Amendment 3 sparks concerns over water quality funding in Martin County
STUART, Fla. —
A presentation at Stuart City Hall this week highlighted concerns about the potential impact of Amendment 3 on funding for waterway protection projects in Florida.
The Rivers Coalition, which works to protect the health of the St. Lucie Estuary and Indian River Lagoon, heard from environmental policy adviser Eric Draper about how reduced property tax revenue could affect water management districts responsible for water supply, flood control and water quality.
Mark Perry, president of the Rivers Coalition, said the amendment could lead to reduced services funded by property taxes.
“What you have to do is evaluate. I’m going to get, reduce my tax liability over the next few years with this amendment. But is that worth the services that are going to be reduced?” Perry said.
During the meeting, data showed that the South Florida Water Management District could lose approximately $98 million in annual revenue by 2030 if Amendment 3 passes. Martin County Commissioner Sarah Heard expressed concern about the potential impact on water quality projects.
“The projects that improve water quality, that improve stormwater treatment, will be impacted, will be defunded,” Heard said.
Perry explained that local projects funded by property tax revenue, such as retention areas and large stormwater treatment systems, play a vital role in improving water quality by removing elements like nitrogen and phosphorus, which can prevent algae blooms.
He said the passage of Amendment 3 would force local governments to decide whether to cut back on these projects or find alternative funding sources.
“We’re going to have a growing state and growing community here with growing runoff. That is going to happen,” Perry said.
A board member from the South Florida Water Management District told the Rivers Coalition that if Amendment 3 passes, it would affect the next fiscal year’s budget, not the current one. However, they could not specify which projects might be impacted at this time.
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