ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – St. Johns County officials are raising alarms about the recently proposed state constitutional amendment regarding property taxes.
Florida voters will decide in November whether to approve the sweeping property tax overhaul signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis — and one county commissioner wants residents to understand what’s at stake.
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The county’s office of management and budget estimates the county could see a decrease of $113 million in tax revenue by 2029.
During a Board of County Commissioners meeting last week, Commissioner Christian Whitehurst, District 1, put that figure into perspective using last year’s county budget of $400 million.
Subtracting $113 million leaves $287 million.
“Our sheriff’s department and fire department - of the $287 million that remains - takes roughly $250 million,” Whitehurst said.
He said this very “conservative estimate” would leave roughly $37 million dollars left to run parks and maintain nearly 1100 miles of road that are the county’s responsibility.
“I just think that we need to as much as we can, not before or against it, but just present the facts, about the impact that this has,” Whitehurst said.
The budget pressure could be further complicated by growing demands on public safety departments. According to our news partners at Jax Today, firefighters are advocating for more time off, which could mean hiring additional staff.
St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick also proposed a budget last week that includes an $8 million increase over the previous year. Hardwick says the money would be going towards higher pay for deputies and staff.
If approved, the proposed amendment would expand the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes — rising to $150,000 beginning Jan. 1, 2027, and to $250,000 beginning Jan. 1, 2028.
The proposal would also reduce the cap on annual assessment increases for many non-homestead properties and limit how counties and cities can use ad valorem tax revenue, restricting it to “core services.”
To take effect, the amendment would need 60% voter approval in November.