Small-town leaders in Polk County are pushing back against a proposed state constitutional amendment that would sharply increase Florida’s homestead exemption, warning that the change could gut municipal budgets that rely heavily on property tax revenue.
Amendment 3 would raise the state’s homestead exemption for non-school property taxes from $50,000 to $250,000. Supporters, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, argue the measure offers meaningful relief to homeowners facing persistent high costs. “What they did is good for taxpayers,” DeSantis said. “I’m going to vote for it. I think it’s positive in terms of getting affordability and relief from persistent high prices across the economy.”
But leaders in smaller Polk County communities say their towns cannot easily absorb the resulting revenue loss. Fort Meade Mayor Jaret Landon Williams said many small communities operate on fixed incomes that depend heavily on property tax collections. “If we’re not receiving income from property taxes for essential services like police and fire, we will not be able to fund them,” Williams said. “That burden will be passed on to our residents, and our residents cannot afford to pay more in taxes.”
Fort Meade serves roughly 5,300 residents. The town of Dundee, population about 4,700, projects losing $960,000 in the amendment’s first year and $2.4 million in its second year. Slow development in the area means new construction isn’t generating enough new tax revenue to offset the losses, and Dundee Mayor Joe Garrison said that a growing population would only widen the gap. “It’s going to be worse because we have a bigger area to cover, we’re going to have more people to protect, and we’ll have less revenue to do that,” Garrison said.
To close the funding gap, Dundee officials may consider a fire assessment fee or higher water rates, and cuts to services such as the local library are also under discussion. Both mayors said their towns would survive and pledged careful spending if voters approve the amendment. Dundee’s mayor said the town plans to hold another public meeting to discuss the financial options with residents. It remains unclear which specific cuts or fee increases either municipality would ultimately adopt if the amendment passes in November.
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