No More Property Tax? Should we be concerned?
The amendment for Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes passed the Florida House 75 to 26 and the Florida Senate 30 to 9 on Tuesday. It will be on the November 3 ballot, where it needs 60 percent voter approval to take effect. Two Republicans crossed the aisle to vote no: Rep. Nathan Boyles of Baker County and Rep. Patt Maney of Shalimar. They were not the only voices raising concerns. Florida cities, counties, sheriff’s offices, fire departments, and several statewide associations have been warning for weeks about what passage would mean for local budgets. Some of those warnings came from leaders right here in Polk County.
Start with the numbers. A House staff analysis estimated the amended proposal would reduce annual revenue to non-school local governments by $4.6 billion at first, growing to $8.4 billion per year. Either way, the impact would not be spread evenly. Some cities rely on homestead property taxes for a much bigger share of their budget than others.
NBC Miami reported analysis showing Cooper City in Broward County could see a 35 percent budget cut, Tamarac a 33 percent cut, and Plantation a 23 percent cut. The Florida League of Cities cited an independent study finding 85 Florida cities would see essential services like police, road maintenance, and flood infrastructure put at risk. The cities named include New Port Richey, Largo, Gulfport, Coral Springs, Davie, and Key West.
For Polk County specifically, here is what local leaders have told WFLA-TV.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd issued a written statement that read, “In its current form, I fear the proposal will devastate counties’ and cities’ ability to deliver vital services, including emergency services, to our citizens.” His office’s roughly $300 million annual budget is funded largely by county property tax revenue.
Polk County Commissioner Bill Braswell told WFLA the county is in a stronger financial position to absorb the cuts than smaller cities are. “I do think the county is in a much better position to deal with it than like cities are.” Bartow City Manager Mike Herr was more pointed. He said, “There comes a point where citizens have an expectation for exceptional service and we’re going to reach a point where we’re not going to be able to do that.”
The Florida Association of Counties, the statewide group representing all 67 counties, sent an email to all 160 members of the Legislature on May 29 asking them to vote against the proposal. Per Florida Phoenix, the email called the plan a “tax shift” and argued, “Decisions about how to fund local services work best when they are made close to the people who live with them.”
Jeff Scala, deputy director of the Florida Association of Counties, was more direct in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 1. Per Florida Phoenix, Scala told committee members, “It’s a historic shift. Cities could go bankrupt and counties could be forced to consolidate. Nobody’s modeled it.”
Concerns about renters surfaced during the Senate floor debate. Sen. LaVon Bracy, a Democrat from Orlando, said renters could be harmed if landlords pocket the property tax savings rather than passing them through in lower rent. That concern lines up with research from housing economists who have studied similar measures in other states.
A few open questions remain. How much money will the state trust fund contain to help local governments make up the gap, and where will that money come from? What services will count as “core” and protected, beyond public safety, education, infrastructure, and natural resources? And what happens in cities where homesteads make up more than half the total tax base, like Palmetto Bay in Miami-Dade, where Mayor Karyn Cunningham told the Miami Herald the cuts would “destroy” the village?
The vote in Tallahassee is over. The next vote, is yours. It’s the one that decides whether any of this becomes law, and it happens on November 3. Polk County residents who want to weigh in with their local officials before then can email their BOCC commissioners and city commissioners directly. Contact information is on the Polk County government website and on each city’s official site.
Sources: NBC Miami, Governing magazine, WFLA-TV, Florida Phoenix, Local 10 News, Spectrum News 13, Miami Herald, News4JAX, WGCU, WCTV, and CBS Miami reporting from May 27 to June 3, 2026; House staff analysis of HJR 1F (flhouse.gov).
