At the Nov. 5 meeting of the St. Pete Beach Budget & Finance Committee, members and staff discussed the fiscal risk posed by several pending state legislative proposals that would change homestead exemptions and the Save Our Homes assessment cap.

"I wanna say ... if the state legislature makes any changes to ad valorem homestead exemptions, that could significantly impact our revenue. So I think it's about 30% of our revenue would be instantly gone," Jenny (member) said. She and staff estimated the loss at "about 5 to 6,000,000 a year." Another member described that as "relatively catastrophic for a city our size." Those figures were presented as committee estimates during discussion rather than as council-adopted findings.

Staff reviewed a range of proposals under discussion in Tallahassee, including raising the homestead exemption floor, eliminating property tax for homesteaded property, or changing the Save Our Homes cap from an annual adjustment to a three‑year roll that would slow assessed-value increases. Staff noted various offset proposals being floated, such as increasing allowable commercial assessment growth to shift some tax burden from homesteads to nonresidential properties.

Staff also cautioned that certain local revenue sources cannot be repurposed under current state law. "No. Because that can't be used for infrastructure currently as that tourist development tax is written," Devin (staff member) said when asked whether tourism-tax revenue might cover infrastructure needs.

Why it matters: The committee directed staff to track legislative developments, model potential impacts on the city's revenues, and prepare replacement strategies. Staff said they would report back with additional analysis as the legislative session progresses. No formal financial decision was made at the meeting.