For a quintessential example of a bedroom community, look no further than Biscayne Park, a 410-acre community wedged between Biscayne Canal C-8, Miami Shores Country Club, the Florida East Coast Railway tracks and the city of North Miami. The village is filled with houses, a few duplexes, and lots of trees. And its small, modest government uses a log cabin built in 1935 to hold meetings and house its eight-person police force. What you won't find are any stores, restaurants, offices, warehouses or large apartment buildings.
"We don't have commercial property at all. We don't have a commercial base. We don't have agricultural land," said Groth, mayor of Biscayne Park.
Biscayne Park's unique configuration could put its government in a huge quandary should voters pass a constitutional amendment that substantially reduces property taxes for homeowners on Nov. 3. Known as Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes, or Amendment 3, the proposed constitutional amendment would increase Florida's homestead property tax exemption for primary homeowners from $50,000 to $150,000 in January 2027 and then $250,000 in 2028. It will also lower the assessment cap on taxes charged on value increases for non-homesteaded properties from the current 10 percent to 5 percent.
Should it pass, Biscayne Park would be headed for a monumental financial crunch. Property taxes make up 77 percent of the village's $5.3 million budget for fiscal year 2025-2026, about half of which comes from primary residences. The largest segment of that money ($2.1 million) is spent on police.
"We are at the tip of the spear," Mayor Groth said. "There is not really much a village of 3,000 people like us can do."
But it won't just be Biscayne Park's local government that will be in for a world of fiscal hurt. The $250,000 homestead exemption and 5 percent assessment cap may cause revenue collections across Florida to drop by an average of 38 percent, according to a June 18 report from the Florida Policy Institute, a non-profit think tank. This would amount to a loss of $12 billion each year for counties, municipalities and special districts. For Miami-Dade County and its communities it would mean a recurring annual loss of at least $1.41 billion, the largest sum of any of Florida's 67 counties.
Amendment 3 doesn't even go as far as Gov. Ron DeSantis wanted. His preferred version of the bill would have included public school districts. He wanted the homestead exemption to rise to $500,000 and beyond — until property taxes on primary residences are eliminated entirely. And DeSantis sought to include a trust fund from the state's surplus revenue to provide grants for rural and bedroom communities (like Biscayne Park) that could be severely impacted by the amendment. Those provisions, though, didn't make it to the state Senate version.
"I unveiled the most transformational property tax proposal in American history. That was not what the legislature adopted," DeSantis said during an appearance in Bradenton, according to Florida Politics, a Florida political news website. Nevertheless, DeSantis is promoting the amendment. And the Republican-controlled Legislature has even created an online calculator (saveourhomesfl.com) where users can insert an address and see their (estimated) property tax savings.
Proponents of the amendment say the new exemption will allow longtime residents to stay in their houses and condos despite higher taxes charged to homes that have increased in value dramatically since the pandemic. (Florida caps annual increases on homestead property assessments at 3 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.)
"For seniors on a fixed income and young people trying to build equity, the reduction of taxes would increase their disposable income and allow them to remain in the communities they help build," wrote Emilio Gonzalez, a former city manager and Miami mayoral candidate, in a Miami Herald guest column.
But critics suggest the proposed Florida amendment may not even be constitutional since it would only immediately apply to people who have lived in the state since December 31, 2026. After that, a person will have to be a primary resident of Florida for five years before qualifying for the super-homestead exemption. A similar property tax reform, pushed by state legislators in 1980, was struck down because it treated Floridians who had been in the state for five years differently than recent arrivals, the Miami Herald reported.
(Photo courtesy of Weiss Serota Helfman)
Attorney Jamie Cole has filed a lawsuit that claims Amendment 3’s ballot language is “inaccurate and misleading.”
