County municipal leaders call for cautious property‑tax reform and continued focus on homeowners‑insurance solutions

Mayor Jeff Hemmer of Royal Palm Beach told the legislative delegation that municipal officials support homeowner affordability but urged careful, well‑informed property‑tax reform because local governments vary widely in revenue structure and service needs.

"We are not opposed to a reform," Hemmer said. "The concern that we do have ... is the very broad uniform changes that might be enacted that would have an impact that's unexpected on local realities." He cited Royal Palm Beach figures in the presentation: taxable property values had risen roughly 50% from fiscal 2020 to 2025 and property tax revenue is about one‑third of the village’s general‑fund operating revenue; Hemmer said operating and insurance costs have increased substantially in recent years and that municipalities have limited capacity to substitute other revenue sources without affecting services.

Delegation members and municipal officials debated potential insurance and tax solutions. Several speakers (including Representative Kelly Skidmore and Senator Mac Bernard) discussed proposals to create a national catastrophic risk pool or other pooling mechanisms; one presenter cited an actuarial estimate that pooling could reduce premiums by a minimum of about 30%. Other members cautioned that pooling across states raises tradeoffs and that a variety of reforms — tort and market reforms, combined reporting of insurers, and measures to increase competition — also require legislative work and careful implementation plans.

Speakers repeatedly urged the League to return to Tallahassee with specific, line‑by‑line proposals and fiscal implementation plans rather than generalities. Hemmer and others offered to prepare a white paper on alternative uses of Citizens Property Insurance to support market stability and to provide the League’s municipal data to legislators for further analysis. The meeting closed with a request that stakeholders continue to refine practical solutions for both property‑tax relief and homeowner‑insurance affordability.