Leon County Commissioners are making themselves heard amid the ongoing special session focusing on a major cut in property taxes that could leave local governments in the lurch.
With a goal of protecting county essential services, Commissioners Bill Proctor and David O’Keefe both made an appearance at the state legislature’s special session to speak against the proposal. Almost all those who attended spoke against the plan, which could radically reduce the amount of taxes residents pay while at the same time blowing a hole in local government budgets.
Both of the men attended a House hearing, and O’Keefe attended the Senate alone.
“Legally, we are required to have a balanced budget. You’re forcing 67 counties to sue the Legislature because you are putting conditions on us that are impossible to balance,” Proctor told lawmakers, noting he was the longest serving county commissioner in the state. “We spent over $100 million last presidential bid by our governor, but we shouldn’t have to put $8 billion on the line for the optic of saying our governor has cut taxes for corporations and the super rich.”
Florida lawmakers returned to Tallahassee on June 1 for a special legislative session focused on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposed overhaul of Florida’s property tax system. The governor has argued that rising property tax bills are placing an increasing burden on homeowners as local governments engage in runaway spending.
Communities rely on property taxes to fund a number of core services that residents rely on such as libraries, parks, police and fire protection, and public schools, among other things.
O’Keefe took to his social media over the weekend to share his thoughts of the state’s decision.
“You cannot run a community on magical thinking,” he said. “State leaders are fast tracking a property tax amendment that threatens the basic safety of our neighborhoods and the welfare of our community and as your county commissioner and a CPA I want to talk real numbers.”
“(The state) amendment cuts $84 million from Leon County, now leaves us with only $151 million in property tax revenue, but by law our state mandated public safety obligations, keeping sheriff’s deputies on the road and our courts running costs $159 million. Do the math, there is a multi-million dollar deficit and no money for our parks, libraries, veteran services and more,” he continued.
“But defunding property taxes doesn’t make the real world cost of infrastructure disappear, asphalt still cracks. To keep our community functioning, the county would be structurally forced to attempt to implement new specialized user fees for everything, shifting the burden to you.”
While the two county commissioners spoke out, no one from the city commission attended the hearing.
The Leon County Commission has been keeping a watchful eye on the bills, originally having a conversation around the matter at their annual retreat in the beginning of the year. At the retreat, they shared a chart detailing what sorts of services would be impacted if such a bill passed.
It warns of unintended consequences of the tax cuts, which could close all library branches, lead to slower EMS times, eliminate mosquito control, cut road and sidewalk safety, and eliminate free sandbags for residents during storms.
Arianna Otero is the trending and breaking news reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com and follow her on X: @ari_v_otero.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon County commissioners speak out against state property tax cut plan
Reporting by Arianna Otero, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
