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County staff projects $42M–$66M in lost revenue under proposed property‑tax amendment; board urges outreach
Summary
Assistant county manager Tommy Crosby presented estimates showing the proposed constitutional amendment could reduce county general‑fund revenue by about $42 million in the first model year and as much as $66 million in a later scenario; commissioners asked for public education about exemptions and for clarity on programs that could face cuts.
Alachua County staff told the Board of County Commissioners on June 9 that a proposed constitutional amendment to raise the homestead exemption and tighten non‑homestead caps could produce large revenue losses for county government.
Assistant County Manager Tommy Crosby presented a model using FY‑26 assessed values. Under a scenario with a $150,000 homestead exemption (applied in the staff example to the FY‑28 budgetary calculation), staff estimated the county’s general‑fund levy could lose roughly $31.9 million, and when combined with changes to non‑homestead caps the total estimated impact on county general‑fund revenues was about $34 million. Including impacts to the Municipal Service Taxing Unit for law enforcement, staff reported an aggregate first‑year impact of approximately $42 million. In a second‑year scenario that modeled a $250,000 homestead exemption and additional cap reductions, staff projected combined county and MSU impacts of roughly $66 million.
Crosby said the county is preparing the FY‑27 budget conservatively and has moved to a zero‑based approach for this cycle to avoid adding expenditures the board may need to revisit depending on November’s outcome. Commissioners asked staff to prepare outreach materials explaining available exemptions for seniors, veterans and hardship cases, and to prepare a clear list of county programs funded by the general fund that could be affected if the revenue loss materializes.
No action was taken; presentation was informational. Commissioners discussed timing for further budget planning and outreach, and requested staff continue modeling potential outcomes and communicating options.
