Amendment 3 has passed statewide and even though Leon County voters disapproved of it overall on Election Day, Tallahassee organizations and governments are now bracing for the impact.
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:
Amendment 3 passes, and Leon County leaders now prepare for tough decisions and major revenue lossesThe amendment increases the homestead exemption, ultimately reducing what homeowners pay in property taxes.
In an email to county commissioners, Leon County Administrator Vince Long said he expects the county to lose $70.7 million a year in revenue once it's fully phased in.
That leaves only $3.5 million to cover everything else including libraries, road maintenance, parks, public safety and emergency medical services.
Read full statement below:
With the passage of Amendment 3, I just wanted to assure the Board of our efforts going forward. We respect the decision and with the vote behind us our job now is to carry it out responsibly. As Ive said from the start, the impacts of Amendment 3 will be very significant. As a quick reminder, at full phase-in, Leon County expects to lose about $70.7 million a year in property tax revenue. After what the state requires us to fund and what goes to our constitutional officers, the simple math leaves about $3.5 million for everything else the County does. The decision-making required, of course, will not be so simple. As you know, we began preparing for this back in June. That work now moves through a structured, step-by-step process grounded in the very best fiscal practices and guided by our commitment to transparency and responsible stewardship. I will bring the Board a complete framework in January, built on a comprehensive analysis, so Commissioners can make these difficult decisions with the full picture in front of them. Between now and then, I will keep the Board fully apprised. As I have stated previously, you cant make a historic change to our primary revenue source without making a historic change to the very role and function of county government. Im confident that this Board and our County team will facilitate this transition with the utmost competence and compassion.Across the street, City staff estimates a $29 million revenue loss over the next two fiscal years.
But exactly how Amendment 3 will affect city services remains unclear.
In September, the city commission approved a $1.2 billion budget, keeping its current millage rate to ensure a surplus of $2.5 million ahead of the amendment's passage.
At the time, now Mayor-elect Jeremy Matlow said there was room for further cuts.
"It sounds like to me that there's rooms for further reduction in this budget based on the information provided today. I know a lot of people had mentioned Amendment 3, and this is kind of shoring up the accounts in case that that passes, but it feels like a bit a self-fulfilling prophecy," Matlow said.
Kathleen Spehar, the executive director of the Council of Culture and Arts or COCA, expects art funding to take a hit.
Fifty percent of their operating budget comes from county and city property taxes.
If that's eliminated or reduced, it could eliminate jobs, lead to less public art and murals, fewer festivals, fewer city-sponsored art exhibitions, no free park concerts and higher ticket and participation costs.
"The biggest thing that we use the property tax money for is for leverage, so we've often been able to leverage three, four times the amount of money we might get from our local government for other grants, for other donations, and other in-kind services, so all of that could potentially be threatened by the passage of this Amendment 3," Spehar said.
The Children's Services Council of Leon County is also preparing for impacts.
Theyre only able to generate revenue from property taxes to support after-school and summer programs, programs for new mothers, high-school internships, perinatal guidance programs and its Family Resource Center program.
Executive Director Cecka Rose Green expects a loss of $1.6 million in the first year, and $2.6 million the next.
But she said it is too early to know if they will need to reduce funding or eliminate programs entirely.
"If we are not able to fund as many programs, then that means the capacity for participants in the programs will be reduced. So, it could simply mean that there are just not as many programs offered to families who normally take advantage of those program offerings. That being said, though, we fund and look at our other funding partners in the community," Green said.
I reached out to the city for comment but haven't heard back yet.
The county administrator plans to present a full decision-making framework to commissioners in January, while COCA will work with the city and county officials the remainder of the year to help determine true impacts, and the Children's Services Council will evaluate its funding at its February retreat.
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