PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG\/WECP) – The idea of lowering property taxes sounds enticing to some homeowners. However, city and county leaders said that with reduced property tax funds, they will have to look at difficult cuts. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got veterans services; you\u2019ve got the Bay County Council on Aging, we\u2019re all kind of on the chopping block,\u201d said Sarah Burris, the president of Friends of the Bay County Public Libraries.<\/p>\n
Governor Ron DeSantis is pushing for Amendment 3 to pass before he leaves office.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think with the property tax, the good thing about it is people have more money in their pocket, you are going to have a better economy locally because they are going to be able to breathe, they are going to be able to spend money,\u201d DeSantis said on August 31 while speaking in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n
Even before ballots are cast, the Bay County Public Library will lose 40% of its book funds, Burris said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s $86,000, and that is just in preparation for if it does pass,\u201d Burris said. \u201cIf it passes, the library will lose additional funding, and the library is already on a hiring freeze as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burris also said that there\u2019s no alternate funding source for public libraries, which could be detrimental to libraries across the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is that funding source going to come from. It\u2019s probably going to take several years to kinda get it all flushed out, and do we have that time?\u201d Burris asked.<\/p>\n
NewsChannel7 is told Bay County Commissioners will be discussing Amendment 3 at Tuesday\u2019s meeting. They declined to comment before then. <\/p>\n
The amendment needs at least 60% of Florida voters to vote \u201cyes\u201d for it to pass. <\/p>\n
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