Amendment 3 passed

Amendment 3 passed. We needed 60% and we got there. But believe it or not, the fight we just won was the easy one. The next fight has no yard signs, no ballot, and no 60% threshold. It happens in a local meeting room after 5:00 p.m. with just a handful of people in the audience.

https://youtu.be/c6bV52Kr-Ao?si=b-hRZ0g5BoIamI_B

The Amendment 3 Implementation Calendar

To understand what happens next, you need to look directly at the implementation schedule:

• January 1st, 2027: The non-school homestead exemption increases to $150,000.
• January 1st, 2028: The non-school homestead exemption increases to $250,000.
• January 1st, 2027: The cap on assessment growth for non-homestead property drops from 10% to 5%.

You will not actually feel these changes until November 2027 because Florida property taxes are billed in arrears. However, your county and your city start budgeting in June. With a reduced ability to tax, local governments will make changes, and you may not like them. Will they enact new fees, raise the millage rate, or actually cut fat out of the budget? The answer remains to be seen. That is where the vote moves from the ballot to the budget.

What the Amendment Actually Did (and Did Not) Do

Remember, the amendment did not order a single cut on the spending side. All it did was protect a larger portion of your homestead from taxation. It does not tell your county what to trim, and it does not protect police and fire funding.

Now, it is entirely up to the commissions to figure out what to do. I said that before the election, and it is still true. The people who show up decide who the commissioners listen to.

How the Local Budgeting Process Works

The local government budget starts long before you ever hear about it:

• By June 1st: The sheriff and other county offices hand the commission their tentative budgets, and the property appraiser gives every taxing authority an estimate of values.
• By July 1st: Property values get certified.
• By August: Each taxing authority tells the property appraiser the tax rate it is proposing.
• In August: The property appraiser mails you a notice of proposed taxes.

That notice is not a bill. It lists every taxing authority in your county, the rate each one is proposing, and the date of its budget hearing.

By the time you receive that notice, the draft budget is mostly written. The first public hearing takes place between 65 and 80 days after certification, and it is held after 5:00 p.m. The second public hearing finalizes the budget. Those two meetings are your last chance to change anything.

Four Questions to Walk in With

When you attend these hearings, here are four specific questions to ask:

1. What is the total budget this year and what was it in 2019? Seminole County's general fund is up $136 million, or 46.7% since fiscal year 2019, per Florida's CFO. Ask your county for its own number.
2. Which lines go down in dollars, not percentages?
3. Where do public safety and everything else rank in order? If a commissioner says deputies and firefighters are safe, ask them to put it in writing, because the text does not do it automatically.
4. What is the proposed rate next to the current rate?

That fourth question matters the most. There is a number on that notice that tells you whether anyone heard what you just voted for: the rate. If a commission votes to raise the tax rate to make back what the exemption took, that is an intentional decision. It is recorded, and it has a commissioner's name next to it. They cannot blame that rate hike on the ballot measure you voted for.

Maybe your county trims the fat and holds the line. I sure hope so, and I would love to be able to say so on this channel. But nobody has a crystal ball on this one. The only way to find out is to read that notice and show up. We voted. Now they budget. Put the September hearing on your calendar the day that notice hits your mailbox.

If you have questions about how these changes affect your Florida property, feel free to contact Tom McNamara directly.

📘 Download the Sunshine State Handbook: https://floridarealestateinsider.com/vip-pass