Florida voters just approved a Republican-backed property tax cut that could gut the budgets of more than 100 cities, and critics say the state’s small towns will be hit hardest.
Amendment 3, which voters passed on Tuesday, creates a $250,000 homestead exemption from non-school property taxes starting in 2028. According to a Florida League of Cities analysis based on state Department of Revenue tax rolls, 108 Florida cities are projected to lose 90% or more of their homestead tax base.
For five cities (Greenville, Jacob City, Jennings, Noma and Otter Creek), the projected loss is 100%.
“The numbers are truly staggering,” wrote political strategist Alexander McCoy, sharing the chart on X, where his post drew more than 280,000 views. “Floridians voted to basically defund their local governments.”
Urban planning writer M. Nolan Gray said the fallout would leave cities dependent on Tallahassee.
“A whole bunch of local governments in Florida are basically about to implode and become entirely dependent on transfers from state government,” Gray wrote. “An incredible unforced error, and one endorsed by Republicans, in the only large US state where they haven’t yet lost it all.”
Most of the hardest-hit cities on the list are small, rural communities in counties like Madison, Jackson, Levy, Hamilton and Gadsden.
That irony wasn’t lost on Holly Bullard, whose X bio lists her with the Florida Policy Institute.
“Florida rural counties overwhelmingly voted for Amendment 3, but soon will be asking to be rescued from the effects,” Bullard wrote. “Why should the rest of the state, including counties who even majority voted AGAINST A3, bail them out? Esp if the state doesn’t similarly bail THEM out?”
Property taxes are the main revenue source for many Florida cities, funding police, fire, parks and road maintenance. School property taxes are not affected by the new exemption.