TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV)—Leon County’s legislative delegation heard from many who are concerned that property tax cuts could impact city services like parks, roads and other public services.
Mayor John Dailey didn’t mince words when he said Tallahassee’s parks departments would be “wiped out” if property taxes were taken away.
”So if we put proviso language in protecting law enforcement, how will that impact us? It will wipe out parks and recreation, which has a smaller budget than the police department budget. It will wipe out neighborhood affairs,” said Mayor Dailey.
Legislators are wrestling with a growing number of bills that would put property tax cuts on the ballot as a constitutional amendment.
Cities like Tallahassee fund much of their budgets from property taxes. For Leon County specifically, more than half of the budget comes from property taxes.
According to the Florida League of Cities, almost 70% of Tallahassee’s budget in FY ‘23 came from property tax.
Neither the city nor the county has raised its tax rate for years, but tax bills continue to go up because property values have increased.
Mayor Dailey didn’t hold back in his assessment at Monday’s meeting.
“So, if we put proviso language in protecting law enforcement, how will that impact us? It will wipe out parks and recreation, which has a smaller budget than the police department budget. It will wipe out neighborhood affairs,” Mayor Dailey said.
Any property tax cuts would need to be proposed as a constitutional amendment and would likely be voted on in 2026. Any of those proposals would need the support of 60% of voters.
Leon County’s Tax Collector and Appraiser also spoke at Monday’s meeting. They said they aren’t taking a position on these changes but argued taxpayers need to be well-informed before any of them go through.
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“And I always emphasize to them, look at the roads that you enjoy, look at the law enforcement, look at the school system and so forth,” said Doris Maloy, the Leon County Tax Collector.
Nicki Hatch, the Assistant to the County Administrator for Legislative and Strategic Initiatives, said elimination of property taxes would radically change the county’s budget.
“At a minimum, these proposals will have significant impacts on local government budgets and the services we provide… The most severe proposals, however, threaten the functionality of local government as we know it,” Hatch said.
None of the four lawmakers representing Tallahassee, Democrats or Republicans, articulated a clear position on property taxes on Friday.
“We do a lot with a little… In fact, out of 411 municipalities in the state of Florida, you’d be proud to know the city of Tallahassee was named the most efficient local government in the state of Florida,” said Mayor Dailey.
Neither the City of Tallahassee or Leon County has raised its tax rate, known as the millage rate, in years.
Still, property tax bills have continued to rise as the value of the underlying land has risen.
That’s allowed Leon County to give all of their staff a 5% raise, something the dissenting commissioners noted wouldn’t be possible in a world without property tax.
Leon County leaders have used the general fund, paid for by property taxes, to keep fees like the solid waste fee steady.
Both the City of Tallahassee and Leon County have wrestled with something called the “fire service fee,” which pays for firefighting services.
That’s something that could instead be funded by property taxes, if the fee holds up in court.
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