Leon Children's Services Council could lose $4M if Amendment 3 passes

News admin September 21, 2026 0 Comments

Leon Children’s Services Council could lose $4M if Amendment 3 passes

The Children’s Services Council of Leon County could be losing millions of dollars in the next couple of years – that’s if voters decide to support a constitutional amendment that would reduce homeowner property taxes.

Amendment 3, a controversial proposal that would increase the non-school homestead tax exemption on all non-school levies and drastically change how local governments are budgeted, could mean a revenue loss of over $4 million for Leon County’s CSC.

The potential loss could also lead to cuts to out-of-school programs, childcare and early learning centers if the amendment passes during the general election in November.

“At this point, we can’t say what programs would be affected, but it is accurate to say that with a reduction in funding, there would have to be some tough decisions made,” Leon County’s CSC Executive Director Cecka Rose Green told the Tallahassee Democrat during a Sept. 15 phone call.

Leon County’s CSC was established in 2020 with the purpose of providing funds and investing in programs to meet the needs of children’s service organizations. It is one of the state’s 11 children’s services councils, which are projected to lose a total of roughly $278 million over the next two fiscal years if the proposed amendment passes, according to a Sept. 10 Florida Policy Institute news release.

In the first year of implementation during the 2027-28 fiscal year, CSC in Leon County could be looking at reductions between $1.5 million and $2 million. In the second year, the loss could be between $2.4 million and $2.6 million.

When it comes to other projected impacts across the state over the next two fiscal years, the institute’s records show:

The Children’s Trust of Alachua County would lose $6.2 million.
The Escambia County Children’s Trust would lose $5 million.
The Indian River County Children’s Services Advisory Committee would lose $3 million.
The Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County would lose $49.7 million.
The Children’s Services Council of St. Lucie County would lose $7.4 million.

“With a loss of revenue, there’s only one way that we could regain the loss – and that would be by increasing the millage rate,” Green said. Leon County’s council is allowed to increase its millage rate up to .5 if needed.

The potential reduction in funds comes as Leon County’s council gears up to approve a $9 million budget and a .3353 millage rate – which would be a rollback compared to the current .3477 tax rate – for the 2026-27 fiscal year. For a $200,000 home, that comes out to roughly $67 compared to $69.54 this year.

The 10-member council will meet at 5:15 p.m. Sept. 24 at its office located at 2002 Old St. Augustine Road, Suite A-50, to consider the final budget and millage rate approvals.

‘A significant reduction in revenue’

Besides the potential impact on the council, the amendment would also mean a projected reduction of $56.8 million in local property taxes for Leon County in 2027-28, according to Florida TaxWatch, as well as a loss of $29 million for the City of Tallahassee within the next two years, which is expected to compound in future years.

Despite concerns about the projected reductions, the Florida GOP officially endorsed the proposed amenmdent on Sept. 14.

“Vote YES on this amendment,” Florida GOP Chairman Evan Power wrote in a Sept. 14 X post. “This amendment will help cut property taxes for homeowners and slow assessment spikes on non-homestead property.”

At the same time, opposers argue that the amendment would drastically cut funding for essential city and county services such as law enforcement, fire protection, libraries and parks.

Leon County CSC chair Darryl Jones – who also serves as vice chair of the Leon County School Board – says the projected revenue losses are “substantial amounts” that could have “long-term effects.”

“That’s a huge chunk of money for a great number of organizations and a great number of children whose services would be impacted greatly,” Jones told the Democrat. “A significant reduction in revenue could affect the council’s capacity to maintain our investment in those children and family services for vulnerable populations. It is staggering and would be an issue of concern to all of us.”

As the fate of the amendment lies in the hands of voters, individuals will find it on their voting ballots during Florida’s Nov. 3 general election.

“Once we know where the amendment lands in November, we’ll have some conversations on how our budgeting process would look for the TRIM (Truth in Millage) cycle that starts next year and whether we’d need to augment the millage rate,” Green said. TRIM is a Florida statute that requires local taxing authorities to set and announce their property tax millage rates.

“It is definitely a process,” she added, “and it’s a process that we are monitoring and watching so that we know how to move after the first of the year.”

Tarah Jean can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X: @tarahjean_.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon Children’s Services Council could lose $4M if Amendment 3 passes

Reporting by Tarah Jean, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat

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This story was originally published September 21, 2026 at 5:07 AM.