Editor's note: WGCU Midday Host Emma Rodriguez spoke with Kate Payne, state government reporter for The Florida Trib about Amendment 3. Payne's reporting about the issue's possible impact took her to the Town of Bowling Green, where passage is a worst-case scenario.

Proposed constitutional amendment 3 is an item on the November General Election ballot.

If passed, it would significantly reduce Floridians' property tax burdens by increasing what's known as the homestead exemption, or the amount of property value exempt from being taxed. Currently, Florida's exemption sits at $50,000 dollars, but amendment 3 aims to raise it to 150,000 dollars next year, and to $250,000 in 2028.

Property taxes are a massive source of general revenue for small municipalities that don't have much commercial activity, and have low property values. For them, the passage of amendment 3 would mean a dire lack of funding for public services, and the potential shutting of city hall doors.

RODRIGUEZ: What motivated state lawmakers to get this amendment on the ballot?

PAYNE: So, we're seeing actually across the country what some have called a property tax revolt playing out. And that's because housing prices have really soared since the pandemic, far outpacing inflation and we're seeing that across the country.

Local governments have benefited from this by pulling in more tax revenues, not by raising tax rates necessarily, but simply collecting more revenues on homes that are now worth significantly more. Local governments would also tell you everything has gotten more expensive for them, just like it has for everybody else.

But really, it was Republican Governor Ron DeSantis who, for about a year now, has been ringing this bell about property taxes and arguing we should do away with them entirely. He pushed the Republican controlled state legislature to hold a special session to pass his proposal on this.

Lawmakers did amend that proposal, carving out school related taxes. Homeowners will still have to pay those school taxes, but they took up this proposal from the governor's office.

RODRIGUEZ: With that lack of tax dollars, of course, comes a lack of funding for municipal services. What are some examples of those and why are they essential for residents?

PAYNE: Property taxes are what help pay for things like police and fire protection, emergency management, garbage pickup, road maintenance, public health services, local parks, public libraries and also drinking water and sewage treatment.

Public safety is a huge part of this picture. In 55 of Florida's 67 counties. Public safety is the single largest line item in their budget.

RODRIGUEZ: Your reporting took you to the small, low income town of Bowling Green in Hardee County, which is just a jog outside of WGCU's listening range. You spoke to their mayor, Sam Fite, about how amendment three passage would really hurt the town and other small municipalities in the state. What are his biggest worries?

PAYNE: He's not giving up on his town. You know, he's optimistic by nature, and he'll still be optimistic when they have to lock up City Hall and close it for good. He kind of jokes about how he already has a burial plot picked out in the town cemetery, and he hopes that the town itself will still be alive when the time comes.

Right now, a quarter of the town's general revenue comes from property taxes. And in Bowling Green, ninety eight percent of the homesteaded properties are already worth less than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. So this measure, if voters pass it, would effectively wipe out property taxes in this town.

This would leave just twenty homeowners in town whose houses are worth more than $250,000, so twenty people to essentially be paying the full cost for everyone else in town, which raises some real questions.

RODRIGUEZ: And on top of Mayor Fite, you sat down with other Bowling Green residents. What's the range of emotions and opinions you're seeing from them, especially those folks whose families have been in Bowling Green for generations?

PAYNE: This is a very conservative area— not people who who want big government and a lot of taxes, for sure. But, there were a lot of people who really said, "Wait a minute, what about police? What about the fire department?" And they understand that those services are made possible by property taxes.

RODRIGUEZ: Lastly, Kate, in the event that amendment three passes, what's the fallback plan? Have you heard anything from Bowling Green or any other small municipalities?

PAYNE: So they're all poring over their municipal budgets andlooking for places to cut. But again, communities like this have so little wiggle room, so few options. Bowling Green has one garbage truck. So, "where can we cut back?" Is a real question.

And speaking with the mayor, he did talk about things like raising utility fees, trying to recoup these revenues in other ways through potentially new fees. In places like like Bowling Green, really sort of vulnerable local economies that are already on the brink, they're going to be really hard questions.

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