By David McAfee ,
24 minutes ago
Florida governor Ron DeSantis speaks alongside his wife Casey DeSantis during the "Faith and Family with the Feenstras" event in Sioux Center, Iowa, December 9, 2023.(Christopher Reistroffer/Reuters)
Florida voters just approved a Republican-backed property tax cut that could gut the budgets of more than 100 cities, and critics say the state’s small towns will be hit hardest.
Amendment 3, which voters passed on Tuesday, creates a $250,000 homestead exemption from non-school property taxes starting in 2028. According to a Florida League of Cities analysis based on state Department of Revenue tax rolls, 108 Florida cities are projected to lose 90% or more of their homestead tax base.
For five cities (Greenville, Jacob City, Jennings, Noma and Otter Creek), the projected loss is 100%.
“The numbers are truly staggering,” wrote political strategist Alexander McCoy, sharing the chart on X, where his post drew more than 280,000 views. “Floridians voted to basically defund their local governments.”
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Urban planning writer M. Nolan Gray said the fallout would leave cities dependent...