Fla. sheriffs warn of ‘train wreck’ tax-cut plan. Miami-Dade sheriff: Don’t be scared

Miami-Dade County admin September 23, 2026 0 Comments

Fla. sheriffs warn of ‘train wreck’ tax-cut plan. Miami-Dade sheriff: Don’t be scared

As sheriffs across Florida run ads warning of public safety cuts if Florida voters slash property taxes, Miami-Dade’s sheriff is siding with the governor in defending the Amendment 3 proposal that’s on the November ballot.

“Voters should not be led to believe that saving money on their property taxes must mean fewer deputies or weaker public safety,” Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, a Republican, said in a statement posted on social media Tuesday night. “Tax relief and public safety are not competing priorities.”

That’s not the message from the Florida Sheriffs Association, which is running ads calling the ballot item a “train wreck” that would cut the primary source of funding for public safety without a plan to manage the loss of revenue. Amendment 3 would increase the tax exemption of a primary residence from the current $50,000 cap to $250,000 by 2028, reducing the pool of property taxes that local governments use to fund services.

“We want a tax cut, too. But Amendment 3 is the wrong way to do it,” reads the ad narrated by a bipartisan collection of sheriffs from Clay, Marion, Pinellas, Polk, Orange and Volusia counties. “Fewer deputies. Slower 911. More crime. That’s not tax relief. That’s a train wreck.”

While her statement pushes back against the messaging from the Sheriffs Association, Cordero-Stutz received praise Wednesday from the state’s top Republican.

“Great leadership by Sheriff Rosie for calling out those who are fear-mongering regarding Amendment 3,” Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote in a social media post. “Taxpayers need relief and this can be done while continuing to support public safety (as Florida has been doing for years).”

Cordero-Stutz had previously declined to wade into the debate over Amendment 3.

“I feel very comfortable in saying that it’s in the hands of the citizens to do what is right,” she told the Miami Herald in July after the proposal advanced out of the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature. “I think everyone has the right to vote whichever way their conscience dictates.”

The higher exemption from Amendment 3 would apply to a home’s taxable value when calculating property taxes paid to county and city governments, but not the taxes paid to local school boards.

That would leave some homeowners not paying any property taxes to local governments, and it would mean sharp reductions in tax revenues for cities and counties across Florida. In Miami-Dade, the budget office predicts a 20% overall reduction in property taxes — with a loss of about $700 million by the time Amendment 3 is fully enacted in 2028.

The Sheriff’s Office is a top consumer of the $3.3 billion the county plans to collect in property taxes this year, with only Miami-Dade’s Fire Rescue Department receiving more. Of the $1.1 billion the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office plans to spend in 2027, about 45% comes from property taxes, according to a Miami Herald analysis.

In recent weeks, Cordero-Stutz has been warning of a deputy shortage if Miami-Dade commissioners did not approve about $52 million more for the Sheriff’s Office than the nearly $980 million in tax funding proposed for the independent agency by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, a Democrat who opposes the Amendment 3 plan.

“That means we will not be bringing in the new deputies we planned for and desperately need,” Cordero-Stutz told commissioners at a Sept. 17 budget hearing, referring to the consequences of Levine Cava’s proposal for the Sheriff’s Office. “Instead of closing our staffing gap, we will fall even further behind.”

The Republican-majority County Commission only approved an $11 million boost to Levine Cava’s spending proposal for the Sheriff’s Office, rejecting about $40 million of the sheriff’s request. Now, Cordero-Stutz has the option of appealing her funding request to DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet, which can force Miami-Dade to send more tax dollars to the Sheriff’s Office.

If Amendment 3 passes, local governments won’t be required to cut any agency’s budget. But the lost tax dollars would need to be replaced — with cuts to spending or higher tax rates on the malls, office buildings, second homes and apartment complexes not eligible for the expanded exemption.

In her statement on Amendment 3, Cordero-Stutz said all government agencies — including law enforcement — need to consider whether they can cut spending in order to ease the burden on taxpayers.

“Every government agency, including a Sheriff’s Office, has a responsibility to carefully examine its spending, identify efficiencies, eliminate unnecessary costs, and ensure that taxpayer dollars are being used wisely,” she said. “We can respect taxpayers while continuing to provide strong and effective law enforcement.”