Local leaders updated on property tax referendum

The thing that keeps municipal and county leaders up at night now has a name.

The question of whether to enact Florida Amendment 3 will be prefaced with the heading “Save our homes from excessive property taxes" at the ballot box this November. That ballot measure title is in all caps on the state of Florida’s constitutional initiatives website.

“That’s a pretty bold and some may say subjective name,” said Florida League of Cities Legislative Advocate Matt Singer in a presentation to the Manasota League of Cities.

Seven of the nine members of the Manasota League of Cities met for its monthly meeting on July 9 at Longboat Key Town Hall. Longboat Key Town Commissioner BJ Bishop, who serves as president of the League, said the meetings give local leaders a chance to share updates and ideas.

“One of the things we find the most useful is the sharing of information on the different strategies on a number of issues, from who are you hiring for your trash pickup to how are you getting the word out about the issues with Amendment 3,” Bishop said.

The Florida League of Cities, which works with regional leagues like Manasota, has been busy measuring the possible impacts of an approved referendum.

One hundred and seventy-six Florida cities or towns spend more on police, fire and emergency medical services than they collect in property tax revenue annually, according to an FLC presentation made by Singer at the meeting. The passage of Amendment 3 would mean 85 municipalities could not fund public safety at their current levels even if all other property tax-funded services were eliminated, the presentation said. 

“The narrative that we have been combatting is that cities are taxing and taxing and taxing just to fund pet projects. Down here at the local level, we know that is not the reality,” Singer said. “Cities are not just sitting on cash and waiting to spend it on the next shiny thing.”

The property tax referendum would cut revenue for municipalities without a replacement revenue source. The state trust fund the Governor’s Office advertised ahead of a special legislative session did not make it into the referendum.

“In the process before the legislature passed it down and sent it to the voters, they removed this trust fund because there was no dedicated funding,” Singer said. “So it gave the appearance that there would be some replacement revenue, but when it came time to put money in the pot, there was nothing there from the governor. They didn’t want to put their names behind $5 billion dollars because then they’re showing that there is a hole.”

Photo by S.T. Cardinal

Florida League of Cities is portraying the proposal not as a tax cut, but as a tax shift.

“The revenue is being removed. It will have to be replaced from somewhere in order to continue providing services at the same level,” Singer said. “One person’s tax exemption is another person’s tax increase.”

Singer shared an estimation by the Tax Foundation that if sales tax increases were used to replace property tax revenue statewide, it would need to increase by 15%. County surtaxes are already maxed in most Florida counties, meaning any needed fund replacements would need to come from the state level. The FLC presentation writes that “under this amendment, politicians in Tallahassee decide on what gets funded in communities they don’t live in, and services they don’t use.”

In other business, the Manasota League of Cities chose the next executive director of the organization. The League, choosing among three applicants, decided to offer the job to Christopher Hawks. He currently serves as intergovernmental relations coordinator for the city of Largo. He previously worked in Kentucky as emergency management director, solid waste program director and chamber of commerce executive director. 

Bishop said the position is paid hourly with specific terms to be determined. It's an hourly position, she said, and she doesn't believe the former director ever had bigger paycheck than $1,500 or $1,600 a month. 

The Manasota League of Cities is funded through dues paid by the nine municipalities and from a monthly FLC disbursement. Holmes Beach Commissioner Terry Schaefer, treasurer of the Manasota League of Cities, shared that the organization has $87,566 in its accounts.