The hits land close to home. St. Petersburg is expected to lose about $87 million over two years, according to city estimates. Tampa could be down about $74 million a year by 2032.
Eighty-five cities, including Largo, Gulfport, Temple Terrace, Seminole and Tarpon Springs, would not be able to fund public safety at current levels, according to a Florida League of Cities analysis, even if they eliminated every other service funded by property taxes.
The amendment offers no plan to help local governments fill the gap and no guarantee that police, fire or EMS funding is protected. When that much money disappears, so do services — or tax rates rise. Expect longer waits for building permits, closed libraries, parks in disrepair.
Who could pay? Everyone the homestead exemption doesn’t fully cover — renters, landlords and owners of vacation, commercial and higher-value homes. Fees could rise too, and by a lot. Small cities could be forced to dissolve for lack of money.
The Florida Association of Counties estimates that the state’s 29 fiscally constrained rural counties could lose up to a third of their annual revenue. Some counties will need bailing out.
Who else loses? Anyone who believes in “home rule,” that decisions should be made as close as possible to the people who have to live with them. Amendment 3 shrinks the tax base city halls and county commissions rely on and leaves them to absorb the damage. Tallahassee gets to crow about a tax cut. Local officials get the blame when potholes go unfilled.
Floridians deserve real relief. Amendment 3 isn’t it. Lawmakers pulled the pin on the property tax system and crossed their fingers, and that’s no way to govern. A no vote doesn’t kill tax relief.
The Taxation and Budget Reform Commission meets next year and is expected to take up the issue, with more thought and study. This amendment is a tax-cut mirage. Don’t buy it. Vote no.
Rad the full Opinion Editorial from Times Chairman and CEO Conan Gallaty & Viewpoints editor and columnist Graham Brink on the Tampa Bay Times