Amendment 3 would substantially increase the homestead exemption from non-school property taxes. How would emergency services be funded?
Florida voters will soon decide whether to approve Amendment 3, which would substantially increase the homestead exemption from non-school property taxes.
For homeowners, that sounds attractive. Who doesn’t want lower property taxes?
But before voting, we should ask another question: What happens to the essential services those property taxes currently help pay for?
Consider fire and emergency medical services.
If your house catches fire at 2:00 in the morning, you expect firefighters to come. You don’t first negotiate a price. Likewise, when someone suffers a heart attack, stroke or serious accident, we expect trained emergency personnel to respond immediately. And most people in our area would probably agree that those who benefit from having these essential services available should contribute in some fair and reasonable way toward paying for them.
But firefighters, paramedics, fire stations, ambulances, engines, equipment and 24-hour staffing are not free. Whether financed through property taxes, assessments, insurance reimbursements or user fees, someone has to pay for them.
That is one of the largely hidden consequences we need to consider when evaluating Amendment 3.
Read the full Opinion Editorial by Robert Geltner of North Fort Myers who is an attorney and former U.S. Air Force captain on the Fort Myers News-Press.