Gov. Ron DeSantis’ May 27 proposal to save homeowners money on property taxes will have impacts on local government. But how much?
For many communities including those in Volusia County, millions of dollars will be lost.
DeSantis is asking the Florida Legislature to meet in a special session in Tallahassee the week of June 1 to consider his “Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes” proposal. The plan would pose a question to voters on the Nov. 3 ballot: Should the existing $50,000 property tax exemption on homesteaded properties be raised to $250,000?
If approved, that would result in some 60% of homeowners paying no property taxes, the lifeblood of municipal government services.
But the governor argues taxpayers need the money more.
“Property tax revenue collected by local governments has nearly doubled in the past seven years and is expected to reach an astounding $83 billion by 2032,” DeSantis said. “Florida homeowners need relief. Now is the time to stand up for taxpayers, enact a historic reform, and save the home of every Floridian.”
His proposal would gradually raise that exemption to $500,000, which DeSantis says would wipe out municipal property taxes for more than 90% of homesteaded property owners.
Officials in Volusia County largely support the push to lower homeowners’ property-tax burden, but have questions.
“I’m happy the governor is bringing it back to discuss it,” said County Councilman David Santiago, a former state representative. “However, I think there’s some missing pieces. It doesn’t address all of the parts of local government that I think people expect us to deliver.”
Volusia County services could ‘fall by the wayside’
Volusia County managers are evaluating the impacts of the governor’s proposal, Santiago said.
“There are services that are not accounted for,” Santiago said. “Libraries are one of them.”
The governor’s plan is to keep property taxes to pay for core services, including schools and law enforcement, but it will be up to lawmakers to create a separate pot of money to help counties and cities make the transition.
“Is the Legislature going to say we shut down all libraries?” Santiago asked. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
County Councilman Jake Johansson said he “very much” supports reduced property taxes for homeowners.
“But I’m afraid the people of at least Volusia County are going to realize that removing property taxes will also cause a lot of things they love to fall by the wayside. The level of services they’ve come to — maybe not love, but expect — won’t be here.”
Johansson said he has not seen a recent estimate on how much revenue would be lost to the county, but an earlier scenario that was discussed resulted in a $110 million budget hit.
Because voters won’t have a say until November, the earliest the property tax changes could occur is the budget year starting on Oct. 1, 2027.
Projected hits in Deltona, Daytona Beach, other Volusia cities
Volusia County Property Appraiser Larry Bartlett offered some preliminary estimates on how cities and towns might see revenue declines.
The appraiser took the taxable value of all properties in each of Volusia County’s 16 cities, plus unincorporated areas, and based on the 2025-26 tax rate calculated the revenue generated from parcels based on a $250,000 homestead exemption, rather than the existing $50,000 exemption.
Deltona, Volusia County’s most populous city, stands to lose nearly $18 million.
Daytona Beach’s impact would be close to $11 million, with Port Orange ($10 million), DeLand ($9 million), Ormond Beach ($8 million), and New Smyrna Beach ($8 million) following.
Revenue losses for smaller cities are expected to be lower, but also commensurate: Edgewater ($5 million), DeBary ($4 million), South Daytona ($2.4 million), Orange City ($2 million), Ponce Inlet ($1.7 million), and Daytona Beach Shores ($1.4 million).
Ormond Beach mayor left with questions about property tax proposal
In Ormond Beach, the city government would collect almost $7.8 million less to fund its services.
As cities and counties across the state are in the process of building budgets for 2026-27, Ormond Beach Mayor Jason Leslie is left with questions.
“We are in the early stages of knowing where we’re going to make any cuts if this passes,” Leslie said. “I don’t know. I feel it’s an idea with no plan at this point.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Property tax cuts would cost Volusia cities millions
Reporting by Mark Harper, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
