ORLANDO, Fla – Orange County commissioners voted 6-1 Tuesday to approve a roughly $9 billion county budget, with leaders saying priorities include public safety, affordable housing and homelessness.
But county officials are also warning voters about the potential impact of Amendment 3, a statewide ballot measure that would increase the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes, potentially lowering property taxes while reducing revenue for counties.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the lack of a public safety exemption could create challenges for counties statewide.
County officials have stated that Amendment 3 could cut $275 million from property tax revenue by 2028.
“At the end of the day, something will have to get cut, and typically the first things that we will cut are those things that we don’t have to do,” he said. “We aren’t required to necessarily provide social services and those types of things.”
Other Central Florida law enforcement leaders have also raised concerns.
Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood has come out against Amendment 3, saying his agency could lose $37 million next year alone.
Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma warned last week that his agency could face a 20 percent cut, which would mean layoffs and hundreds fewer officers patrolling the streets.
“You cannot reduce by $41 million and 300 people without a realistic expectation that some services are going to be compromised,” he said.
Orange County District 3 Commissioner Mayra Uribe told News 6 the county should first look for efficiencies internally, saying there may be room to absorb reductions before residents see significant impacts.
Another priority for the county is maintaining its commitment to building more affordable housing, with the goal of 10,000 new or preserved housing units by the end of 2028. The budget approved Tuesday includes $19.5 for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
Uribe said ultimately money is not the problem for this issue.
“I have a hard time with that one not because of the funding, because of the process that internally it takes to build them,” she said. “We have the funding, we have the money set aside. But the process internally for permitting, for land use, for all of that is what tends to delay projects.”
What Amendment 3 would do:
- Raise the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027
- Raise it again to $250,000 in 2028
- Requires 60% voter approval to pass
County leaders say if Amendment 3 passes in November, budgets in coming years could look significantly different.
