|
 Amendment 1 Implementation
On Jan. 29, 2008, 64 percent of Florida voters approved Amendment 1 and
it was added to the Florida Constitution. Even though the amendment was
rejected by the majority of local voters (only 36 percent approved), the
passage of Amendment 1 will apply to Leon County’s 2009 budget.
The Board of County Commissioners has already begun to address the
potential impacts to the County’s programs and services. Amendment 1
doubles the homestead exemption to $50,000 for non-school related
property taxes, provides a $25,000 exemption for tangible personal
property, limits the annual increases in taxable value for non-homestead
property to 10%, and offers portability of the popular Save Our Homes
tax savings. The tax reductions and exemptions provided by Amendment 1
will apply to your 2009 tax bill so the County must prepare its budget
accordingly for the 2009 fiscal year beginning October 1, 2008.
January 30, 2008 Workshop on Prioritization of County Services
The passage of Amendment 1 immediately created an anticipated $12.8
million reduction in Leon County’s 2009 tax base, prompting the Board of
County Commissioners to hold a workshop on Jan. 30 to prioritize County
services and discuss strategies to balance the County’s budget.
For detailed information on the workshop, please read the
Jan. 30,
2008 Workshop on the Prioritization of County Services.
At the workshop, the Board began
preparations for the FY 2009 budget process by ranking 32 different
County services and placing them in to four different categories in
order to meet the revenue reductions caused by Amendment 1. The four
categories were as follows:
A: No Reduction in Funding
B: Constrained Reductions (approximately 8% reduction in funding)
C: Level of Service Reductions (approximately 19% reduction in
funding)
D: Significant Service Reductions (approximately 50% reduction in
funding)
Through this exercise, the Board was
able to broadly identify nearly $12.8 million in ad valorem revenues to
cut in 2009. Based on the Board’s prioritization, staff will review the
County’s budget over the next few months and prepare detailed budget
cuts for the Board’s consideration during the FY 2009 budget workshops.
Staff will identify potential reductions in excess of $12.8 million to
give the Board flexibility in deciding which services to reduce.
View the
rankings
More information:
February 27 Workshop on Ramifications and Recommended Actions Related to
the On-Going Property Tax Reform Efforts
The Florida Association of Counties’
Property Tax Policy Positions, as adopted at the 2007 Legislative
Conference
December 14, 2006 Letter to the
Property Tax Reform Committee
December 12, 2006 Workshop on
Property Tax Reform
Leon County Budget Information
December 11, 2007 Agenda Item on the Proposed Property Tax Amendment
Resolution in Opposition to Property Tax Amendment
For more information, please contact
Ken Morris, Intergovernmental Affairs Coordinator, at 606-5300.
|
Leon
County Home Page
