{"id":106677,"date":"2026-01-05T20:20:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T20:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/106677\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T20:20:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T20:20:07","slug":"property-tax-changes-fuel-local-concerns-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/106677\/","title":{"rendered":"Property tax changes fuel local concerns in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lawmakers have filed eight<\/a> property tax reform proposals, despite Florida\u2019s legislative session not officially commencing for another week. St. Petersburg officials are already preparing for any changes.<\/p>\n

\u200bCity Council Chair Lissette Hanewicz explained the process and potential $83 million fallout in a Dec. 10 letter to constituents. She and her colleagues approved Councilmember Mike Harting\u2019s request to complete a related \u201cbudget stress test\u201d the following day.<\/p>\n

\u200bHarting said his undated committee discussion should identify subsequent budget impacts<\/a>, \u201ccore competencies that should remain fiscally intact\u201d and programs that \u201cwould need to be reduced or eliminated\u201d following the loss of property tax revenue. Officials will \u201chave to make some choices\u201d if the proposed changes come to fruition.<\/p>\n

\u200b\u201cI think it\u2019s prudent at this point for us to at least talk about it,\u201d Harting said.<\/p>\n

\u200bMultiple colleagues applauded the request. While state officials could \u201csay a bunch of things and do nothing,\u201d Councilmember Richie Floyd said the stress test is still a useful exercise that would help inform residents.<\/p>\n

\u200bHanewicz said most people \u201cdo not understand the huge impact\u201d a reduction in property tax revenue would \u201chave on them personally, and the level of service they would receive from the city.\u201d She believes it is crucial to \u201chave those conversations sooner rather than later.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u200bGov. Ron DeSantis has championed efforts to reduce or eliminate property taxes, particularly on homesteaded properties that are primary residences. As of July 2024, 58% of 107,988 homes in St. Petersburg have that distinction.<\/p>\n

\u200bA percentage of a homesteaded property\u2019s value is exempt from taxes. The designation also caps the annual increase on assessed values and resulting tax bills.<\/p>\n

\u200b\u201cOn the surface, it sounds appealing,\u201d Hanewicz wrote in her letter. \u201cWho wouldn\u2019t like a lower tax bill? But think about it. Without property taxes, how do we continue to fund essential services \u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u200bShe noted that 97.5% of property taxes collected by the city fund the police and fire departments. Those revenues only cover 91.6% of St. Petersburg\u2019s public safety costs after excluding required contributions to three community redevelopment areas.<\/p>\n

\u200bThe city\u2019s general fund, which also supports parks, roads, libraries, social services and all other government functions, covers the remaining 8.4%. \u201cWhen we need our first responders, we need them. Period.\u201d Hanewicz wrote.<\/p>\n

\u200b\u201cWe need these services to be reliable, especially in tough times, and we need to fund them in a stable, predictable way that allows us to anticipate our revenue stress to plan for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u200bMayor Ken Welch\u2019s administration has projected that St. Petersburg would lose $83 million in annual revenue if all homesteaded properties became exempt from taxes. Hanewicz said that money would otherwise fund the police and fire departments.<\/p>\n

\u200bAll current proposals prohibit local governments from reducing funding for law enforcement. The legislation would also exempt school-related property taxes.<\/p>\n

\u200bThose carve-outs would not extend to fire rescue and other first-responders services, including money for 911 dispatchers and emergency medical technicians. \u201cThere is no plan for how this lost revenue will be offset,\u201d Hanewicz wrote.<\/p>\n

\u200bShe added that the state\u2019s Long-range Financial Outlook, released in September 2025, projects a budget deficit of $1.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2027-28. That number balloons to $6.6 billion in Fiscal Year 2028-29.<\/p>\n

\u200b\u201cAny proposal to reduce or eliminate property taxes will involve a cost \u2013 whether it is a reduction of services or a shifting of those costs,\u201d Hanewicz wrote. \u201cI don\u2019t want to see slower emergency response times, deferred maintenance, fewer services or a diminished sense of safety in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u200bImplementing property tax reforms will not come easily for state officials. The legislature must first approve a joint resolution by a three-fifths vote in the House and Senate.<\/p>\n

\u200bRepublicans have a supermajority in both Florida chambers, and most stakeholders believe the passage of a property tax reform bill is a foregone conclusion<\/a>. However, at least 60% of voters must then approve a constitutional amendment at the ballot box in November.<\/p>\n

Welch recently told the Catalyst that he will ask voters<\/a> to approve a new property tax that will support a general obligation bond issuance. The financing mechanism<\/a> will fund \u201c$600 million in stormwater and water projects to make us the resilient city that we need to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lawmakers have filed eight property tax reform proposals, despite Florida\u2019s legislative session not officially commencing for another week.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-106677","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-st-pete","9":"tag-st-pete-headlines","10":"tag-st-pete-news","11":"tag-st-petersburg","12":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","13":"tag-st-petersburg-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106677\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}