There is already a lawsuit challenging Amendment 3's wording, which charged that the ballot language was factually "inaccurate and misleading" since it doesn't guarantee funding for police, fire, protection, schools, or infrastructure as it claimed. Indeed, the opposite could happen if the amendment is passed, said Jamie Cole, an attorney who filed the complaint on behalf of Save Our Voters from Misleading Ballot Language Inc. And it does nothing to protect renters and small businesses from taking on the extra tax burden, he added.
"Cities will have to either cut services or increase tax rates or other fees," said Cole, a managing partner at Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman, which provides legal services for municipalities all over South Florida. "There is no such thing as a free lunch. [People] can't expect to get the same levels of service for local government and pay less."
Slashed budgets, higher user fees
Counties and municipalities will be impacted in different ways. Those local governments that draw revenue substantially from homestead properties, i.e. a home declared as a primary residence by the owner, will be more adversely impacted than those with substantial commercial or revenue sources outside of property taxes.
Who Saves, Who Pays? - 1
In the case of Biscayne Park, 49 percent of its property taxes come from homesteaded properties in fiscal year 2025-2026, according to figures from the Florida Department of Revenue. But that’s nothing compared to Miami Shores, which, while having a commercial district where it can draw license fees, nevertheless gets 60.2 percent of its property tax revenue from primary resident homeowners, the largest portion of any municipality in Miami-Dade. The city of Miami, on the other hand, receives 15.2 percent of its property tax revenue from homestead properties, though that amounts to $112 million out of a $753.4 million budget. While Medley in northwest Miami-Dade, a municipality with a huge industrial and commercial sector, only gets 0.1 percent from homesteaded houses and condos.
Charles Chapman, legislative director for the Florida League of Cities, warned that the true impact of Amendment 3 won't be known until (and if) voters pass it. That's because the law messes with the steadiest form of revenue collection local governments and special districts have.
(Photo courtesy of the Florida League of Cities)
Charles Chapman of the Florida League of Cities says the new law will restrict a revenue source that local governments have relied on since Florida’s earliest days.
"You have to go all the way back to the early days of the state," said Chapman, whose organization has opined against the legislation. "Cities and counties and special districts wanted to have a level of funding that they can count on separately from the state."
Without that steady stream of revenue, some municipalities may be forced to cut essential services such as law enforcement, even if those reductions are subtle.
"There is a lot of things that could come about with police and fire with higher property tax exemptions," Chapman said. "Their ability to retain qualified police officers may be impacted because they can't keep up with salary and benefit demands. And it may change how often they rotate new police cruiser cars. Maybe the vehicles will be 10 years old."
Howard Frank, director of Florida International University's Jorge M. Pérez Metropolitan Center, said short-term the law will dampen spending. "I think you will see diminished hiring, and you might see a draw down on [emergency] reserves. That will be the initial reaction."
(Photo courtesy of the Jorge M. Pérez Metropolitan Center)
Howard Frank, director of FIU’s Jorge M. Pérez Metropolitan Center, says the amendment will lead to higher fees and restricted spending.
But as time goes on, residents and visitors may be taxed in other ways. Such was the case when California and Massachusetts made significant cuts to property taxes, Frank said.
"…You will see much higher user fees. You are going to hear discussions on local option sales taxes. You may see more local options for motor fuel taxes," Frank said.
It might also become harder for municipalities to issue more bonds as well, the Florida League of Cities' Chapman warned, since bond underwriters will need to consider the risk of lending money to local governments that may no longer be able to pay off their debts. It might even make servicing existing bonds more expensive. "We can anticipate some real conversations about revised terms," Chapman said.
A stand against over taxation?
But Ana Bozovic, founder of Miami Analytics and Miami Deal Sheet, said talk of higher fees and hindered police service is fearmongering. Rather than "tax grandma" and retirees, Bozovic said municipalities should just return to the spending levels they had five or six years ago.
(Photo courtesy of Miami Analytics)
Real estate analyst Ana Bozovic says Amendment 3 shows that Florida, unlike other states, isn’t out to tax homeowners to death.
