St. Lucie County government will be the hardest-hit economically in the state if voters approve a statewide property-tax reform measure in November designed to give homeowners a tax break.
“They (St. Lucie County) are No. 1 when it comes to the impact of the amendment,” Cragin Mosteller, Florida Association of Counties deputy executive director, told TCPalm. “This is something I am sure they don’t want to be No. 1 in.”
Amendment 3 on the Nov. 3 ballot is designed to reduce the amount homeowners pay in local property taxes. If it receives at least 60% of the vote, Amendment 3 would increase how much value of a residential property is exempted from property tax. Currently, $50,000 value of a primary residence is not taxed, and Amendment 3 would increase that to $150,000 in 2027 and to $250,000 in 2028, which in would cover the entire value of some homes.
Moreover, Amendment 3 would cap the amount local governments could tax non-homesteaded properties such as second homes and apartment complexes, dropping from the current 10% governments can increase property tax to 5% in 2027.
If the issue passes, St. Lucie County is expected to lose $63 million in tax revenue in the first year and $105,000 million in the second year, according to the Florida Association of Counties, which has spent months researching Amendment 3 and its impact on Florida counties.
The association has documented the impacts and provided links to individual county budgets and audit reports on its website to help inform property owners and local governments. The association also has a map on its website that shows how much each county is projected to lose in tax revenue if the tax plan is passed and implemented.
The county collected roughly $177 million in property taxes for its general operating fund this fiscal year. St. Lucie County, Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce are extremely vulnerable to the mandates of the amendment because of the amount of homesteaded properties.
Fort Pierce collected $32 million in property tax for its general fund budget this fiscal year. If Amendment 3 passes, the city is estimated to lose approximately 10.3% of its property taxes — or $3.5 million — in the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, 2027, city spokesperson Kaitlyn Ballard said.
Port St. Lucie collected $94 million in property taxes for its general operating fund budget this fiscal year. City staff is currently analyzing the impacts Amendment 3 would have on the city’s general fund, city spokesperson Sarah Prohaska said.
St. Lucie County and Port St. Lucie already have already implementing hiring freezes, reducing work travel and making other cuts to limit spending in anticipation of the state constitutional amendment passing. Fort Pierce has yet to make such cuts but is reviewing potential financial impacts of Amendment 3.
Florida county would be most impacted by property-tax reform
If property-tax reform is passed, St. Lucie County Administrator George Landry told the County Commission, he wants the commission to meet within 30 days of the election to come up with a spending plan.
Roughly 70% of St. Lucie County’s residential properties, or 107,444 properties, have homestead exemptions, according Property Appraiser Michelle Franklin. By comparison, across Florida there are approximately 4.65 million homestead properties, about 47% of all properties statewide.
St. Lucie County, Port St. Lucie starts trimming budgets
St. Lucie County:
“We all will have to do more with less,” St. Lucie County Commissioner Erin Lowry said at the county’s last budget hearing. “The taxpayers need a break.”
Port St. Lucie:
Fort Pierce has not implemented a hiring freeze for non-essential positions, a purchasing freeze on non-essential items or a suspension of event sponsorships, Ballard said.
“The City Commission will consider all available information, including any fiscal implications associated with the proposed amendment, during its public budget workshops,” Ballard said.
Fort Pierce collected $32 million in property tax for its general fund budget this fiscal year. If Amendment 3 passes, the city is estimated to lose approximately 10.3% of its property taxes — or $3.5 million — in the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, 2027, Ballard said.
Florida county commissions and city councils adopt their tax rates and annual budgets in September and then implement them on Oct. 1, the start of the fiscal year. St. Lucie County has has seen about a $2.6 billion increase in property values in the past year, going from $74.4 billion last year to nearly $76.9 billion this year, according to Franklin.
Port St. Lucie is to hold its budget workshops July 22 and 23. Fort Pierce’s workshop is scheduled for July 22.
Tim O’Hara is TCPalm’s St. Lucie watchdog, environment and fisheries reporter. Contact him at tim.ohara@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida county would be hardest-hit by Amendment 3 property-tax reform
Reporting by Timothy O’Hara, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Timothy O'Hara, Treasure Coast Newspapers | USA TODAY Network
