WEST PALM BEACH — U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel warned that Palm Beach County could lose millions of dollars a year in federal money if Florida voters approve Amendment 3, the proposed state constitutional amendment that would slash property taxes.
Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, joined another Democratic lawmaker and a group of union and nonprofit leaders at an Tuesday, Oct. 20 news conference to denounce Amendment 3 as a political rouse that would hurt most Floridians while letting top state leaders boast about tax cuts.
The amendment would raise Florida’s homestead exemption to $250,000 in two years and limit annual increases for non-homesteaded properties, significantly reducing the amount of money city and county governments can collect to finance their
operations.
The seven-term congresswoman pointed to a less-discussed potential consequence of Amendment 3: the fact that slashing municipal governments' budgets would cripple their ability to win many federal grants.
Frankel pointed out that many grants from the federal government require local agencies to put up matching funds.
Having less money from property taxes inevitably means cities and county governments will qualify for fewer federal grants, many of which finance critical services like extra firefighters and firefighting equipment, she said.
“We’re going to lose the local dollars, and we’re going to lose the federal dollars,” she said.
State Rep. Rob Long, D-Delray Beach, called Amendment 3 a “reckless political stunt” that will “leave the local officials holding the bag.”
But he warned that Amendment 3 could end up costing some Floridians more money rather than less.
He pointed out that the primary beneficiaries of the expanded homestead exemptions would be homeowners, so local governments are likely to raise taxes on rental units and commercial properties to offset some of the losses.
Renters, he said, “likely will end up paying more.”
Amendment 3 will be on the Nov. 3 general election ballot and needs support from at least 60% of voters to become law.
Andrew Marra is a reporter at The Palm Beach Post. Reach him at amarra@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: How Amendment 3 could cost the Palm Beaches millions in federal money
