DOWNTOWN TALLAHASSEE, FL — Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor is urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to visit Tallahassee's most vulnerable neighborhoods before voters decide on a proposed property tax amendment.
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Commissioner Bill Proctor delivered a direct message to DeSantis outside the Leon County Courthouse Wednesday, releasing two letters — one asking the governor to remove proposed Amendment 3 from the November ballot, and another inviting him to tour Leon County District 1.
The proposed constitutional amendment would expand Florida's homestead property tax exemption while also changing how some non-homestead property is taxed. Proctor argues those changes could reduce the revenue counties use to pay for services.
"Please Governor, don't pull the trigger," Proctor said.
The district Proctor wants the governor to visit includes ZIP code 32304, where many families rely on county programs and public services. Proctor says he wants the governor to see those neighborhoods before the election.
Proctor backed his concerns with a Leon County financial analysis that projects an $84 million property tax revenue loss in the first two years and a 36% reduction in the county's property tax base. The county says the loss could make it difficult to fund some state-required services.
"The trust fund that is supposed to offset and to undergird the rearrangement of monies for counties that are going to sink and go under... the trust fund is not there," Proctor said.
Community leader Curtis Taylor says the Urban League is watching what the proposal could mean for the neighborhoods they serve every day.
Proctor says his invitation is about more than politics. He believes seeing District 1 in person would give the governor a better understanding of the people who could feel the greatest impact.
"Take a tour with me and county staff that he might glean the frailty, the vulnerableness of which people's lives are hanging on very thin threads," Proctor said.
ABC 27's Lentheus Chaney asked the governor's office whether DeSantis plans to respond to Proctor's invitation. No response has been received.
Under Florida's constitution, the governor has no formal role in removing the proposal before the election, but it could be challenged if the amendment becomes law.
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