Amendment 3 promises property tax relief. What would it cost the Suncoast?

If Florida voters approve Amendment 3 in November, cities and counties across the state could lose roughly $12 billion a year in property tax revenue — forcing local officials to cut spending, find other sources of money or shrink the services they provide.

What would that mean on the Suncoast? 

Potentially fewer firefighters and police officers. Less money for parks and libraries. Higher fees and other assessments to try to make up the difference.

Those were among the predictions offered Tuesday night by a trio of local experts during a panel on the sweeping property tax proposal that drew dozens of residents to Selby Public Library. Suncoast Searchlight and the League of Women Voters of Sarasota County co-hosted the event, which was called Amendment 3: What Would It Mean for Sarasota County. 

“Do you want less ambulances? Do you want more response times? Do you want less police officers? Do you want less infrastructure? You have to look at where the money is going and then decide?” North Port Fire Chief Scott Titus told the room.

Amendment 3 would dramatically reduce property taxes for homeowners by increasing the homestead exemption for non-school taxes from $50,000 to $150,000 next year before jumping to $250,000 in 2028. It also would cut in half the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead properties and restrict how cities and counties can spend property tax revenue.

State economists project those changes would eventually reduce local government property tax collections by $12 billion after 2028.

Titus was joined by retired government official Dave Bullock, who was most recently interim city manager for Sarasota, and Holly Bullard, a policy expert with the Florida Policy Institute.

All three raised concerns about Amendment 3, though Bullock also laid out the argument driving support for the measure — local government spending has grown rapidly alongside rising property values, leaving many homeowners with higher tax bills. 

Villa Johnson, co-president of the League of Women Voters for Sarasota County, told the audience that organizers tried unsuccessfully to find an Amendment 3 supporter to join the panel. Instead, Bullock was tasked with presenting the other side of the argument.

“I don’t think I’m going to make many friends in government today,” he quipped to a reporter before the discussion began.

Bullock said that Amendment 3 was a reaction to local governments that had become accustomed to spending increases following pandemic-fueled growth that sent property values soaring by as much as 20% in a single year. Both Sarasota and Manatee counties spending has increased somewhere “between 85 and 100%” since 2021, he said.

“Whenever a public budget can double in six or seven years,” he said, “somebody doesn’t have their hand on the controller.”

But Bullock joined Titus and Bullard in questioning whether Amendment 3 is the right way to rein in local spending.

Bullard said the proposal was rushed through a special session of the Florida Legislature this spring, giving lawmakers just two business days to debate it. An earlier version did not protect funding for constitutional officers like the Public Defender’s Office or State Attorney’s Office.

The proposal has drawn opposition from some prominent conservative figures like Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who has called it a “train wreck.”

“You have a whole litany of people across the board from teachers to sheriffs, firefighters, nurses, all sorts of environmental folks saying this is just not well thought out,” Bullard said.

Bullard acknowledged that the tax cut could be attractive to many, giving homeowners a reduction of about $1,000 on a typical tax bill. But she also noted that any initial savings could instead become a tax shift as local governments attempt to charge for services that used to be covered with property taxes.

Titus said the effects would vary significantly from one community to another. North Port, a largely residential community, stands to lose a larger share of its annual budget if Amendment 3 passes than the city of Sarasota, which has significantly fewer residences and a larger commercial base.

In some jurisdictions, Titus said, public safety costs alone could consume much of the property tax revenue left after Amendment 3, leaving little money left for libraries, parks and animal control services that are currently funded through property taxes.

“That wasn't well thought out,” he said. “There was not a fiscal analysis done throughout the state on how this would impact different communities." 

Because Amendment 3 would be written into the Florida Constitution, reversing it would require another constitutional amendment — and another statewide vote requiring 60% approval.

Bullard described the decision as a “$12 billion self-inflicted wound.”

“It would take a $300 million campaign to try to overturn it,” she said. “There’s no one coming to our rescue if this passes and we have buyer’s remorse.”

Sally Brown, a Sarasota resident since 1985, said she felt the discussion helped solidify the magnitude of the potential losses to local government. 

“How are you going to make up that revenue?” she said after the presentation. “I think it puts more of the tax burden on people who don’t own property.”

This story was produced by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom of the Community News Collaborative serving Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org.