WINDERMERE, Fla. – Windermere leaders are urging caution as Florida voters consider a proposal this November that could cut or eliminate property taxes. Town officials say they support tax reform in principle, but they’re concerned the current plan leaves too many unanswered questions about how cities would keep paying for essential local services.
“We’re all for tax reform. We absolutely do need tax reform. It just needs to be sustainable,” said Windermere Mayor Andy Williams.
Town leaders say one of their biggest concerns is the lack of clarity around what services would be protected if property tax revenue is reduced.
“In this bill they discuss core services that will be protected but what are those core services? There’s not a definition for this. In our town we pretty much have everything as a core service,” Williams said.
Windermere leaders say they want to be able to provide residents with a clear financial picture of what changes could mean locally, but they say there is still too much uncertainty to explain exactly how the town would be impacted if property tax revenue goes away.
On Tuesday, the Windermere Town Council voted to approve a two-part letter to state legislators in Tallahassee. One letter was written by the Town Manager and the other by the Town Council.
The letter states in part: “The costs of providing local government services do not disappear if property taxes are reduced or eliminated. Essential services must still be funded, employees must still be paid, infrastructure must still be maintained, and public safety responsibilities must still be met.”
Williams said police and fire services would be among the priorities, but he worries about what would happen to everything else.
“Our police department, our fire services…definitely protected. I don’t know what everything else is gonna look like,” he said.
The letter goes on to say: “The critical question is not whether local services will be funded, but how they will be funded and whether those alternative sources will be sufficient, reliable, equitable, and locally controlled.”
The Town Council also approved a plan to hold educational workshops for the public to better understand the possible impacts if property taxes are cut. The vote to approve both the letters and the workshops passed unanimously.
You can read through the letters in full below: