I have received considerable criticism for my position onAmendment 3.
I respect the fact people have strong opinions when it comes to their hard-earned money and the taxes they pay.
I support meaningful property tax relief for Florida families.
I believe the governor and our state legislators are trying to address a very real problem.
However, I have serious concerns about the proposed solution and its potential consequences for the essential services our communities depend on.
Like so many of you, my family feels the financial pressures of everyday life.
I pay property taxes, too.
My parents and in-laws live on fixed incomes, and my children are working to raise their families here in Florida.
We all want relief, and we deserve a thoughtful conversation
about how to achieve it.
But we also deserve to understand the full consequences of any proposed change before making a decision that could permanently affect our communities.
In all, more than 99% of the Sheriff's Office budget is funded through ad valorem, or property, taxes.
These funds support the deputies who respond when you call 911, the detectives who investigate crimes, the corrections personnel who operate our jail and other essential services required to keep our community safe.
Of our total budget, approximately 83% to 85% goes directly toward personnel costs.
This fiscal year, that number is 84%.
This leaves just 16% for everything else, including fuel, equipment, technology, vehicle maintenance, jail operations, and capital purchases. Our capital budget consists primarily of patrol vehicles, totaling approximately $1.8 million.
These numbers matter because they demonstrate something often overlooked in discussions about government spending: the Sheriff's Office is a people-driven organization.
Public safety depends on trained professionals being available when our citizens need them.
Based on our budget projections, the proposed changes would reduce funding available to the Sheriff's Office by approximately $26 million in fiscal year 2028 and $47 million in fiscal year 2029.
To put that into perspective, $47 million represents the approximate cost of 275 deputy positions.
These are the men and women who patrol our neighborhoods, respond to emergencies, investigate crimes, protect our schools and work around the clock to keep our community safe.
This does not mean that 275 deputies would automatically lose their jobs.
But it does mean that reductions of this magnitude would force extremely difficult decisions.
Some have suggested that government simply needs to tighten its belt.
I agree that government has an obligation to spend responsibly, and I welcome that scrutiny.
But there is an important difference between eliminating unnecessary spending and eliminating essential services.
We continually evaluate expenditures, seek grants and look for opportunities to obtain equipment and resources without placing additional burdens on local taxpayers.
That's why much of our specialized equipment has been acquired through grant funding.
However, the Sheriff's Office is not immune to inflation.
Fuel, vehicles, insurance, medical care, equipment and maintenance have all become more expensive.
There are also significant expenses we are legally required to provide.
For example, we must provide inmates with necessary medical, dental and mental health services, along with three meals each day. I must carry various forms of insurance. I must have vehicles to respond to calls. I must provide training and the necessary equipment to keep my people safe – and able to handle any given situation.
These are substantial costs, but they are not optional expenses that can simply be eliminated.
We could consider reducing patrol vehicle purchases, in-car cameras, body-worn cameras and other equipment.
However, many of these tools have proven invaluable for officer safety, accountability, transparency and criminal investigations. Even if we eliminated approximately $4 million in these expenditures, we would still face a projected $43 million funding gap.
When personnel account for 84% of the budget, there is simply no realistic way to absorb such a significant reduction without affecting our workforce and the services we provide.
Another concern is how local governments would continue funding the services they are required to provide.
If a substantial portion of property tax revenue is eliminated, these costs do not necessarily disappear.
Communities may face difficult choices involving reduced services, alternative revenue sources or some combination of both. Depending on what state law permits, those alternatives could include special taxing districts, Municipal Service Taxing Units, Municipal Service Benefit Units or other taxes and assessments.
Changes to statewide sales taxes would require action at the state level.
This is especially important for homesteaded homeowners like me, who currently benefit from the Save Our Homes assessment limitation of generally 3% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.
Before changing our tax structure, we should understand whether the result would be genuine long-term savings or simply a redistribution of costs among homeowners, renters, businesses and consumers.
I also want to address two issues that have come up repeatedly:
My salary
As an elected sheriff, my compensation is established through a formula prescribed by Florida law.
It is not a salary that I personally set, nor is it independently determined by the Charlotte County Commission.
Population is one of the factors used in that statutory calculation.
As our county grows, the formula can result in changes to compensation.
Our Black Hawk helicopter
There has also been considerable discussion about our decision to acquire a refurbished Black Hawk helicopter.
Our previous helicopter was a single-purpose aircraft approaching the end of its useful life.
Rather than simply replacing it with a comparable aircraft, we worked with the county to evaluate alternatives that could provide greater capabilities and better long-term value.
A new helicopter was estimated to cost $14 million or more, before adding the specialized equipment and avionics needed for our operations.
Instead, we acquired a refurbished 1986 military Black Hawk helicopter, equipped with avionics, along with a second flyable Black Hawk intended to support our parts needs, for approximately $7.5 million.
The aircraft provides multiple capabilities, including law enforcement patrol and aviation support, aerial firefighting, with a water capacity of approximately 950 gallons compared with the previous aircraft's 150 gallons, search-and-rescue operations, long-line rescue and heavy-lift capabilities, offshore response and mosquito control support.
I believe this purchase represented a responsible investment that can serve our community in a variety of emergencies.
Beyond the projected financial impact, I am concerned about how quickly this proposal was developed.
The legislation was advanced during a special session over approximately three days, without the benefit of a comprehensive impact study.
I support responsible tax relief
There is also an important distinction between passing a law and amending our state Constitution.
Laws can be revisited and changed through the legislative process, but constitutional amendments are virtually impossible to modify or reverse once adopted.
That makes it especially important for voters to understand not just the intended benefits, but also the potential long-term consequences.
I do not believe this conversation will end with Amendment 3, regardless of the outcome.
Florida's Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, which assembles every 20 years, is scheduled to be convened in 2027. That process offers an opportunity to bring together individuals with expertise in taxation, budgeting, public finance and government services to examine potential reforms.
I support tax relief. I support responsible government spending. And I support protecting the essential public safety services our community relies upon.
These goals should not be treated as mutually exclusive.
Voters can have tax relief and protected public safety, but only if lawmakers do the work to design it responsibly through a body like the 2027 Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, rather than locking an unfunded cut into the state Constitution.
Bill Prummell is the sheriff of Charlotte County.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: I share your pain on taxes. But Amendment 3 isn't the answer | Opinion
