Florida voters could get a major property tax cut through Amendment 3. But local governments warn the lost revenue could mean fewer services.
It took only seconds for Clearwater Fire Medic Isaac Humphreys to put on his firefighting gear.
“We want to be out of the station in no more than 30 seconds,” he explained as he pulled on his thick, protective coat in the heat of the fire station garage. “When we set up our gear, we want to be set up for success, that way we can get dressed and get in the engine and get driving down the road as quickly as possible.”
The gear, trucks and people needed to respond that quickly aren’t cheap. Much of the money comes from local property taxes.
And a proposed constitutional amendment appearing on November’s ballot — Amendment 3 — would substantially cut those taxes.
Fire Chief Chad Pittman says if the proposal passes it would reduce his department’s funding. In a citywide planning exercise, Fire & Rescue modeled a 5% budget reduction.
“With the 5% reduction exercise, the contingency plan that we did, the residents could see a reduction in services when it comes to the amount of firefighters that respond to their calls, and the number of available pieces of apparatus, fire trucks that are available to respond to calls,” he said.
Pittman said the reduction means three positions would be lost: one in logistics, a vacant fire inspector role and an administrative job. The overtime budget would be reduced, as well as other operational expenses.
“At the end of the day, Clearwater Fire & Rescue will be here,” Pittman said. “We’re just kind of in wait-and-see mode for Nov. 3 to see what Amendment 3 is going to do.”
Clearwater officials are far from the only people watching.
“A lot of states that are interested in elimination are monitoring what’s happening in Florida,” said Nicole Fox, a policy analyst for the Tax Foundation. “If this passes, will other states take note? I firmly believe so.”
That’s because of the sheer scale of the proposed tax reduction, which affects homestead exemptions on the property taxes that don’t go toward schools.