DOWNTOWN TALLAHASSEE, FL — Florida's proposed homestead exemption expansion could lower property taxes for some homeowners, but county leaders warn it could also change how everyday services are funded.
Leon County Commissioner David O'Keefe said the amendment is not what it may appear to be at first glance.
"What I want our neighbors to know is this property tax amendment is not a tax cut, it's a tax shift."
The ballot language references $150,000 and $250,000 — but those figures have nothing to do with what a home is worth. Instead, they represent how much of a home's value could be exempt from some property taxes over the next two years if the amendment passes. The more of a home's value that is exempt, the less a homeowner could pay in property taxes.
There is another side to the equation. When some homeowners pay less in property taxes, local governments collect less money. Those tax dollars help pay for libraries, parks, road maintenance, public safety, and emergency medical services.
They also help fund the Emergency Medical Services Municipal Services Taxing Unit, or EMS MSTU — a fund that helps cover the cost of keeping paramedics and ambulances available around the clock when someone calls 911.
O'Keefe said that is the challenge county leaders could face if the amendment passes.
"Should this get passed, we would only have enough money to fund the legally required county operations, which are by state law detentions, law enforcement, and court services. That would take all the projected revenue that we have. That means anything additional... we would have to decide how to cut services or reduce services, unfortunately."
Last week, ABC 27's Lentheus Chaney met with Leon County Property Appraiser Akin Akinyemi, who walked me through a spreadsheet estimating how the proposed amendment could affect several local taxing authorities.
One of the largest projected impacts is to the Leon County Board of County Commissioners and the EMS MSTU. They are estimated to lose $43.6 million in the first year. The following year, the estimated reduction is about $26.1 million.
Akinyemi said Florida's homestead exemption has always been about helping people pay less in property taxes on the home they live in.
"The primary goal has been to lessen the burdens on people that live here. If this is your primary home, they want to be able to help you lower your taxes. They do that with an exemption, meaning that this amount of your value is sheltered from taxes."
If the amendment receives 60% approval from voters this November, the expanded homestead exemption would be phased in over the next two years.
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