Florida voters will decide whether or not to cut residential property taxes through Amendment Three. Its supporters note that local spending for first responders will be exempted from cuts. But Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil says programs like youth mentoring that support law enforcement will be in peril.
"They're not likely to cut deputies and police officers. They're going to cut away the very things that made us so successful in driving the crime rate down, particularly here in the Big Bend."
McNeil was one of 8 panelists Wednesday (Oct. 14) evening at a town hall on Amendment Three organized by Florida State University's Askew School of Public Administration. Most of those on the panel had some connection to local government, but one notable member did not. He was Jeff Kottkamp, former Florida lieutenant governor and now the head of Florida Taxwatch. Kottkamp told the audience he had always supported limited government and constrained spending. But even he found Amendment Three a fatally flawed proposal.
"There's no mechanism to hold poor counties harmless from this. And they still have to fund core government functions starting with police and fire and emergency operations to do that somehow, or go bankrupt. There's no answer here, other than good luck. If this passes, good luck."
Kottkamp would rather see the state's Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, which meets next year, dive into reforming Florida's property tax problems.
