WINTER PARK, Fla.\u00a0\u2014 As the Florida Legislature considers a number of different proposals, property tax reform\u00a0is a topic that has been top-of-mind for many in the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n
As more details emerge about the proposed legislation and what the elimination of property taxes could mean for Floridians, the city of Winter Park is already examining\u00a0the potential impacts property tax reforms could have on city operations.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
The city of Winter Park is scheduled to discuss the potential impacts of state property tax legislation during the City Commission’s regular meeting on Wednesday
\nAccording to the city, the largest source of revenue in the general fund is property taxes, which account for about 43% of the total
\nHe says the city could lose at least 37% \u2014 or around $18 million \u2014 of general fund revenue if homesteaded property taxes are eliminated
\nThe proposed legislation has already stirred mixed reactions among some Winter Park residents<\/p>\n
City Manager Randy Knight said Winter Park commissioners asked city staff to give them a presentation on the possible impacts of property tax reform, because some of what\u2019s being proposed could significantly affect the city\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n
He said it is also a good opportunity for residents to learn about the legislation\u2019s impacts as well, since city officials\u00a0say they won\u2019t be able to send out any information on a ballot measure once the state decides what will go on the ballot.<\/p>\n
This is because of a Florida law that restricts how cities inform voters of ballot issues.<\/p>\n
Knight said that about 20% of the city of Winter Park\u2019s overall revenue comes from homesteaded properties, or primary residences owned by an individual.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because of this, he said elimination of homestead property taxes would significantly affect the city’s budget.<\/p>\n
But Knight said that number still doesn\u2019t paint the full picture.<\/p>\n
According to the city, the largest source of revenue in the general fund is property taxes, which account for about 43% of the total.<\/p>\n
Knight said that of the 57% of the general fund that the city has to provide, the city would lose roughly 37% \u2014 or around $18 million \u2014 of that revenue if homestead property taxes were to be eliminated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s public works \u2014 which is paving, fixing potholes, that type of thing, curb and gutter work,” he said. “It\u2019s parks and rec, mowing the parks, providing recreational services.”<\/p>\n
He said that lower costs are appealing, but losing the revenue would impact the services the city provides to citizens.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to pay less when I go to Target or Costco, or any of those places. I\u2019d like to pay less at the gas pump,” Knight said. “But these are services we need. The city doesn\u2019t exist to goof off \u2014 these services, whether its police, fire, public works, parks and rec, these are services people want, and they\u2019re not free.”<\/p>\n
This proposed legislation has already yielded mixed reactions among some Winter Park residents.<\/p>\n
While some\u00a0 support the elimination of property taxes, others still have questions about the proposed legislation.<\/p>\n
Kuang Huang, who has been a Winter Park resident for nearly 30 years, said he believes the proposed legislation would force local governments to spend money in a more responsible manner.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of waste going on at all different levels of government,” he said. “And when you start taking away this idea of an unlimited amount of funds, you have to be more creative, you have to cut stuff that\u2019s not wasteful, and to spend stuff, you have to prioritize things.”<\/p>\n
Winter Park resident and homeowner Ansley Butts, though, said she still has questions regarding the proposed property tax reform legislation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt sounds great,” she said. “I am concerned about how it would affect our city budget and certain services like emergency services, also our parks and schools.”<\/p>\n
Butts is also a business owner and said she had concerns about what the legislation could mean for businesses.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the Winter Park City Commission will discuss the potential impact of property tax legislation during its meeting at 3:30 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WINTER PARK, Fla.\u00a0\u2014 As the Florida Legislature considers a number of different proposals, property tax reform\u00a0is a topic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":151834,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[3140,274,28,2287,115,1335,139,141,140,99,3139,278,835],"class_list":{"0":"post-151833","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-app-local-state-politics","9":"tag-app-top-stories","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-local-politics","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-orange-county","14":"tag-orlando","15":"tag-orlando-headlines","16":"tag-orlando-news","17":"tag-politics","18":"tag-sasha-teman","19":"tag-top-stories","20":"tag-vod"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151833","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=151833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}