As local governments hunker down for a potentially drastic change to Florida’s taxing system, small residential towns are preparing to get hit the hardest.
POPULATION
Jerry Greenberg, a councilmember for the Village of Pinecrest in Miami-Dade County, says half of the village’s budget is made up of property taxes on single-family homes, which a recently passed bill in Tallahassee could all but eliminate.
"This could take away many of the things that make Pinecrest, Pinecrest. The efficiency, the programming, the level of service you get, the beautiful green spaces. All of that's in jeopardy," Greenberg told WLRN in an interview.
Pinecrest has a population of just under 19,000, according to the most recent Census estimate. Greenberg says small municipalities like it don’t have significant business corridors that they can lean on for taxes. If property taxes on homesteads are slashed, some services will have to get cut.
" We don't have hotels, or an industry that we can tax in order to make up for this," he said.
A hastily passed bill from the Florida Legislature will boost Florida's homestead tax exemption from $50,000 to $250,000 and significantly cut into the tax base local governments use to pay for services. The bill would also limit what local governments can spend property tax dollars on, leaving the possibility that municipalities may increase other taxes to make up for the shortfall.
Voters will have to approve the controversial property tax cut this November at the ballot box to amend Florida's constitution.
READ MORE: Florida policy group rings alarm on higher rents if property tax changes pass
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