BRADENTON, Fla. — As early voting in Florida’s Jan. 29 presidential preference primary got under way yesterday, local governments opposing the Amendment 1 tax reform referendum on the ballot banded together and urged voters to reject it.
Sponsored by the Florida Legislature, Amendment 1 is a complex measure that mandates tax cuts at the local level. The state, in a recent publication, said the potential impact of the constitutional amendment would slash local taxes by $9.3 billion over five years.
The Florida Association of Counties, the Florida School Boards Association, and the Florida League of Cities, yesterday jointly said they opposed Amendment 1. The organizations represent 67 counties, 67 school districts, and 412 municipal governments.
“The amendment alters our property tax system, yet no one knows what the long-term impacts will be or what unintended consequences will result,” said Florida Association of Counties president and Orange County Commissioner Teresa Jacobs. “That’s a scary reality for local governments, which receive much of their funding from property taxes.”
A portion of the amendment applies to school districts and although the Legislature has promised to make up for the hole, so far the state has not unveiled any proposals to accomplish that. The Legislature’s annual regular session starts March 4.
“Amendment 1 makes a broken tax system even worse,” said Frank Ortis, mayor of Pembroke Pines and president of the Florida League of Cities.
In addition to opposing Amendment 1, the organizations jointly supported amending the state’s constitution to prevent the state from passing down financial responsibilities to local governments, also known as unfunded state mandates, which account for more than $1 billion of local government spending each year, they said.
Rating agencies have expressed concern about how the Amendment 1 tax cuts would affect local government credit ratings, and have said they will monitor the impact as initiatives are implemented.
As ad valorem taxes are cut, many local governments expect to depend more on other revenues to fund basic services, which could leave fewer revenues available to support bonds for capital improvements.
On Friday, Florida TaxWatch — an organization typically critical of how Florida governments budget and spend — released a report that said Amendment 1 is likely to do more harm than good. The organization said: “Florida voters should reject Amendment 1 and demand real property tax reform.”
A recent Mason-Dixon Poll found skyrocketing property taxes are the top issue of concern for Floridians. In a similar poll a year ago, taxes were the fifth most important issue. The survey was conducted in late November with 1,200 residents across the state.
