Osceola County leaders are warning that a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at lowering property taxes could also force the county to make millions of dollars in budget cuts and that could mean potentially affecting school resource officer funding.
Amendment 3 will appear on Florida’s November ballot and would make major changes to property taxes.
If approved by voters, the amendment would increase the homestead exemption for taxes other than school district taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. The exemption would then be adjusted for inflation.
The amendment would also reduce the annual cap on increases in the assessed value of non-homestead properties from 10% to 5%.
The changes would mean tax savings for qualifying property owners, but they would also reduce property tax revenue available to counties and cities.
And Osceola County leaders say that could force them to make difficult choices about what gets funded and that includes school resource officers.
“Make no mistake that public safety is and has always been our board’s paramount priority,” Osceola County Commission Chairman Brandon Arrington said. “But Amendment 3 will undoubtedly reduce the dollars available to fund even that.”
The warning comes just weeks after the county agreed to give the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office a 12% increase in its budget.
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