With just a few months to go before the November elections, local governments are planning for the impacts of what may happen at the ballot box.
Clearwater budget impact
What we know:
Clearwater officials say they may have to cut almost 140 positions if the property tax amendment passes.
If the property tax amendment passes, city staff told Council Tuesday at a special budget work session that they’ll need to find a way to make up more than $20 million in the two fiscal years after it goes into effect.
According to a memo city staff recently sent to City Council and staff’s presentation Tuesday, the tentative plan would be to cut about 75 full-time positions in 2028, and about 64 in 2029. The layoffs would be divided across the city’s departments that use the general fund.
Property taxes are the biggest contributor to the general fund, paying for everything from police and fire, city staff says, to public works and administration.
The memo also says they’d have to lower the police department’s technology budget for tools that help officers with investigations, cut down on park and rec services and more.