SANFORD, Fla. – Sanford Mayor Art Woodruff says a proposed constitutional amendment to dramatically increase Florida’s homestead exemption could strip his city of more than $15 million in property tax revenue — and force painful cuts to public services residents rely on every day.
The measure, known as House Joint Resolution 1-F (HJR 1-F), will appear on Florida’s November ballot. It would increase the state’s current $50,000 homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. The expanded exemption would not apply to school district property tax levies. At least 60% of voters must approve the constitutional amendment for it to take effect.
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What’s at stake for Sanford?
According to an analysis prepared by the Seminole County Property Appraiser and shared with News 6, Sanford’s taxable value would drop by $819 million in 2027 and $1.3 billion in 2028 if the measure passes — translating to revenue losses of $6 million and $9.3 million respectively, for a combined two-year hit of $15.3 million.
Currently, homesteaded properties make up about 21.7% of Sanford’s total taxable value and generate an estimated $11.1 million of the city’s $48.3 million in annual property tax revenue. Approximately 48% of Sanford’s 22,367 parcels — about 10,663 properties — currently receive the homestead exemption.
“Over the two years, when it goes to the $250,000 [exemption], we will see a $15.3 million decrease in property tax revenue, which is about a third of our property tax,” Woodruff said. “It’s about 18% of our overall taxes.”
The city has begun preliminary budget discussions, but Woodruff said the hardest questions are still ahead.
“To cut 18% in two years is going to be tough,” he said. “We’ve done it before. Back in 2008, we had a huge hit on the economy. We cut — we didn’t cut staff. We cut their hours. They were paid less. There was less work getting done, there’s less maintenance getting done.”
Where every tax dollar goes — and what could be cut
To understand what is at stake, it helps to know exactly where your tax dollars go. For every dollar collected for the General Fund, 54 cents go towards police and fire.
Public safety is by far the largest single expense — and Woodruff said protecting it is the city’s top priority.
“Obviously, those are the first things we want to cover,” he said.
But shielding police and fire from cuts would mean absorbing reductions elsewhere — and Woodruff said residents would feel the difference, starting with parks.
“One of the easiest things to cut costs is how often you mow. So, I’m sure we would start doing less maintenance,” he said. “We won’t have money to replace playground equipment as often as it needs to be done.”
He pointed to a recent example.
“Somebody contacted me this week that they were concerned about pickleball nets at one of our parks, and they’re being held together with zip ties,” Woodruff said. “What will happen is the nets will just come down.”
Woodruff also raised concerns about public safety staffing — a pressure point the city has only recently begun to resolve.
“Four years ago, we had 22 vacancies in our police department because we couldn’t pay enough in salaries,” he said. “We’ve finally gotten those salaries up. We’re adding a fire station. It’s going to be 15 additional firefighters that we have to pay.”
Utilities and garbage collection, he noted, would likely be protected. Both operate as enterprise funds — essentially run like businesses and paid for through user fees rather than property taxes.
Could fees replace what taxes no longer cover?
If the amendment passes, Sanford may be forced to look at other ways to generate revenue. When asked whether residents could end up paying more in fees to offset lost property tax income, Woodruff didn’t rule it out.
“That is one option,” he said. “We do have to look at our budget, look at what we have to do, and make those decisions.”
One possibility is a fire assessment fee — a flat charge applied equally to all properties, with no homestead exemption. Sanford has considered and rejected the idea twice before. Woodruff warned that while it might sound like a straightforward fix, the fee structure could actually hit lower-value homeowners harder than the current property tax system.
“When we looked at it before, the lower-value homes that had lower property taxes would see a bigger rise,” he said. “In general, businesses and rental properties benefited from a fire fee and homesteads were paying more.”
HJR 1-F impact across Seminole County
The financial consequences of HJR 1-F wouldn’t stop at Sanford’s city limits. According to the Seminole County Property Appraiser’s May 2026 analysis, the combined two-year impact across Seminole County and all seven cities totals $242.5 million in lost ad valorem tax revenue.
Seminole County alone would absorb $188 million of that total — with the county’s general fund, fire fund and road fund bearing the brunt of a taxable value reduction of $9.2 billion in 2027 and $15.8 billion in 2028.
