{"id":1281,"date":"2026-06-02T22:02:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T22:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281"},"modified":"2026-06-02T22:02:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T22:02:42","slug":"fort-lauderdale-fears-deep-cuts-from-property-tax-amendment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281","title":{"rendered":"Fort Lauderdale fears deep cuts from property tax amendment"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n

Fort Lauderdale city commissioners received news they were dreading on Tuesday. The state Legislature will let voters decide in November whether to approve a constitutional amendment that would drastically restructure Florida\u2019s property tax system.<\/p>\n

Read more One worker killed, another injured at downtown Miami high-rise site, police say<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe free state of Florida has become the free city of Fort Lauderdale,\u201d Mayor Dean Trantalis said. \u201cYou can live here for free now, everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

If at least 60 percent of voters approve the constitutional amendment, the state\u2019s homestead exemption would increase to $250,000, saving millions of Floridians thousands on their 2028 property taxes. But the tax cuts would mean that the City of Fort Lauderdale, where over 45 percent of properties are homesteaded, may lose a projected $17 million in the 2028 fiscal year, about 7 percent of the city\u2019s ad valorem revenue, city staff said at a conference meeting. That figure balloons to $27.3 million the following fiscal year.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Fort Lauderdale commissioners discussed the potential loss in revenue and how it may affect the city\u2019s budget and services just hours after Florida lawmakers voted along party lines to approve the ballot measure, an idea Gov. Ron DeSantis heavily pushed.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The process to approve the ballot measure was rushed through in just a week, leaving lawmakers little time to analyze what the effects may be, especially on local governments. City managers statewide warn that parks, summer camps and other local services may be cut. Rep. Toby Overdorf, the Palm City Republican who sponsored the amendment in the House, said cities that rely heavily on property taxes could have to make \u201chard choices,\u201d like giving up their police departments to local sheriffs or dissolving their cities entirely, the Miami Herald reported.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

If passed, the \u201cSave Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes\u201d amendment would raise the current $50,000 homestead exemption on primary residences to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.<\/p>\n

Read more Miami Fire Rescue captain is accused of assault and false imprisonment<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Now the race is on for supporters and critics to convince voters to either pass the tax change or scrap it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Fort Lauderdale City Manager Rickelle Williams told the commission that her staff has already developed an \u201ceducational campaign\u201d on how the proposed tax cuts will affect the city. \u201cNow that it has passed and all the details are more solidified, we will finalize that collateral to be shared with the commission and with the public,\u201d she said. \u201c… We are fully prepared to engage in outreach and educational opportunities with the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Trantalis said the commission needs to have a \u201crobust discussion\u201d soon on how the city plans to deal with the potential loss in revenue. \u201cWhat are our options? Can we raise taxes if necessary, or should we? Do we cut departments?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Fort Lauderdale officials are already anticipating a roughly $20 million deficit in 2028, when a federal grant that allowed for the hiring of additional firefighters runs out.<\/p>\n

Read more South Florida nursing-school scandal heads to its end with trial of former owner<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 5:39 PM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fort Lauderdale leaders warn a homestead exemption boost on the Florida ballot could cut $17M\u2013$27M from the city budget, forcing tough choices on services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-broward-county"],"yoast_head":"\nFort Lauderdale fears deep cuts from property tax amendment - Florida Moving Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fort Lauderdale fears deep cuts from property tax amendment - Florida Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fort Lauderdale leaders warn a homestead exemption boost on the Florida ballot could cut $17M\u2013$27M from the city budget, forcing tough choices on services.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Florida Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-02T22:02:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1281#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1281\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f\"},\"headline\":\"Fort Lauderdale fears deep cuts from property tax amendment\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-02T22:02:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1281\"},\"wordCount\":514,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1281#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/cebd99e79448877e7161a1e4ecb131db.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Broward County\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1281#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1281\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1281\",\"name\":\"Fort Lauderdale fears deep cuts from property tax amendment - Florida Moving Chronicle\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1281#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1281#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/cebd99e79448877e7161a1e4ecb131db.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-02T22:02:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1281#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1281\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1281#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/cebd99e79448877e7161a1e4ecb131db.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/cebd99e79448877e7161a1e4ecb131db.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1281#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Fort Lauderdale fears deep cuts from property tax amendment\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Florida Moving Chronicle\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Fort Lauderdale fears deep cuts from property tax amendment - Florida Moving Chronicle","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Fort Lauderdale fears deep cuts from property tax amendment - Florida Moving Chronicle","og_description":"Fort Lauderdale leaders warn a homestead exemption boost on the Florida ballot could cut $17M\u2013$27M from the city budget, forcing tough choices on services.","og_url":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281","og_site_name":"Florida Moving Chronicle","article_published_time":"2026-06-02T22:02:42+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f"},"headline":"Fort Lauderdale fears deep cuts from property tax amendment","datePublished":"2026-06-02T22:02:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281"},"wordCount":514,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cebd99e79448877e7161a1e4ecb131db.jpg","articleSection":["Broward County"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281","url":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281","name":"Fort Lauderdale fears deep cuts from property tax amendment - Florida Moving Chronicle","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cebd99e79448877e7161a1e4ecb131db.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-02T22:02:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cebd99e79448877e7161a1e4ecb131db.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cebd99e79448877e7161a1e4ecb131db.jpg","width":1200,"height":674},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1281#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fort Lauderdale fears deep cuts from property tax amendment"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/","name":"Florida Moving Chronicle","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com"],"url":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}