SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. \u2014 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis\u00a0is continuing to push state legislators to eliminate property taxes, even after a proposal failed to pass the Senate earlier this year.<\/p>\n
But local leaders say that if property taxes are eliminated, cities and towns across the state could see a significant drop in revenue, and that loss could force them to make difficult decisions as they adjust to reduced funding.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
\u00a0Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to push for elimination of property taxes in Florida\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
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\u00a0Some local government officials say they are worried that losing revenue from property taxes could lead to reduction in services\u00a0
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\u00a0Safety Harbor leaders say the city uses property taxes to fund things like libraries, parks and road maintanence\u00a0<\/p>\n
In February, the Florida House voted in favor of eliminating certain property taxes, but the measure did not make it through the Senate. Still, the governor has remained committed to the idea.<\/p>\n
In\u00a0Safety Harbor, officials say property taxes are essential and help fund a wide range of services, including things like parks, libraries and road maintenance. Without that revenue, they said those services would have to be scaled back.<\/p>\n
The potential impact was visible during the Pinellas County Sheriff\u2019s Office Torch Run in Safety Harbor, where city employees worked alongside deputies to manage road closures along Main Street.<\/p>\n
Safety Harbor Public Works Director Renee Cooper said her department relies heavily on property tax funding. Members of her staff were assisting with road closures during the event, but Cooper said that a reduction in property taxes could mean those services would no longer be available.<\/p>\n
Cooper also warned of broader impacts from eliminating property taxes, including fewer road paving projects, reduced sidewalk repairs and less maintenance for parks. She said the city could even be forced to shift from active parks to a more passive system.<\/p>\n
Cooper said concerns extend beyond services \u2014 she noted that some staff members are already worried about their job security, with the possibility of cuts looming if funding decreases.<\/p>\n
The February proposal in the Florida House specifically aimed to remove non-school property taxes from homesteaded properties. While it stalled in the Senate, DeSantis continues to advocate for elimination, leaving many cities uncertain about how such a policy would be implemented.<\/p>\n
Safety Harbor\u2019s current fiscal year budget is nearly $35 million. Officials estimate that eliminating property taxes could result in a loss of up to $3.5 million.<\/p>\n
City Manager\u00a0Josh Stefancic\u00a0said the uncertainty is concerning both for residents and city employees who depend on the city as a stable employer. He added that difficult choices would likely need to be made, particularly when it comes to services that make communities unique, such as recreation programs and library offerings.<\/p>\n
City leaders say they are now focused on educating the public about how critical property tax revenue is to maintaining services.<\/p>\n
Mayor\u00a0Joe Ayoub\u00a0said that if the city loses property tax funding, government leaders would have to carefully evaluate priorities and determine where they may need to cut back. He also expressed concern that reduced services could make communities less desirable and potentially affect property values.<\/p>\n
So far, legislative proposals have not outlined how property tax revenue would be replaced in local municipalities. Officials in Safety Harbor say that could mean changes in how residents contribute, including the possibility of higher taxes or increased fees. However, Stefancic noted that raising fees alone would likely not be enough to offset a $3.5 million shortfall.<\/p>\n
For now, city leaders say their biggest question remains unanswered: What will a final proposal to eliminate property taxes actually look like?<\/p>\n
If the measure passes the Senate in the future, it would ultimately go before voters and would need to reach a 60% threshold to be approved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. \u2014 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis\u00a0is continuing to push state legislators to eliminate property taxes, even…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[3140,274,28,4029,115,596,99,202,204,203,199,201,200,135,278],"class_list":{"0":"post-235433","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-app-local-state-politics","9":"tag-app-top-stories","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-jeff-van-sant","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-pinellas-county","14":"tag-politics","15":"tag-st-pete","16":"tag-st-pete-headlines","17":"tag-st-pete-news","18":"tag-st-petersburg","19":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","20":"tag-st-petersburg-news","21":"tag-tampa","22":"tag-top-stories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235433","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=235433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}