Cities across Florida are bracing for tighter budgets as voters prepare to decide in November whether to expand the state’s homestead property tax exemption — and Clearwater is already trimming ahead of the vote.

Amendment 3, which needs 60% approval to pass, would lower property tax bills for homeowners statewide. In Clearwater alone, city leaders estimate the change could mean roughly $20 million less in property tax revenue over the next two years.

Rather than wait for a result, Clearwater has already moved to get ahead of the possibility. On Monday, the city council approved its 2027 budget and millage rate while keeping a “soft” hiring freeze in place.

“We do have a current hiring freeze going on,” City Manager Jennifer Poirrier said, “just in case the amendment does pass, there are fewer potential positions that would be filled.”

Poirrier said parks and recreation would likely absorb the biggest impact if revenue drops, potentially closing two recreation centers, along with reductions to library services. City Councilwoman Lina Teixeira acknowledged the tradeoffs ahead: “There’s going to be very important decisions to be made regarding what to cut and what not to cut. It’s going to be very difficult.”

Governor Ron DeSantis has thrown his support behind the measure, arguing that city and county governments — many of which have seen revenues roughly double over the past seven or eight years — have room to adjust rather than pass the cost on to homeowners. “The arguments against it are basically an argument to say government’s needs come before the needs of taxpayers,” DeSantis said. “That’s not the way our system was designed.” He noted the state itself has cut its own budget four years running, and questioned why local governments couldn’t do the same.

Not everyone in local government agrees. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, speaking Monday at a groundbreaking for a new fire station, warned that reduced property tax collections could translate into cuts to police, fire and recreational services: “A cut in our property tax would be a cut in TFR service, a cut in the Tampa Police Department service.”

Whether Amendment 3 clears the 60% threshold remains to be seen, and cities have not finalized which specific programs would be cut if it passes. Clearwater and other municipalities are keeping hiring freezes and project pauses in place until the vote is certified.

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