The Leon County Commission met on Tuesday to spell out its main budget asks from state and federal lawmakers, as well as their policy priorities, to lobbyists hired to advocate for them.
During the meeting, they outlined two priories that are running counter to the direction the Republican-controlled state legislature seems to be headed: opposition to changes to the state’s property tax laws, and support for several gun control measures. Here’s how those conversations went down:
Property Taxes
The commissioners overwhelmingly voiced opposition to the several property tax proposals that the Florida House is currently considering after calls for changes from Governor Ron DeSantis.
Leon is one of the top 10 Florida counties most reliant on property taxes. A state report said that’s because the county collects fewer fees than many other jurisdictions.
County Commissioner Nick Maddox said if the changes came, the county would have to look for other ways to generate revenue.
“The inevitable is coming. I think at some point we got to think through, okay, if we're going to lose these revenues, what are the alternative revenue sources that we're not tapping or maxing out that could come back and make up? For some of the revenue that’s lost. No citizen wants to hear that. Let's just be clear about that,” he said.
And Commissioner Brian Welch said commissioners need to communicate what a tax reduction could mean for local residents.
“I think some people are under the impression that their property tax is going to go away. They're not going to get a bill. Well, you're still going to get a bill for schools and for law enforcement. You're just not going to get the bill for sidewalks, parks, planning and all those things,” he said. “As elected officials, we have an obligation to articulate to people what that looks like. What does it look like? Okay. Does that mean we don't have animal control? Libraries are $8 million a year, so libraries are closed. Now. Libraries are gone. We don't have a planning department. Planning is fee based.”
Current proposals on the table carve out property taxes for schools and limit local governments from reducing police budgets. Lawmakers are aiming to put the issue before voters in 2026.
Gun Control
The Leon County Commission added supporting gun control policy to its state and national lobbying priority list. But it received opposition from some commissioners.
Most commissioners say they want universal background checks, red flag laws, and rules requiring secure gun storage. Commissioner David O’Keefe made the motion to make those a priority.
“They are broadly popular with significant majorities of polling show voters and gun owners support these they're proven effective, and they don't impinge on the right of people to responsibly exercise their Second Amendment,” he said.
Commissioners Brian Welch and Christian Caban voted the move. Welch worries about the impact such a stance could have when it comes to getting state dollars from the Republican-controlled legislature.
“We are completely and utterly preempted from doing anything about this issue. I think we can all stand up here to her blue in the face and say, we support common sense gun safety laws, but we just heard our lobbying team tell us, to, quote, try and find alignment on issues where we can find success,” he said.
Other commissioners cited the recent FSU shooting and gun violence in the county as reasons to push for firearm reform.