"If you look at budgets across the state their expenditures have skyrocketed more than population. They are spending more and more money," Bozovic, a real estate analyst and broker, said. "They are taxing primary residents into oblivion. What about people on fixed income who worked their whole life and paid off their house?"
Some cities do have massive budgets. Miami's current operating budget totals $1.8 billion with at least half of it devoted to city employee salaries and benefits, the Coconut Grove Spotlight reported.
But aside from acting as a sledgehammer against overspending, Bozovic said merely proposing Amendment 3 is another example of why Florida is a more attractive place to live and invest in than high-tax states.
"Our state is taking stances on lowering taxes, while in New York and California their message is about continuing to raise taxes," Bozovic said. "This [proposed amendment] makes it all the more clear that this community is friendly to capital. It is the opposite philosophy in New York and California."
Florida's low taxes are a big reason why there's been an ongoing influx of people and cash heading toward the Sunshine State since the pandemic. It's one of a handful of states that do not charge residents a state income tax, a feature that helped Florida attract a net $20.6 billion in adjusted gross income from interstate migrants in 2023, according to IRS migration data — more than any other state in the country. In contrast, California recorded a net loss of $11.9 billion in adjusted gross income, while New York lost $9.9 billion.
Should Amendment 3 pass, millionaires and billionaires may save a few thousand dollars on their property tax bill if they declare their mansions and luxury condos as primary residences. But the stated purpose of the Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes is to provide financial relief for non-millionaires burdened by higher tax assessments on their houses and condos.
"In general, it will benefit property owners who have home values of around $250,000 to less than $500,000," said Gay Cororaton, chief economist for the Miami Association of Realtors.
(Photo provided by the Miami Association of Realtors)
Miami Association of Realtors’ chief economist, Gay Cororaton, says people with modest home values will primarily benefit from the proposed property tax amendment.
For folks who own homes assessed at those price ranges, property taxes may drop to zero, except for public school millage. Other homeowners will have to be content with a discount, since the influx of people and capital also raised home values. As of May, the median sales price for a single-family home in Miami-Dade was $680,000 although the median price for a condo unit was $415,000, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. The property tax amendment, though, does nothing to tame higher condo fees that many condo associations are forced to charge thanks to more stringent safety regulations for condos and co-op buildings that are taller than three stories and older than 30 years of age (25 years of age for places on or near the coast).
The proposed amendment also does nothing to protect renters, said Esteban Santis, Florida Policy Institute's research director. "Amendment 3 does not offer targeted tax relief to people who need it the most. Although 905,000 renters in Florida have low income, they are excluded from the proposed amendment," Santis wrote in an email to Biscayne Times. "Ultimately, if 60 percent of the voters approve Amendment 3, costs will shift, as local governments will have to either raise taxes and fees or cut public services to make up for the lost revenue."
Should municipalities be forced to raise their millage rates to make up for revenue shortage needed for essential services or to pay off bonds, residential landlords will be pressured to follow suit. And residential rents are already expensive in this region. As of April, South Florida's average monthly rent was $2,638 a month, the 10th highest out of 100 metro areas across the U.S., according to the Waller, Weeks and Johnson Rental Index.
For small business owners who rent office, retail or warehouse space via a triple-net lease, higher taxes would automatically be passed on to tenants, attorney Cole said. It's also another reason why the ballot language, which promises to help businesses, is misleading, Cole added.
But Frank of FIU's Metropolitan Center doesn't think that municipalities and counties will be all that eager to jack up tax rates. Doing so may encourage residents and businesses to move elsewhere.
"There is competition between jurisdictions," Frank said, "so, they have to be careful."
Tightening Belts and Selling Properties
On June 24, DeSantis signed Senate Bill 4-F into law, a measure that would make it somewhat harder to raise property taxes beyond a certain extent. The bill requires a supermajority vote from the governing board of a municipality or county to raise property taxes beyond the rollback rate. The rollback rate is the millage rate charged for every $1,000 of assessed value that's necessary to collect the same amount of property revenue as the previous year. Increasing it by up to 110 percent will require a two-thirds majority. Going over 110 percent will need a three-quarters vote for boards with more than nine members, a unanimous vote, or a voter referendum.
