed research organization, the 2024 statewide collection of $55 billion in property tax collections was double what was brought in a decade earlier, with much of that increase coming from the effect of rising property values in the previous four years.
That’s powered the argument led by Gov. Ron DeSantis that local governments are getting fat while everyday Floridians struggle to make ends meet.
Jeff Kottkamp, President and CEO of Florida TaxWatch and Florida’s 17th Lieutenant Governor (2007-2011).
TaxWatch President Jeff Kottkamp, a panelist at the FSU town hall, said his organization opposes the measure. Tax savings in Tallahassee the first year would be just over $1,200 for an average homeowner, and $2,530 the second year, he said.
But the impact on local services will be profound, and it also would lead to new fee increases that could offset tax savings, he said. The measure also will hit cities that are mostly residential far harder than those with a more diversified tax base, analysts have pointed out.
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“One of the problems with this amendment is that it’s one size fits all, and our 67 counties are so very, very different,” Kottkamp said.
Florida’s constitutionally created Tax and Budget Reform Commission is scheduled to meet next year. Kottkamp said that panel is capable of coming up with a ballot measure that will prove a better way of tackling the state’s tax inequities and burdens.
“One of the reasons we say ‘vote no’ is that we know we have that in the bank,” he said.
John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@usatodayco.com, or on X at @JKennedyReport.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: ‘Collateral damage’: Local officials warn about Amendment 3
