SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A new poll shows that while a majority of voters would vote in favor of significant property tax cuts in Florida, it may not be enough support to actually pass an amendment at the ballot box.
Polling from the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab found that 56% of Florida voters support getting rid of taxes on homesteaded properties, while 35% oppose. The results do not meet the 60% threshold needed for an amendment to be made to the Florida State Constitution to pass.
At the end of February, House lawmakers approved a proposed state constitutional amendment to phase out most property taxes over a decade. That bill — HJR 203 — would exempt all homestead properties from non-school property taxes starting on Jan. 1, 2027. It now awaits action in the Senate.
[BELOW: Florida House gives final OK to property tax cuts. Here’s what happens next]
“The proposal that’s out there right now, it’s fairly draconian,” Seminole County Property Appraiser David Johnson said Wednesday. “And it has a huge effect on property values across the state and tax revenues across the state.”
Seminole County Property Appraiser David Johnson tells News 6 that it’s likely lawmakers will end up in special session.
“You’re going to see some elements of this proposal on the November ballot, but I don’t think this is the actual proposal just because of the huge cost, not only here in Seminole County but across the state.”
Johnson and his staff have been spending time providing information to the county and cities within Seminole County, who have to consider what impact the legislation could have locally — if it passes.
[BELOW: Florida committee unanimously OKs plan to scrap HOAs]
Johnson said about 44% of the tax revenue in Seminole County is made up of homesteaded property.
“So now, we’ve got 56% left. That’s huge, and it’s not a little trimming around the edges,” said Johnson. “It’s hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Data provided to News 6 from Johnson’s office Wednesday shows the estimated impact of HJR 203 in Seminole County:
- $24 billion reduction to tax roll
- $130 million reduction to county general tax revenue
- $51 million reduction to fire fund tax revenue
- $1.6 million reduction to road fund tax revenue
Smaller cities that rely on revenue from more homesteaded properties would be impacted the most.
“We have more homestead properties than average, and the value of those homesteaded properties is higher than other places in Seminole County,” said Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek.
[BELOW: Oviedo considers lowering property tax rate]
News 6 spoke to Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek about the challenges for cities like hers, which would lose about 56% of what they collected this year without homesteaded taxes.
“We would have to make some very significant changes because we don’t even at this time collect enough in property tax to cover the cost of running our police and fire department — let alone parks and rec and everything else,” said Sladek.
According to estimates from the Seminole County Property Appraiser’s Office, the total tax revenue reduction across the 7 cities would be about $45.3 million:
Altamonte:
- 19.5% value reduction % due to homestead properties
- $4 million tax revenue reduction
Casselberry:
- 27.7% value reduction % due to homestead properties
- $3 million tax revenue reduction
Lake Mary:
- 32.6% value reduction % due to homestead properties
- $4.3 million tax revenue reduction
Longwood:
- 27.4% value reduction % due to homestead properties
- $3.3 million tax revenue reduction
Oviedo:
- 51% value reduction % due to homestead properties
- $13.8 million tax revenue reduction
Sanford:
- 22.9% value reduction % due to homestead properties
- $10.9 million tax revenue reduction
Winter Springs:
- 56.6% value reduction % due to homestead properties
- $6 million tax revenue reduction
When asked if the city of Oviedo is having discussions about what could happen if the proposed legislation passes, Sladek said staff is starting to talk about what hard decisions would have to be made.
“State law does not allow us to charge a law enforcement fee, so we have no good way to fund our police department,” said Sladek. “We could charge a parks and rec fees. We could charge a fire fee, but we can’t charge a law enforcement fee so that’s the real big wildcard is how would we do it with that?”
[BELOW: Seminole County commissioners OK property tax hike]
Sladek said it takes time and money to figure out the nuances, while a lot still hangs in the balance in Tallahassee.
“Would cuts be inevitable?” asked News 6 Seminole County Community Correspondent Catherine Silver. “Not necessarily,” Sladek replied.
“We could create enough fees to bring in the same amount of revenue,” she explained. “I really don’t see anything that the city of Oviedo could cut that would not feel like we were slicing into the muscle for the vast majority of our residents.”
Johnson also said he believes there is an opportunity for thoughtful conversation moving forward.
“When we talk to folks and we explain what the proposal does, they’re like, ‘we’re pretty good with what services we’re getting, and we’re thinking we’re getting a pretty good value for our dollar.’” said Johnson. “I’m not saying there’s not opportunities for some tweaking of the property tax system here in the state of Florida. It’s certainly something that could be done for the elderly, those folks 65 or older, and those first-time homebuyers. Probably a lot of conversation needs to continue to happen around what we could do to benefit them.”