But Cole said local governments could still raise tax rates with a simple majority vote since property tax revenues will be far lower than the year before with a $250,000 exemption. And that burden will shift to second homes and commercial properties.
"The bottom line for renters is this is going to be very bad," Cole said.
Another bill DeSantis signed on June 24 was House Bill 1329. It requires local governments to find ways to cut another 10 percent from their proposed budgets without cutting essential services two weeks before it is adopted. Those findings would also have to be published publicly.
But Miami Shores Town Manager Esmond Scott said his administration is already doing that, with department heads finding ways to reduce town expenses by 10 percent. "We have not had a full assessment of that yet, but I can tell you that some departments came in even below 10 percent just by tightening their belt," Scott said. How a $250,000 homestead exemption would impact Miami Shores’ budget, where a major portion comes from homestead properties, was still being analyzed, Scott said. Though whatever cuts are made won't compromise the town's police force.
"Government is not being responsible if it is playing with the health, safety and welfare of its citizens. So, I will not be playing with the health and welfare of our citizens," Scott said.
On June 10, Miami's Finance and Audit Advisory Committee discussed other options to keep essential services running and fund voter-approved recreation projects besides raising taxes and fees such as altering pension plans for municipal employees (in the event of a financial emergency) or selling city waterfront properties to developers like Miami City Hall in Coconut Grove or Marine Stadium on Virginia Key.
Biscayne Park officials are also figuring out how they can adapt, especially since the village already charges close to the maximum millage the state allows: 9.3 mills. (The limit now sits at 10 mills.) Its options include raising service fees like sanitation and building or pursuing grants from the state. Should the amendment pass, the village is expected to see its revenue decline by $625,000 in 2028. That is a blow for a municipality with a budget of about $5 million, but not an insurmountable challenge to overcome, consultant Paul Winkeljohn told Biscayne Park's elected officials during its June 10 meeting. The problem is going forward as the homestead exemption grows larger, and more homeowners switch their rented or second houses and duplexes into primary residences.
"The [homestead exemption] value is so great that people will push toward homeownership. I can think of some creative ownerships that can fit the [state's homestead] law but are really like a business plan," Winkeljohn said.
As for the lawsuit, which has a hearing date in Leon County on July 29, even if the challenge is successful the remedy under current state law is for the Attorney General's office to rewrite the ballot under the judge's instructions. In short, the referendum will likely move forward.
Not a sure thing
But will it even pass? Mayor Jonathan Groth thinks it's likely. "Who wants to pay taxes if they don't have to and there is some meaningful relief for a class of residents out there," he said.
But that same law could also make Biscayne Park essentially disappear, he added. "Do we go away and rely on county services? We have a great relationship with the county but for them we are a tiny nook of the northeast corridor. We don't attract the level of [attention] more populated areas get," Groth said.
Still, the voter referendum's passage may not be a foregone conclusion. According to polling done by MDW and Miami-based Edge Communications across Florida in April, just 55.1 percent of respondents somewhat or strongly supported eliminating property taxes. That's significant because a 60 percent yes vote is needed for an amendment to pass, and another 14.4 percent of those surveyed, which MDW and Edge described as a "movable" bloc of voters, were undecided.
And after those surveyed received more information about the issue, 60.6 percent of respondents stated they now believed property taxes "are at appropriate levels," the MDW/Edge report added. Michael Davey, co-founder of Save Our Voters from Misleading Ballot Language, said he's hopeful people will get educated enough to reject the measure.
"A lot of people, including the elderly, are going to be hurt when services get cut," Davey, a former mayor of Key Biscayne, said. "Nobody wants to pay more taxes than they have to, but there has to be a better way to approach [this]."
