Some of Broward County’s constitutionally elected officers made their legislative priorities known to Broward’s legislative delegation this week, touching on property tax reform, open-carry laws in public places and recruiting law enforcement personnel.
Broward’s Property Appraiser Marty Kiar, Supervisor of Elections Joe Scott and Sheriff Gregory Tony all spoke at the Broward Legislative Delegation's meeting Thursday as subject matter experts to the legislative delegation on critical issues before they head to Tallahassee for the 2026 legislative session.
Property tax
The Florida House has released a series of proposed constitutional amendments to cut property taxes. That includes House Joint Resolution 201, which would completely eliminate all non-school district related property taxes on homestead properties.
Kiar wanted the delegation to be aware of the significant impacts that efforts to cut property tax could have on local governments.
“ It's going to be one of the most consequential votes you'll ever take as a member of the Florida House of Representatives or the Senate,” he said.
Kiar estimated that Broward County would lose more than 34% of its tax revenue if property taxes were eliminated this fiscal year.
He also illustrated that, due to each city's unique makeup, they would suffer disproportionate impacts.
“ Pembroke Park is the least affected city. The reason being, it's very little residential, very little homestead. It's almost all commercial, so it would only lose about 1.3% of its property tax revenue On the other side, Parkland's almost all residential, almost all homesteaded and has very little commercial. They will lose about 75 percent,” said Kiar.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has been a supporter of the elimination of property taxes but expressed frustration when the House introduced multiple possible constitutional amendments.
“Placing more than one property tax measure on the ballot represents an attempt to kill anything on property taxes,” DeSantis wrote on X. “It’s a political game, not a serious attempt to get it done for the people.”
READ MORE: What could overhauling property taxes mean for local government IOUs in Florida?
Gun control
After a recent court decision ruled that Florida's open-carry ban was unconstitutional, confusion has arisen around which types of weapons are allowed in certain spaces.
Handguns or concealed-carry weapons are banned within gun-free zones, but so-called “long guns” — including assault rifles and shotguns — are not explicitly banned.
Scott told the delegation that he needed “clarity” on the law, because he was worried about the effects it might have on elections.
“ Throughout American history. It has not been normal to carry firearms in polling places. In fact, at times that it has happened, it was primarily used as a tool for intimidation to prevent people from voting,” said Scott.
Scott expressed concern that voting locations could become flashpoints for serious incidents when guns are introduced. He described the zone just outside polling locations, where people often are campaigning and handing out fliers, as a hotspot for conflicts.
“ It's the primary thing that I deal with as a supervisor during the time of early voting is being the referee and mediating some of these conflicts that take place outside of our early voting sites. Introducing firearms to this situation is a very scary prospect for everyone involved,” he said.
Law enforcement
Tony said the Broward Sheriff's Office's biggest issue was funding for recruiting.
“ We had a comprehensive salary study run. That salary study indicated that we were grossly under paying all 6,000 plus employees. We have anywhere between $15,000 to upwards of $50,000 differentials [from other sheriff’s offices],” he said.
Tony indicated that he did not feel adequately supported by the County Commission who approves his budget increases every year. This year, the Sheriff asked for a $71 million dollar budget increase, but the County only gave the sheriff $22 million.
“ We weren't asking for new cars, we weren't asking for new helicopters. We were asking to keep our people, keep the people that are allowing us to have the freedoms and liberties in this community,” he said.
He announced he was appealing the budget to Florida’s Administration Commission. If the commission accepts his appeal, Broward County would be forced to fulfill Tony’s budget request.
“ I took an oath to fight against the criminals, the wrong doers, the sexual predators, and everything else that cause harm to public. I can do that. That's easy. What I didn't expect was that I was gonna have to fight my other political colleagues for them to do what's right,” he said.
