Calling for Jacksonville residents to read “the fine print” of a November ballot referendum to increase Florida’s homestead exemption on property taxes, Mayor Donna Deegan held a media conference June 4 to rebuke the state Legislature for putting the measure up for a vote.
Deegan said the ballot measure’s effects on the city budget would hurt taxpayers more in reduced city services than the tax savings on their properties would help them.
City Council auditors estimated that the city would lose more than $300 million in property tax revenue by fiscal year 2029 from the proposed constitutional amendment, which would raise the homestead exemption to $250,000 from its current $50,000 by that fiscal year.
On June 2, lawmakers voted to place the amendment on the November ballot. According to a May 27 news release from the office of Gov. Ron DeSantis, the measure would not allow municipalities to reduce funding for public safety, education and schools, infrastructure or natural resources. The plan also would create a trust fund to provide grants to local governments to maintain core local services, according to the release.
Deegan said the services that fall outside those protected areas “are precisely the ones that have the greatest return on investment for our city: libraries, parks, public health, literacy, housing, and homelessness programs.”
“The result is every dollar saved destroys several dollars in economic value for our citizens,” she said.
City Council auditors said that if the referendum were applied to the city’s $2 billion fiscal year 2026 budget, it would have cut revenue about $265 million.
Under Florida statute, the city is required to pass a balanced budget each year.
If approved, the property tax referendum would first apply a $150,000 homestead exemption in FY28, with the $250,000 homestead exemption applying for FY29 and beyond.
Additionally, Florida municipalities would be barred from increasing local government tax assessments on small business more than 5% year-over-year. Currently, the cap is 10%.
Deegan argued the trickle-down effect of the November ballot measure, which was proposed by DeSantis and approved with more than 60% of the vote in the state House of Representatives and Senate, would affect more than just government services.
“Who gets hurt?” Deegan said, “The nurse whose rent will go up. The teacher whose property insurance skyrockets because we can’t build that fire station close to her house like we were going to. The small-business owner who loses foot traffic because the park next door had to close.”
Deegan said her administration would not factor in any potential action taken by voters in November into the FY27 budget, which she is scheduled to present to City Council in July. At a Finance Committee discussion June 2, Council member Will Lahnen suggested putting money into reserves to brace for the shortfall.
Deegan did not say whether the city would have to levy additional fees or taxes should the referendum pass.
“I can’t give you a crystal ball into the future of what will actually happen. A $300 million hit is not a small hit. We’d have to severely cut services, as I’ve outlined today. Beyond that, we have not gone there yet. Obviously, if we had to, we would look at all those possibilities,” she said.
At least one Council member has openly supported the referendum. Member Rory Diamond, who has never voted in favor of a city budget, said at the Finance Committee discussion he would lobby for the measure to his constituents at the Beaches.
“Right now, it’s $3,700 into the pockets of a middle-class family in Jacksonville. I guarantee you, if we ask them, ‘Would you like the Emerald Trail or $3,700? Would you like to have another Downtown park that you never visit or $3,700? They are taking the money every time,” Diamond said.
Based on Jacksonville’s millage rate of 11.1919, residents with a home valued at $250,000 or more would see their exemption yield $2,797.98 in tax savings. That’s an increase from the current exemption’s savings of $559.60. One mill is equal to a $1 tax for every $1,000 of assessed property value.
Deegan said she would hold town hall meetings and discuss the ballot referendum. She has likened the amendment’s effect on the city budget as removing a load-bearing wall in the middle of a house, leaving “nothing there to keep the roof from falling in.”
“I would love it if we could provide everything that everybody needs with fairy dust and whatever, but we all have to be a part of making our city a great city, and I think that people want that,” Deegan said.
“I know also at the same time they’re hurting, so we’re going to continue to find doors into affordability, which we have been doing since we got here, without, as I said, taking out the foundational wall.”