By Mandy Miles & Alex Rickert
A proposal to lower taxes should be an easy sell for the politicians and advocates pitching Amendment 3, the sweeping new property tax policy that voters will approve or reject on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Voting “yes” to lower taxes would seem a no-brainer, but Florida’s voters aren’t all convinced. An increasing number of residents, city and county officials, law enforcement agencies, nonprofits and civic organizations oppose Amendment 3, warning that property tax revenues fund essential city and county services, which may have to be reduced or eliminated.
If passed, the amendment will:
- Increase the homestead tax exemption for non-school taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.
- Provide new residents with a smaller exemption until they’ve lived in the state for five years.
- Cap increases in assessed property value to 5% for non-homesteaded properties — commercial real estate, second homes and vacation rentals.
- Limit how counties and municipalities can spend property tax revenue on public safety, education, infrastructure, natural resource projects and flood control, local bonds, employee retirement and government operations.
“Florida counties, cities, towns, villages and special taxing districts — which include public hospitals — would see a significant reduction in property tax dollars that currently go toward public services,” according to the Florida Policy Institute. “State economists predict that Amendment 3 would reduce local revenue by nearly $12 billion statewide on a recurring basis.” Monroe County stands to lose $13.7 million in property tax revenues in 2027-28. That revenue loss would total $37.5 million after five years, according to Florida Tax Watch, which calculated impacts based on each county’s property values.
Most city and county government services — police, fire, ambulance, libraries, parks, infrastructure, social services and more — are funded with property taxes. If that funding goes away, what will replace them? What services will be reduced?
“We oppose the current Amendment 3. … Public safety should never become collateral damage with uncertain fiscal consequences,” Florida’s Fraternal Order of Police said in a statement.
Supporters of Amendment 3 say the measure will save homesteaded residents thousands in taxes and help more people buy homes. They also say the amendment will rein in rampant spending by counties and cities.
Animal control protects people & pets
While police, fire and ambulance services are getting much of the attention in the debate, animal control officials in Monroe County are hoping voters make an informed decision when they vote.
“Counties may find themselves having to make extremely difficult choices among valuable services — public safety, fire and emergency, infrastructure, animal control, and many others. Animal control is a service that residents may not fully understand until they need it,” Tammy Fox, executive director of the Florida Keys SPCA, said this week.
“Most people know the FKSPCA for adoptions and sheltering, but they may not realize that we also provide an extensive public safety service for the county,” Fox said. “Our animal control officers investigate cruelty and neglect, dangerous dogs and animal bites, manage rabies quarantines, respond to stray and injured animals and wildlife concerns, assist law enforcement, enforce animal ordinances, and provide safe sheltering for animals that have nowhere else to go.”
The Florida Keys SPCA’s animal control contract is a public/private partnership that benefits both organizations and protects the community, Fox said. In 2025, Monroe County reimbursed $1.4 million for animal control services, SPCA leaders told the Weekly. That same year, the Key West campus responded to more than 80 different bite incidents, they said, all of which required detailed reporting for the Florida Department of Health.
“Property tax relief is understandably attractive to homeowners, but significant changes to how local government is funded can have consequences that deserve careful consideration,” Fox said.
In recent months, animal control officers rescued four tiny puppies from under a rock pile in an abandoned lot in Marathon. In another incident, officers had to remove nine goats, including babies, that were abandoned on a mangrove island off Shark Key, Fox said.
She has compiled research about the benefits of the nonprofit’s partnership with the county. Thanks to the generosity of donors, and grant funding the organization secures, the county doesn’t have to fund certain services and equipment that the SPCA provides, Fox said. County dollars don’t fund the SPCA’s affordable spay and neuter efforts, vaccines and microchips, its events team or adoptions for surrendered animals, among other items.
“If the county chose a different operational model, it would need to recruit, hire, train and retain qualified animal control officers, shelter managers, animal care professionals and veterinary personnel in one of Florida’s most challenging workforce housing markets,” Fox said. “It would also need to replace institutional knowledge, fleet vehicles, shelter equipment, dispatch capability, technology, facilities maintenance, veterinary infrastructure, administrative support, volunteer coordination, grant management and emergency response protocols. It would have to set up, coordinate and manage the island’s community cat and feral cat populations including working with colony managers, population control and/or surrender for residents who remove such cats from their properties.”
“All of these things are interlinked – you can’t just remove one part of what we do to try and save money,” said Marathon operations director Tara Vickrey. “What we’re doing is operating an integrated public safety system. … It’s thousands of calls, hundreds of reports and citations. If we’re not there doing these things to protect the public, who do people call in the middle of the night or if they’re being chased down by a vicious dog?”
Fox emphasized that no decisions have been made or discussed about changing or ending the county’s contract with the SPCA.
“This isn’t about opposing property tax reform, nor is it about protecting an FKSPCA contract,” Fox said. “It is about helping our community understand what animal control actually provides and what it takes to maintain the public safety system Monroe County has spent decades building.”