Here is how the projected losses break down for each city:
Altamonte Springs
- 2026 total taxable value: $5.6 billion
- Homesteaded taxable value: 18.3%
- Parcels with homestead exemption: ~49% (7,350 of 14,900)
- 2027 estimated revenue loss: $2.2 million
- 2028 estimated revenue loss: $3.4 million
- Combined two-year loss: $5.6 million
Casselberry
- 2026 total taxable value: $2.8 billion
- Homesteaded taxable value: 26.9%
- Parcels with homestead exemption: ~55% (5,714 of 10,367)
- 2027 estimated revenue loss: $1.7 million
- 2028 estimated revenue loss: $2.6 million
- Combined two-year loss: $4.3 million
Lake Mary
- 2026 total taxable value: $3.9 billion
- Homesteaded taxable value: 30.4%
- Parcels with homestead exemption: ~61% (4,339 of 17,064)
- 2027 estimated revenue loss: $1.4 million
- 2028 estimated revenue loss: $2.7 million
- Combined two-year loss: $4.1 million
Longwood
- 2026 total taxable value: $2.3 billion
- Homesteaded taxable value: 26.2%
- Parcels with homestead exemption: ~58% (3,722 of 6,446)
- 2027 estimated revenue loss: $1.7 million
- 2028 estimated revenue loss: $2.7 million
- Combined two-year loss: $4.4 million
Oviedo
- 2026 total taxable value: $4.8 billion
- Homesteaded taxable value: 49.7%
- Parcels with homestead exemption: ~66% (9,485 of 14,315)
- 2027 estimated revenue loss: $5.1 million
- 2028 estimated revenue loss: $9.2 million
- Combined two-year loss: $14.3 million
Sanford
- 2026 total taxable value: $7.2 billion
- Homesteaded taxable value: 21.7%
- Parcels with homestead exemption: ~48% (10,663 of 22,367)
- 2027 estimated revenue loss: $6 million
- 2028 estimated revenue loss: $9.3 million
- Combined two-year loss: $15.3 million
Winter Springs
- 2026 total taxable value: $4.2 billion
- Homesteaded taxable value: 55.7%
- Parcels with homestead exemption: ~70% (10,197 of 14,535)
- 2027 estimated revenue loss: $2.4 million
- 2028 estimated revenue loss: $4.1 million
- Combined two-year loss: $6.5 million
Seminole County (General Fund, Fire Fund, Road Fund)
- 2026 total taxable value: $60.3 billion
- Homesteaded taxable value: 40.4%
- Parcels with homestead exemption: ~60% (107,855 of 181,000+)
- 2027 estimated revenue loss: $69.5 million
- 2028 estimated revenue loss: $118.6 million
- Combined two-year loss: $188 million
The cities most exposed to revenue loss are those with the highest concentrations of homesteaded properties. Winter Springs, where 70% of parcels carry a homestead exemption and homesteaded value accounts for 55.7% of its tax base, and Oviedo, where nearly half of all taxable value is tied to homesteaded properties, face the steepest proportional impacts among the seven cities.
A sudden, major shift
Woodruff said he understands the political appeal of cutting property taxes — and is not dismissing the financial pressure residents are feeling. But he argued the scale and speed of this proposal are what make it so disruptive.
“I think there’s a really strong case that could be made for indexing that [homestead exemption] to inflation. To jump it from $50,000 to $250,000 in two years is a very sudden shift.”
He warned the consequences could be existential for some Florida communities.
“I think there will be cities that no longer exist,” Woodruff said. “Smaller cities throughout the state may no longer exist. Sanford is actually in a relatively good position because about 50% of our property is not homestead — it’s commercial. There are cities that 70% of their property is housing, and they’re going to feel it much worse than we will.”
Ultimately, Woodruff said the decision belongs to Florida residents — but he wants them to make it with as much information as possible.
“It’s up to them to make this decision,” he said. “But the information that’s been put out in favor of it has been sound bites. It has not been all the information that I think people need.”
He added that if voters approve the amendment, the city will work with residents on where cuts should fall.
“If this is what the voters want — the voters pass this — they are telling us they’re the bosses,” he said. “It’s their money. They’re telling us they want the cuts. Then we will be asking them where they want the cuts.”