Largo residents will get a rare chance tonight to hear both sides of one of the most consequential ballot questions Florida homeowners have faced in years — and city officials aren’t hiding how nervous they are about the outcome.

The city is hosting a town hall on Amendment 3, the statewide property tax measure headed to voters in November, with a format designed to let residents hear directly from advocates and critics rather than relying on talking points filtered through local government.

The Details

• What: City of Largo Town Hall on Amendment 3
• When: Wednesday, September 9, 2026 — meet-and-greet 5-6 p.m., town hall and Q&A 6-7:30 p.m.
• Where: Horizon West Bay, 440 West Bay Drive
• Parking: Free in the attached garage
• Capacity: Limited to 150 attendees

Former state Senator Jeff Brandes and state Representative Benny Jacques are set to lay out the case for and against the measure, while City Manager John Curp is expected to walk residents through the numbers that have city hall on edge: an estimated $15 million hole in Largo’s budget if the amendment passes, with first responder budgets potentially cut 10 to 20 percent and parks and city services on the chopping block.

It’s worth noting who’s delivering that warning. Local governments across Florida have a long track record of predicting fiscal doom whenever taxpayers are offered relief, only to find efficiencies once the vote actually forces the issue. Largo’s own officials are the ones estimating the shortfall — the same officials whose budgets stand to shrink.

Brandes, a longtime skeptic of expanding the homestead exemption, argued the pain would fall hardest on smaller municipalities. “There’s a lot of contingency plans going on, but for some of these cities, they’re going to have a difficult time surviving,” he said, naming Kenneth City and Gulfport as communities he believes could struggle within five to 10 years.

Jacques pushed back with the case homeowners have been making for years: relief is overdue. “Amendment 3 will deliver much-needed relief to our fixed-income seniors and help address affordability in our community,” he said, adding that voters “deserve fairly presented facts and transparency from their government officials.”

That’s the tension at the heart of tonight’s forum — and arguably the tension at the heart of Florida’s entire property tax debate. Local governments have grown accustomed to rising assessments quietly padding their revenue year after year, even when millage rates stay flat. Amendment 3 would put a check on that growth by expanding tax protections for homeowners, at the direct cost of the automatic revenue increases cities and counties have come to depend on.

City officials say the invited speakers won’t be permitted to campaign for or against the measure at the taxpayer-sponsored event, keeping the focus on factual impacts rather than advocacy.

Opposition to the amendment has been organized and vocal: the Florida Sheriffs Association, the Fraternal Order of Police and the Fire Chiefs Association have all come out against it, warning it could squeeze public safety funding in smaller and mid-sized cities. Notably absent from that list is any organized taxpayer or homeowner group weighing in with equivalent institutional muscle — a reminder that the entities with the biggest microphones in this fight are the ones with the most to lose if the government’s cut of home values shrinks.

The measure has already faced one legal test. A Leon County judge ordered the ballot language rewritten after ruling that portions of the original summary were misleading, removing advocacy-oriented wording before it reaches voters in November.

Largo residents wanting to weigh the arguments for themselves — rather than take either side’s word for it — can do so in person tonight, before casting their vote in November.

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