ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida voters will decide in November whether to overhaul the state’s property tax system, and Central Florida cities are not waiting to find out the outcome.
Orlando’s City Council is holding a workshop to examine what property tax reform could mean for the city’s budget. The session will also include a budget proposal update.
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The proposed constitutional amendment, which needs 60% voter approval to pass, would exempt the first $150,000 of a homestead property’s value from taxation. That threshold would rise to $250,000 in 2028.
For municipalities across Central Florida, the stakes are high.
Sanford’s mayor said the city would lose $15 vin tax revenue if the amendment passes. Ocoee officials project a $4.1 million loss in the first year, growing to as much as $8 million by 2028.
Some cities, like Ocoee, are already weighing whether to raise other rates to offset the lost revenue.
Orlando resident Shelley Davis said she supports lowering property taxes, but not if it means higher fees elsewhere.
“Well, I think that if lowering the property taxes or reforming them is going to mean we pay more fees for firefighters or for emergency services, that’s not a good thing,” Davis said.
Davis said she believes more work needs to be done before voters are asked to make such a significant decision.
“I definitely encourage them to come up with something better. Something better for everybody. I don’t think it’s been researched enough or thought enough to just put a vote to the people at this point,” she said.
Fellow Orlando resident Don Combs shares her concern. He said meaningful reform is necessary, but the current proposal goes too far.
“Well, we need some reform, but we don’t need it to disappear,” Combs said.
Combs said residents should not have to choose between property tax relief and funding for essential services.
“I mean, you have to pay for services and pay for, police, fire and everything else. But it has gotten a little ridiculous,” he said. “When school teachers and even police and firemen retire and they’re on a fixed income and their taxes go up 30%, 40%, where does that come from?”
The workshop is today at 10 a.m.