Largo\u2019s property taxes forum becomes a political flashpoint\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nQualifying Florida homeowners can receive a homestead tax exemption up to $51,411 for the 2026 tax year. A homestead property is a person\u2019s primary residence and permanent legal home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If passed, Amendment 3 would increase Florida\u2019s homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. Inflation adjustments would follow. However, people who are not Florida residents as of Dec. 31, 2026, would receive only the existing exemption if they qualify. They would become eligible for the increase \u201cbeginning with the fifth year of exemption,\u201d according to the amendment\u2019s language.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Curp explained to the attendees that City operations are mainly financed through the municipality\u2019s general fund. The Largo government also has other funds to pay for services such as wastewater, risk management and trash and recycling. He added that property taxes are not the City\u2019s only revenue stream. However, they \u201cmake up about 50% of our general fund.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Curp said that Largo\u2019s current millage rate is 5.5200. Homeowners pay \u201con average $1,046 a year or $87 a month in property taxes.\u201d\u00a0Currently, 53% of homes in Largo are considered homestead residences.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe current proposal would, over two years, expand the property tax exemption to $250,000 for a homestead parcel,\u201d Curp said. \u201cSo, at the end of two years, the City of Largo would see a $15.7 million reduction in revenue annually.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is about a 26% reduction in the municipality\u2019s general fund. He explained that the amendment will also impact Pinellas County\u2019s funding. As a result, some Largo services could be affected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To show the potential impact, Curp explained that if the City decided to stop funding library and recreation services, this would only save $10.2 million. The municipality would have to \u201ccome up with $5.5 million from the budget in reductions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Any potential cuts will be made throughout the budget process, Curp emphasized. The police and fire departments are not exempt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn reference to budgeting, about 81% of the police department\u2019s budget is directly tied to personnel costs,\u201d Loux explained. \u201cIf the police department were to reduce the amount of money in our budget, it would more than likely have to come directly from the reduction of personnel.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Additionally, the force would have to consider how it prioritizes services and determine what operations are critical.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carpenter echoed similar concerns. He argued that reductions could lead to longer response times. More than 90% of Largo Fire Rescue\u2019s budget is reserved for personnel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to start my remarks by saying how disappointed I was in the City attempting to campaign against Amendment 3 using your taxpayer dollars,\u201d Jacques said. \u201cAs I sit here this evening, I gotta say something tells me that they\u2019re still trying to do it and this is evidenced by the fact that the leaders of City Hall brought forth and featured the chiefs of the two most popular departments of the City to tell you that property taxes, if they are cut, will somehow harm the things that we care about the most.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He emphasized that public safety should not be used as a voting \u201cscare tactic.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there is a revenue shortfall, these great guys would be the last people to see any cuts,\u201d Jacques said. \u201cThe commissioners are smart enough to know that defunding the police is a bad idea, especially when it would be against your wishes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Additionally, he argued that the State of Florida would \u201cnever allow public safety to be harmed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the City of Largo was forced to make changes, Jacques explained, leaders would have a choice in what reductions they select, if any. As a result, if they decided to decrease funding for police and firefighter personnel, he said that \u201cthat\u2019s a choice that you can hold them accountable to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jacques believes there are \u201ca lot more wasteful things\u201d that could be cut if needed. City leaders will have to review their budgets, he added, and determine their priorities just like families do.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe great poets Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, in the song \u2018The Boxer,\u2019 gave us the lyrics that I think we should talk about a little bit tonight,\u201d Brandes said. \u201cThey are \u2018a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am somebody who believes that the current system is not working and it creates huge inequities throughout our community,\u201d he continued. \u201cThe question that we should be talking about is this the right reform?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brandes believes that lawmakers do not know how Amendment 3 will impact home affordability, renters and small businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy argument all along has been that what you\u2019re being proposed with is not a tax cut,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s actually a tax shift and we\u2019re already seeing this. St. Petersburg is already discussing a fire fee. Counties and cities throughout the state of Florida are discussing fire, wastewater and transportation fees. Basically a lot of things are going to shift to non-ad valorem. The challenge with non-ad valorem taxes is there are no exemptions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Property Exemption.com, non-ad valorem assessments are \u201care special charges for specific services or improvements that appear on your property tax bill but are calculated using a flat fee, per-unit basis, or other measurement completely independent of your property\u2019s value.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThose non-ad valorems can stack together,\u201d Brandes said. \u201cCould the County create an emergency medical services non-ad valorem fee and then the Fire Department create a non-ad valorem fee? Absolutely. And this is what you are going to see.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He argued the inflation component of Amendment 3 could further have a negative impact on local governments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUnderstand that city inflation is not like the core consumer product index,\u201d Brandes said. \u201cThe City isn\u2019t out here buying TVs and apparel. It\u2019s buying health insurance, firefighters, fire trucks, concrete and police officers. Those things actually cost and rise more than inflation. So, what ends up happening is that cities get squeezed from both ends. Their taxable revenue is declining every year and their costs are going up every year at a rate greater than inflation. So what happens? They have few choices.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brandes believes that the City of Largo will survive if Amendment 3 passes. However, he said that some municipalities may have more difficulty if the law takes effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When asked about why the City chose to build the over $80 million Horizon West Bay facility when the funds could have been used elsewhere, Curp explained that Largo\u2019s former City Hall \u201cwas beyond its useful life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the municipality could have constructed a new building on the site, it chose to acquire another property. As a result, Horizon West Bay was designed to be mixed-use development with retail space options. He said that this will \u201cgenerate property taxes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Curp argued that such an investment in the City could increase property tax revenue across Largo\u2019s boundaries over time as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The former City Hall site flooded during Hurricane Milton in 2024, Brown added. Horizon West Bay is located about 72 feet above sea level. \u201cThat\u2019s important because if we want to keep the City running during a storm,\u201d he said, \u201cit\u2019s nice to be actually able to be in the building that you run things from.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Additionally, Brown believes Horizon West Bay \u201chas better connected us to the community.\u201d He explained that the former City Hall building was not in the downtown area.<\/p>\n
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