The state Legislature is set to take up a number of proposals on property tax relief in 2026. Republicans in Tallahassee have pitched the proposals as an attempt to rein in runaway local government spending.

But a Pinellas County analysis reviewed by Poliverse suggests these proposals will deprive County bodies of $633 million in funding for critical services, including the health department, EMS and the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB).

Heavily pushed by Governor DeSantis, the Legislature has at least eight bills before it that, if passed, will impact non-school property tax revenues from homesteaded properties, or citizens’ primary residences. The proposals range from modifications to the 3% Save Our Homes cap, which limits how much the assessed value of a primary home can be increased each year, to the outright elimination of non-school property tax for homesteaded properties.

Most of the proposals would forbid cuts to law enforcement budgets, and most will require 60% passage in a constitutional referendum in addition to approval by both the House and Senate.

“The reality is these local governments have overspent, and people are paying more and more for that. And at some point it’s like, when is enough, enough?” DeSantis told Fox News last week.

DeSantis’s own proposed budget for 2026, released today, increases $2 billion to a record $117 billion. He proposes to set aside $300 million to defray lost property taxes for 32 smaller counties.

Pinellas County has cut the rate at which it taxes real property from 5.2755 mills to 4.5423 since 2017, though revenue continues to increase alongside home values. The single largest line item in the County budget is the $479 million spent on the Sheriff’s Department, which would be untouchable under the Governor’s proposal. 

Pinellas County Government conducted an analysis of three of the most dramatic proposals, according to documents provided to Poliverse via public records request in early December. They projected impacts to all jurisdictions in Pinellas County, including the County itself and its associated municipalities.

HJR 201 – Elimination of non-school property tax for homesteads – $633 million in reduced property tax income, including: 

  • $235 million cut (21%) to the County’s General Fund, which covers County expenses for resources like parks and roads that aren’t provided in dedicated areas of the budget; 
  • $42 million (13%) from the EMS Fund, which provides emergency medical services including fire and ambulance; 
  • $43 million (28%) from the JWB, which provides more than 100 programs focused on child protection, prevention of abuse and neglect, and countering child trafficking. The JWB is funded through a special property tax governed by state law.

HJR 205 – Elimination of non-school property tax for homesteads for age 65 and up – This proposal would remove all property taxes for seniors; today, those seniors receive up to a $50,000 exemption for their primary home. This would cost the County $284 million, including:

  • $107 million (10%) from the General Fund; 
  • $19 million (6%) from EMS;
  • $20 million (13%) from the JWB.

HJR 207 – Elimination of 25% of non-school property tax for homesteads after any other exemptions are applied – This proposal removes a flat 25% of the property tax currently paid for homesteads following all other exemptions, including Save Our Homes and reductions for first responders or their widows and seniors. HJR 207 will cost the County $157 million, including:

  • $68 million (6%)  from the General Fund; 
  • $10 million (3%) from EMS; 
  • $11 million (7%) from the JWB.

Commissioner Kathleen Peters (R–Treasure Island), warned of the effect on County budgets of the steepest cuts proposed by the Legislature. “The citizens want lower taxes and we’ve heard them loud and clear, but they’re also clear they want services,” she said, noting that the current property tax rate is the lowest since the 1990s. “They have high expectations of the services they want to receive, and these will be difficult to deliver under the Governor’s plans.

Peters highlighted the EMS system, which covers much of Pinellas County’s smaller municipalities via mutual aid. “To lose the EMS funding could potentially weaken the system and put lives at risk.”

She felt property tax reforms were the wrong way to respond to the Governor’s concerns about cost-of-living. “When you talk about affordability, and families being able to afford day-to-day needs, we should be looking at sales tax.”

Michael Mikurak, interim CEO of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, declined to take a position on the bills before the Legislature, noting that they have rolled out a Kids Data Center to apply AI analysis and demographics to service delivery. “Rather than kneejerk reaction at this point, I want to let data and information drive our approach as to what to do next.”

Mikurak highlighted the value to Pinellas citizens of programs the JWB provides to Pinellas citizens, including a recently rolled out partnership with the Sheriff’s Department and Pinellas ProTech and Sleep Baby Safely, an initiative to reduce the rate of infant injury and death. 

“We annually serve at least 80,000 children amongst our community… Out of every dollar we spend, we give back value of $16.”

Mikurak expressed confidence that the JWB would be able to fund vital services into the future, as they did during the recent federal shut down. Still, he cautioned, “Voters need to understand the real impact of what this will do. Voters need to understand all the questions that need to be asked before you make this type of decision.

“I say this as a voter over 65 – yeah, it’s nice to know homesteads won’t be paying property taxes, but how do we pay for the other services?”