I write to you today regarding an important ballot issue: exempting homesteads from taxation. Many of you will vote by mail, and others will vote on November 3rd in person. It is important to understand what this vote means for our citizens.
Proposed Amendment
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
ARTICLE VII, SECTIONS 4, 6, AND 9
ARTICLE XII
SAVE OUR HOMES FROM EXCESSIVE PROPERTY TAXES.—
Exempting homestead properties from taxation.
Ensuring funding for core services. Requires local governments to use remaining property taxes solely for core public needs, including public safety, education and schools, infrastructure, and natural resources.
If approved, the amendment would take effect on January 1, 2027.
This sounds like a winner and makes a great political sound bite until the results of the vote are considered closely. Make no mistake: the ballot language is misleading as to the reality of what will happen in counties throughout Florida. Let me explain.
Your Okaloosa County Commissioners have spent the summer going over the budget details, as we do each year. FY 2026–2027 will continue with Okaloosa County Commissioners voting to hold the property tax millage rate at 3.8308 mills for the 11th consecutive year.
The countywide millage (3.8308 mills) brings in $114.7 million. The non-countywide MSTU (0.2880) brings in $3.8 million. The total is $118,699,312 for General Fund expenditures.
Here is the issue: If the Homestead Exemption is approved by the required 60% of voters, the amendment would reduce Okaloosa County’s General Fund revenue by approximately $14.5 million in its first year and about $24 million in year two; the second-year impact would leave about $2.5 million to fund a range of county services after core obligations are met.
The General Fund provides services that impact our everyday lives as citizens. These are services that we have come to expect from our county and that will be decreased or eliminated if the homestead exemption passes on the November ballot.
First and foremost, Okaloosa County citizens expect public safety, which means that when you dial 911, we expect a rapid response from our sheriff and EMS. The passage of this measure will force us to consider reducing funding, which most certainly could not continue at the FY 2026 level.
The budget process is confusing to anyone not familiar with it. We have many pots of money, but each one has specific guidelines for spending established by the Florida Legislature or the Federal Government. Why not take the money from another pot of money? After all, we have other sources of funding in the county budget. The answer is that each source of money, by law, cannot be interchanged with money from another area. For instance, Enterprise Funds—which, by definition, means they generate their own source of funding—can be spent only on their respective departments. The Enterprise Funds are Airports, Water and Sewer, and Tourism, and those dollars can only be used for those departments. For example, we cannot use tourism dollars to build roads or airport money to fund lifeguards. That is why general revenue—those tax dollars from ad valorem taxes—is important to local government. They fund services most citizens believe are a government responsibility.
The Board of County Commissioners will be forced to eliminate or likely reduce important services such as:
- Funding to the Sheriff
- Emergency Management funding
- Funding for School Resource Officers for public schools
- Beach Safety & Beach Park Rangers
- Corrections
- Veterans Services housed in the Administration Building
- Solid Waste
- Mosquito Control (Can you imagine living here without it?)
- Animal Services (We had hoped to bring additional services into the county.)
- Library Cooperative Funding
- Parks
- Roads & Bridges
There is no cavalry coming from the statehouse with extra money. This will be it for local funding, and the services we have enjoyed will be eliminated or greatly reduced in quality.
Local government is closest to the voters and answerable to the voters. Let’s not let Tallahassee tell us what services we need in Okaloosa. There are 67 counties in Florida. The needs of Miami and Tampa are different than those in the Panhandle. Local government is closest to the people.
As you cast your vote, I encourage you to thoroughly consider the benefits and disadvantages of voting for or against this initiative. Please understand that we must offset the lost revenue somehow, either by a loss of services or an increase in some other tax. Make no mistake: if this initiative passes, there will be significant changes to how local government functions in Okaloosa County.
It is an honor to serve as your County Commissioner.
- Carolyn Ketchel, District 2 County Commissioner, 850-651-7105
