A sweeping property tax overhaul, which has the power to significantly change how local governments are funded, will be on the November ballot for voters to consider.
Super majorities in the Florida House and Senate passed Gov. DeSantis’ property tax referendum proposal with minor changes on June 3.
Many St. Lucie County, Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce officials expressed concerned about the proposal and will consider the possibility of the referendum passing as part of their upcoming budget workshops.
Under the amended proposal, if 60 percent of voters approve, Florida residents will see a $150,000 homestead exemption for non-school levies on Jan. 1, 2027, not the $250,000 DeSantis initially proposed. That exemption comes in the second year, on Jan. 1, 2028. A resident must qualify for homestead prior to Dec. 31, 2026 to get the tax reduction.
At present, people with homesteaded properties don’t have to pay property tax on the first $50,000 of their home’s value, except for the slice of tax that goes to support schools.
Removing tax from another $100,000 the first year and $200,000 the second year would deprive some town, city and county governments of millions of dollars annually that currently are used to pay for police and fire departments, roads, parks and other municipal services.
After 2028, the homestead exemption will be indexed to inflation – so that the exempted amount goes up a bit each year – as the Florida legislature tries to work out a schedule to ultimately eliminate all non-school property tax levies for full-time Florida residents.
Fort Pierce Mayor Linda Hudson said via email, “Eliminating homestead property taxes will not eliminate the costs of local government, but this proposed amendment has no replacement source of funding. The costs of government will shift to everyone, especially renters and businesses.
“In 2026, our Fort Pierce property taxes are $33.6 million; our largest funded department is our police budget at $23 million or 68%. In 2027, the Budget and Taxation Reform Commission, required by the Florida Constitution to meet every 20 years, will have the opportunity to more thoughtfully propose an equitable way for Floridians to fund local governments.”
“At this time, staff is evaluating various scenarios and planning accordingly to ensure the City can continue providing essential services to residents while complying with any requirements resulting from the referendum,” said Fort Pierce Communications Director Kaitlyn Ballard, adding that the potential impacts of the proposed property tax reduction referendum are “under review.”
“As the FY 2027 budget process moves forward, the City Commission will consider all available information, including any fiscal implications associated with the referendum, during public budget workshops. The City of Fort Pierce remains committed to maintaining fiscal responsibility while continuing to meet the needs of the Fort Pierce community,” she said.
According to Port St. Lucie Mayor Shannon Martin, the city will go through numbers that will soon be submitted by staff in the varying city departments and will be working on the budget next month. “Now we have another issue to talk about that if it passes,” she said. “We’re always conservative with our budget but now I think we’re going to have to be ultra-conservative. We’re going to have a lot to talk about.”
“Our preliminary analysis shows a substantial loss in the first and second years, with further declines expected. While we are continuing to evaluate how this measure will affect our residents and future planning should voters approve it in November, reductions of this magnitude would strain our ability to maintain our existing infrastructure and provide critical services,” said Port St. Lucie Director of Communications Scott Samples. “Once we have a more complete understanding of what these impacts will mean, City Council will discuss it at a future meeting.
“St. Lucie County staff members are still evaluating the potential impacts depending on what is to be balloted in November,” said county Communications Director Erick Gill.
According to the St. Lucie County website, county budget workshops are scheduled for July 8-10 and July 13-14.