With the Florida property tax amendment on this year’s state ballot, the Florida Democratic Party says they will oppose it.
While the major city mayors are on record stating they will vote against the measure, they have also been following the polling data that shows most voters in the state say they could support amendment.
With the data in mind, some Florida Democrats are moderating their tone when it comes to spending and the local property mileage rate.
For example, Democratic Mayor of Miami Dade County, Daniella Levine Cava recently put out a press release of putting forth a “Fiscally responsible” budget that will include cuts in city departments.
“The mayor said her upcoming budget for the fiscal year proposes $79 million in additional expenditure reductions from County departments to help balance the budget.
“By eliminating more than 400 vacant positions, and proposing needed reductions, this budget protects essential positions and services while also demonstrating fiscal discipline,” the mayor said.
Mayor Cava also touted cutting the local property tax rate two times while continuing to deliver essential services like public safety, clean water, wastewater, solid waste services, libraries, parks, animal services, transportation, and environmental resilience.
“We have done all this by delivering two tax rate cuts since I became Mayor, bringing the tax rate to the lowest level since 1982,” said mayor Levine Cava.
Another Florida Democrat who is promising to cut local property taxes and rein in government spending is former Florida Governor and front runner for the mayor of St. Petersburg, Charlie Crist.
Over the last few months, Crist has criticized his opponent and current incumbent Mayor Ken Welch for increased spending.
Crist has been telling voters the city budget has gone up too high; at the same time, local residents have been struggling with affordability.
Crist is also running on a platform of cutting property taxes.
He’s proposing cutting the property tax millage rate by 0.40 mills giving back around $15 million to local taxpayers and small businesses.
