Dear Fellow Floridians:
We are a Republican, a Democrat, and a No Party Affiliation (NPA). We often do not agree on much, but we agree on this: Amendment 3 is the wrong answer to Florida’s property tax problem, and we urge you to vote NO on November 3.
Every one of us wants lower taxes for Florida families. Property tax bills have climbed fast, and homeowners deserve relief. But Amendment 3 is not relief. It is a promise with no plan behind it, and the increased bill will come due for the people and the places that can least afford it.
We are far from alone. Opposition to Amendment 3 crosses every party line in Florida:
- Florida TaxWatch, the state’s longtime taxpayer watchdog, is recommending a NO vote. It warns that without limits on local spending, any cut to homestead taxes will simply be pushed onto other property owners or replaced with new taxes, fees and assessments.
- The Wall Street Journal editorial board, no friend of high taxes, has warned that renters, snowbirds and businesses would end up paying more.
- Former Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, one of the most respected Republicans in Tallahassee, has announced she is voting NO.
- Florida’s sheriffs are sounding the alarm. Republican Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd called Amendment 3 a “train wreck.” Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, Orange County Sheriff John Mina and the Florida Sheriffs Association have voiced serious concerns.
- Firefighters and first responders, including the Florida Professional Firefighters, the Florida Fire Chiefs’ Association and the Florida State Fraternal Order of Police, warn it would gut public-safety funding with nothing to replace it.
When conservative sheriffs, a taxpayer watchdog, firefighters and leaders of both parties reach the same conclusion, voters should pay attention.
Amendment 3 has no plan to pay for the services we all depend on. State economists estimate it would cut local property-tax revenue by about $5 billion in its first year, growing to nearly $12 billion a year after five years. That money pays for 911 dispatch, sheriff’s deputies, fire rescue and ambulances. It pays for the roads we drive, the parks our children play in, and the libraries our neighbor’s use. The amendment does not replace a single dollar of it.
It goes further. It writes into our Constitution a requirement that the Legislature schedule the full elimination of these taxes, with no deadline and no replacement revenue identified.
The damage will fall hardest on small and rural counties and cities. Large urban counties have other revenue to lean on. Small communities do not. For many of them, property taxes are the budget. A cut of this size could force them to close fire stations, lengthen 911 response times, default on their bond obligations or drift toward insolvency.
Amendment 3 does not cut costs. It shifts them. The cost of a deputy, a firefighter or a paved road does not shrink because the tax that pays for it does. Local governments will be left with two choices: cut services and (not or) make up the money somewhere else. That means higher millage rates on everything still taxable, new fees and new assessments.
Those added costs will land on the people who can least afford them. Renters will see them passed through in higher rent. Young families buying their first home will pay more (and to be clear, first-time homebuyers do NOT get the higher exemption for five years!) and seniors on fixed incomes will pay more in fees for the services they rely on.
Local businesses will be hit twice. Florida’s small businesses, from the corner restaurant to the family hardware store, do not get the homestead exemption. They will carry more of the tax burden and pay higher fees. At the same time, they will suffer the same service cuts as everyone else: slower emergency response, worse roads and fewer customers drawn to well-kept parks and downtowns. That is a recipe for fewer jobs and higher prices for all of us.
Florida deserves real property tax reform: careful, fair, and built with a plan to keep our communities safe. Amendment 3 is none of those things. Voting NO does not end the push for lower taxes. It gives us the chance to get it right.
So, we ask every Florida voter, whether you are a Republican, a Democrat, or someone who chooses no party at all, to join us. Vote NO on Amendment 3.
Respectfully,
Former State Senator Jeff Brandes (R)
State Senator Tina Polsky (D)
Former Palm Beach Gardens Mayor Chelsea Reed (NPA)
MEDIA CONTACT: Edie Ousley
850-251-6261