Municipal governments across the state are warning what a yes vote for Amendment 3 will mean to discretionary local services funded by property tax dollars.

Local governments are not legally required to fund services for veterans or seniors. Nor are governments required to provide and care for parks. The same goes for libraries.

Governments have discretion when allocating tax dollars for such things.

That’s why Okeechobee County is starting an educational campaign to let the public know certain projects are funded by property tax dollars — a pool of dollars that will shrink considerably if Amendment 3 passes in November.

Amendment 3 would increase the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in one year and then to $250,000 the following year for all non-school ad valorem taxes.

Ad valorem revenue in Okeechobee County is $33.4 million this fiscal year. That represents 62 percent of the county’s current general fund. For a fiscally constrained county with a limited commercial tax base, a cut to those taxes will be tough to make up.

That’s why commissioners approved placing signs outside of parks and government buildings letting the public know for instance how many veterans those funds helped in a years' time.

The answer? Nearly 2,000 of the county’s 3,000 veterans.

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