Dania Beach hears projected multi‑million dollar hit from proposed Florida homestead amendment; city readies outreach

Broward County Property Appraiser Marty K told the Dania Beach City Commission on June 9 that if a proposed Florida constitutional amendment were in effect today, it would materially cut local property tax receipts and shift costs for services.

Marty K applied the ballot measure to the 2025 tax roll to illustrate the likely first‑year and multi‑year impacts. He said the county’s taxable value is about $8.327 billion (5.77% higher than the year before) and showed three scenarios: a $150,000 homestead exemption in the first year, a $250,000 exemption the next year, and a glide toward full elimination of non‑school local property taxes. “The taxable value is going to be right about 8.327 billion, which is about 5.77% higher than it was the year before,” Marty K said during his presentation.

Using that method, Marty K said Dania Beach has 5,726 homesteaded parcels and that an immediate $150,000 exemption would yield an average homeowner savings of about $1,361 while reducing the city’s property‑tax receipts by roughly $2.6 million (about 5.5% of what the city collected in 2025). Under the $250,000 exemption scenario he modeled for 2028, he estimated the average homeowner saving would rise to about $2,732 and the city would lose roughly $4.2 million (about 8.7% of 2025 collections). A hypothetical glide to full elimination (excluding the school portion) would increase average homeowner savings further and reduce Dania Beach revenue by roughly $6 million (about a 12.4% decline by his estimate).

Dania Beach’s chief financial officer, Jamie Guzman, told the commission the administration has been using the newly released 2026 taxable values for budget planning. Guzman said the city is projecting an illustrative $3.3 million revenue loss in 2026 under the amendment and about $6.7 million in 2028 if the $250,000 exemption is implemented as modeled. She warned that the amendment’s language also constrains how ad valorem revenues may be spent, which would limit the city’s flexibility.

Guzman said staff was preparing outreach materials to explain where local property tax dollars go and to show residents, by example, what services could be affected. “We cannot build an entire budget just based on assumptions,” she said, explaining staff would provide side‑by‑side illustrations of the current budget and one that reflects the modeled revenue reductions.

Commissioners and residents pressed staff on details: which exemptions (senior, widow, disabled veteran) would continue (Marty K said those exemptions would stack with the proposed change), whether rental and condominium types would be covered (the presenter said the amendment applies to all homesteaded properties), and how non‑homestead assessment caps would affect commercial values (a separate provision would reduce the non‑homestead growth cap from 10% to 5% in the model).

No formal action was taken; the presentation and the finance briefing were an informational step as the city enters budget season. City staff said they will continue to refine estimates as state implementing language and CPI indexing methodology become available and to expand public education so residents can vote with fuller information in November.

What’s next: commissioners asked staff to develop clear resident‑facing materials showing specific service tradeoffs, and staff said an updated analysis will be provided as the legislative and implementation details are clarified.