Florida voters on Tuesday voted to pass Amendment 3, a change to its state constitution that increases the cap of homestead exemptions.
The exemption will take effect for 2027 and does not apply to school taxes, which are based on school districts’ millage rates. The homestead exemption will increase from $50,000 to $150,000 next year, then to $250,000 in 2028, and will be based on the rate of inflation for 2029 and beyond.
Boca Raton and Delray Beach have been preparing for the possibility of Amendment 3 passing for months. The increase in homestead exemptions would correspond to a revenue drop of more than $8 million for Boca Raton and $7 to $12 million in Delray Beach, according to a June estimate.
Both cities will soon be deciding which amenities to cut. Amendment 3 specifies that municipalities are required to only spend property taxes on “public safety, education, infrastructure, natural resource projects and flood control, local bonds, employee retirement benefits, and government operations.” A notable exemption from this list is parks. With less revenue coming for funding, cities will have to start getting creative with cuts, which will undermine quality of life, which will impact property values.
Another notable exemption for funds are water management districts, which monitor water quality and supply and preserve water sources. There are five water management district in Florida. The South Florida Water Management District, of which Boca and Delray are a part, receives between 25 and 40 percent of its budget from property tax revenue.
Those in favor of Amendment 3 say this is an opportunity for cities to “tighten their belts” and cut unnecessary spending.
The amendment also decreases how much rental and commercial properties can have their taxes increased per year from 10 to 5 percent, but with Florida having some of the worst tenant protections in the country, that will likely translate to high profits for landlords before it translates to lower rents.
Amendment 3 won’t affect next year’s budgets, but expect some difficult conversations as cities prepare 2027-28 budgets. In a statement on Wednesday, Delray Beach City Manager Terrence Moore said “Our City leadership team is actively evaluating the financial implications and working diligently to ensure responsible fiscal management while protecting the essential public services our residents depend on every day.
“We also recognize that difficult decisions may lie ahead. Some of the programs, amenities, and services residents currently enjoy and that contribute to making Delray Beach such a special place to live may be impacted as we address anticipated budget deficits and changing revenue sources.”
Singer loses
Scott Singer, former mayor of Boca Raton, will remain just that following his defeat on Tuesday in his race for Congress against incumbent Jared Moskowitz.
The same political instincts that guided Singer into trying to push through a major development plan in the face of severe public backlash, heralded Boca’s Brightline station as a “gamechanger,” and thought using taxpayer money to fund a billboard in Times Square to bring New Yorkers to Florida, once again led him astray by hitching his political wagon to President Donald Trump at a time when the president was at his most unpopular, hovering at an approval rating in the low 30s.
Ahead of the election, Trump told voters to pretend he was on the ballot. It took very little imagination to do that in Boca Raton, where Singer uncritically supported Trump’s every action, frequently fawning over the president at every turn. Singer’s approach, however, fell short with voters, who rebuked Trump in most states and levels of power.
Singer lost his congressional bid to Moskowitz by nearly 5 points in a district that was redrawn by the Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis to be a lay-up for Republicans. Maybe those political instincts will have sharpened by his next run for office.
Other notable wins
Former Boca Raton City Councilmember Yvette Drucker won her race to Mike Caruso in her bid to become Palm Beach County’s next clerk and comptroller.
Caruso was suspended from his position in August by Gov. Ron DeSantis after he was arrested on child sexual abuse charges. The graphic allegations involve Caruso’s grandchild. Caruso denies the charges and refused to drop from the race so another candidate could be selected. Despite the allegations, Caruso still managed to pull 38 percent of the vote to Drucker’s 62 percent.
Former Delray Beach City Commissioner Rob long also won his re-election bid, easily waving off a challenge by Republican Ionel Roiban for Florida House seat 90, which covers Delray Beach and Boynton Beach. Long won with almost 63% of the vote.
