FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called for a special session to tackle property taxes.

At a news conference in Tampa on Wednesday morning, the governor proposed raising the homestead exemption to $250,000. Still, he wants the legislature to eventually find a way to raise it to $500,000.

Under his $250,000 proposal, Florida property owners would pay taxes only on the remaining value of their homes, affecting over 60% of homeowners in the state, according to the governor.

If expanded to $500,000, the relief would increase to over 90% of homes.

“Taxing something that you own repeatedly, which is a property tax, is the worst way to do taxation, because you have this, you pay all these taxes to acquire that property, and then year after year you’re just having to write a check just for the privilege of being able to maintain ownership of something that is supposedly yours,” said DeSantis.

The governor and members of the legislature have long discussed either abolishing, reforming, or tweaking property taxes. Now, lawmakers will have a chance to tackle the issue starting Monday.

Under the proposed plan by DeSantis, homeowners must have resided in Florida for 5 years after Jan. 1, 2027, to be eligible.

However, officials in cities and counties across the state are questioning where they will get their revenue, as property taxes are the primary source.

In a commissioner’s meeting back in February, Pembroke Pines Mayor Angelo Castillo sounded the alarm.

“What do we do about parks? What do we do about road construction? Road and bridge fund? What do we do about general government administration? How does that get paid for?” said Castillo.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis told 7News earlier this year he was also worried about the impact of some of the proposals being discussed in Tallahassee.

“Some cities rely almost 100% on property taxes. Fort Lauderdale is about 45%, but the point is that there’s a question of whether you want to reduce services or whether you want to increase taxes on other properties,” said Trantalis.

But Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Tomás Regalado said cities will have to take drastic measures to make up the lost revenue.

“Raising all their fees, raising all their permits. They can figure it out,” he said.

Some Democratic lawmakers in Tallahassee said cities could also charge entrance fees for parks to raise revenue, hurting families.

“[Families] roll up to a park and they want to take their kids to play, and they can’t come in because they’re told they gotta pay a fee,” said Florida Rep. Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa). “Or there is a kid who at home may not have reliable access to internet and they go to the library to do their homework but they can’t come in because they have to pay a fee.”

But DeSantis said he’s also proposing a trust fund to help cover the costs of cities’ and counties’ core services.

“That revenue can only be used for schools, police, firefighters, and the core services that we all agree on. It’s not going to be allowed to be used on some of the other things that I know are a little bit more divisive,” he said.

Regalado said that with all these proposals being presented, a final proposal to reform property taxes will be added to Florida’s ballot come November in some form or another.

“It is certain that something is going to get on the ballot. People need help,” said Regalado.

Even if lawmakers pass the governor’s proposal during the special session, it will still need to go before Florida voters during the November elections, and it would require 60% approval for it to pass.

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