Tax Collections in Miami-Dade
Listed below is how much property taxes were charged in Miami-Dade County, along with the portion which came from primary (homestead) residences, by the county and each municipality in fiscal year 2025-2026. Figures are rounded off and do not include other revenue sources such as fees and fines. Source: Florida Department of Revenue
Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners
Property taxes levied: $2.35 billion
Homestead residential portion: 26.2%
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Tax Millage
Property taxes levied: $692.9 million
Homestead residential portion: 30%
Miami-Dade Library Tax Millage
Property taxes levied: $128.6 million
Homestead residential portion: 26.6%
Municipal Service Area (Unincorporated Miami-Dade)
Property taxes levied: $259.4 million
Homestead residential portion: 35.3%
Mainland municipalities East of I-95
City of Miami
Property taxes levied: $735.4 million
Homestead residential portion: 15.2%
North Bay Village
Property taxes levied: $10.4 million
Homestead residential portion: 19.5%
Miami Shores
Property taxes levied: $16.9 million
Homestead residential portion: 60.2%
El Portal
Property taxes levied: $3.2 million
Homestead residential portion: 40.2%
Biscayne Park
Property taxes levied: $4.4 million
Homestead residential portion: 49%
North Miami
Property taxes levied: $47.8 million
Homestead residential portion: 25.4%
Bay Harbor Islands
Property taxes levied: $8.1 million
Homestead residential portion: 27.9%
North Miami Beach
Property taxes levied: $35 million
Homestead residential portion: 21.3%
Aventura
Property taxes levied: $24.5 million
Homestead residential portion: 23.5%
Golden Beach
Property taxes levied: $16.3 million
Homestead residential portion: 41.6%
Sunny Isles Beach
Property taxes levied: $32.7 million
Homestead residential portion: 16.1%
Bal Harbour
Property taxes levied: $15.8 million
Homestead residential portion: 16.8%
Indian Creek
Property taxes levied: $7.1 million
Homestead residential portion: 21.4%
Surfside
Property taxes levied: $21 million
Homestead residential portion: 21.5%
Miami Beach
Property taxes levied: $354 million
Homestead residential portion: 21.2%
Other Miami-Dade Municipalities
Coral Gables
Property taxes levied: $145.1 million
Homestead residential portion: 42.6%
Doral
Property taxes levied: $37.5 million
Homestead residential portion: 15.9%
Florida City
Property taxes levied: $9.9 million
Homestead residential portion: 20.7%
Hialeah
Property taxes levied: $139.3 million
Homestead residential portion: 19.8%
Hialeah Gardens
Property taxes levied: $12.1 million
Homestead residential portion: 19.3%
Homestead
Property taxes levied: $38 million
Homestead residential portion: 30.5%
Miami Gardens
Property taxes levied: $66.6 million
Homestead residential portion: 26.3%
Miami Springs
Property taxes levied: $12.9 million
Homestead residential portion: 42.4%
Opa-Locka
Property taxes levied: $19.3 million
Homestead residential portion: 7%
South Miami
Property taxes levied: $12.3 million
Homestead residential portion: 36.1%
Sweetwater
Property taxes levied: $16 million
Homestead residential portion: 4.4%
West Miami
Property taxes levied: $6 million
Homestead residential portion: 23.3%
Cutler Bay
Property taxes levied: $12.2 million
Homestead residential portion: 49.7%
Medley
Property taxes levied: $25 million
Homestead residential portion: 0.1%
Miami Lakes
Property taxes levied: $11.3 million
Homestead residential portion: 38.3%
Key Biscayne
Property taxes levied: $33.8 million
Homestead residential portion: 32.8%
Palmetto Bay
Property taxes levied: $11.2 million
Homestead residential portion: 56.6%
Pinecrest
Property taxes levied: $20.8 million
Homestead residential portion: 59.4%
Virginia Gardens
Property taxes levied: $2 million
Homestead residential portion: 17.7%