{"id":374725,"date":"2026-08-18T15:18:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T15:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/374725\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T15:18:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T15:18:49","slug":"tough-choices-ahead-if-tax-relief-plan-passes-mayors-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/374725\/","title":{"rendered":"Tough choices ahead if tax relief plan passes, mayors say"},"content":{"rendered":"

Voters across Florida might just say yes to a statewide ballot referendum that could save them thousands in property taxes.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why cities all over the Sunshine State, including Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, are prepping now for what could be coming.<\/p>\n

If at least 60% of voters approve Amendment 3 on Nov. 3, municipalities across the state stand to lose millions in property tax revenue.<\/p>\n

That topic was center stage Wednesday at the Tower Club in downtown Fort Lauderdale, where a group of business leaders gathered to hear a panel of experts discuss what the impact might be should the constitutional amendment pass.<\/p>\n

The discussion, part of the Tower Club\u2019s \u201cFrom the Headlines to the High-rise\u201d signature speaker series, was led by Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, Boca Raton Mayor Andy Thomson and Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar.<\/p>\n

Amendment 3 would increase the current $50,000 homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. In subsequent years, the homestead exemption would rise with inflation. The increased homestead exemption would not impact property taxes collected by school districts.<\/p>\n

Gov. Ron DeSantis has pushed the proposal, arguing that local governments should rein in spending to provide relief to property owners forced to shoulder rising property tax bills.<\/p>\n

Trantalis said he agrees the homestead exemption needs a reset, but argued that tripling it to $150,000 right off the bat could have a catastrophic impact on local governments across the state.<\/p>\n

In Fort Lauderdale, property taxes fund 45% of the city\u2019s day-to-day operations, Trantalis told the crowd of more than 40 business leaders, attorneys and real estate agents.<\/p>\n

More than half of Fort Lauderdale\u2019s budget \u2014 62% \u2014 pays for police and fire service, Trantalis added.<\/p>\n

\"FortFort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, shown Wednesday at the Tower Club in Fort Lauderdale, discusses how the city might tackle a budget shortfall if voters approve a statewide measure to cut property taxes. (Mike Stocker\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to have to make some tough choices<\/a> (if this passes),\u201d Trantalis said. \u201cIf you\u2019re receiving less income, you can\u2019t spend as much as you have in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fort Lauderdale would lose $17 million in property taxes the first year and up to $27 million the second year, Trantalis said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a lot of money and it\u2019s going to affect a lot of things,\u201d Trantalis said. \u201cDoes it mean we reduce the hours of our parks? Or reduce them altogether and close them down? Do we defund our police? Do we defund the fire department?\u201d<\/p>\n

In Florida, only about 25 cents of every property tax dollar goes to cities. The rest goes to other taxing authorities, including counties, school districts, public hospitals and other special districts.<\/p>\n

Fort Lauderdale has one of the lowest tax rates in South Florida, Trantalis noted.<\/p>\n

Property owners in Fort Lauderdale pay a base tax rate of $412 for every $100,000 in assessed property value.<\/p>\n

If the city were to raise the tax rate \u2014 something it has not done in 20 years \u2014 non-homesteaded properties would take the hit<\/a> and rents would likely increase<\/a>, Trantalis said.<\/p>\n

People with second homes would also end up paying more, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you raise their taxes, what is going to happen to the real estate market?\u201d he asked. \u201cWhat\u2019s going to happen when their taxes go up? These are the kinds of things we need to consider when trying to understand the consequences of an amendment like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar speaks Wednesday as part of the Tower Club\u2019s \u201cFrom the Headlines to the High-rise\u201d signature speaker series in Fort Lauderdale. (Mike Stocker\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Kiar talked numbers, sharing the impact<\/a> on both property owners and local governments in Broward County.<\/p>\n

Kiar\u2019s analysis applied the constitutional amendments as if they were in effect for the 2025 tax year.<\/p>\n

In Broward, the average savings for homesteaded properties with an assessed value of more than $150,000 would come to $1,325 in the first year, Kiar told the crowd.<\/p>\n

In the second year, the average savings for homesteaded properties with an assessed value of more than $250,000 would come to $2,661.<\/p>\n

Broward County stands to lose $195 million in the first year, or 10.8% of its property revenues, Kiar said. In the second year, the losses would increase to $333.8 million, or 18.5%.<\/p>\n

If Amendment 3 passes, Boca Raton would lose close to $8 million in property tax revenue in the first year, Thomson told the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s significant, but it wouldn\u2019t be cataclysmic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In the second year, Boca Raton would take a bigger hit, losing nearly $17 million.<\/p>\n

Boca Raton is already looking into how to address the potential drop in property tax revenues, Thomson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have looked at all of our departments with the expectation that if you give people the option of reducing their taxes, they\u2019re going to vote for it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those things that kind of sells itself. Folks want to reduce their taxes. I get that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BocaBoca Raton Mayor Andy Thomson, a panelist at the Tower Club\u2019s signature speaker series, discusses how property tax cuts would impact his city and the services it provides. (Mike Stocker\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Boca Raton already has a low tax rate, Thomson said.<\/p>\n

Property owners there pay $366 for every $100,000 in assessed property value.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will have to make tough decisions if it passes in order to make sure that we are living within our means,\u201d Thomson said of Amendment 3.<\/p>\n

Property taxes fund 55% of Boca Raton\u2019s day-to-day operations, Thomson said.<\/p>\n

To keep providing the same level of service to residents, the city will likely have to find other ways to bring in revenue, including increasing the municipal tax rate, Thomson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one option,\u201d Thomson said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m really not inclined to do that. If we increase the tax rate, that will also fall on the non-homestead properties. Businesses would end up paying more. Renters would pay more.\u201d<\/p>\n

But cities like Boca Raton that have a significant number of commercial properties are better off than bedroom communities, Thomson noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cCities like Boca can withstand this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But some cities are considered primarily \u201cbedroom communities,\u201d meaning their residential properties far outnumber commercial properties, which generally have a higher market value and pay more in property taxes.<\/p>\n

Those so-called bedroom communities are going to have difficult decisions to make, Thomson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to have to decide, how many layoffs are we going to have to have?\u201d he said. \u201cWhat days are our libraries going to have to close? What hours are our parks going to be open?\u201d<\/p>\n

At the moment, Boca Raton does not recoup 100% of what it costs to keep parks open and other city services running.<\/p>\n

That might need to change if Amendment 3 passes, Thomson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan we do it? Yes,\u201d he said. \u201cDo we want to do it? We will if we have to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tax cuts may seem like a good thing, but they do come with consequences<\/a>, Thomson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to go ahead and vote for this recognizing what the consequences are, eyes wide open? That\u2019s a perfectly valid thing,\u201d he said. \u201cBut don\u2019t do it simply because (you think) taxes are bad and local government is wasteful. Those kinds of assumptions may not even necessarily be true.\u201d<\/p>\n

Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Voters across Florida might just say yes to a statewide ballot referendum that could save them thousands in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":374726,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[3337,506,28,249,251,250,114,266,557,109],"class_list":["post-374725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-boca-raton","tag-broward-county","tag-florida","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-palm-beach-county","tag-social"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374725","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=374725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/374726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}