I joined WEDU’s Florida This Week to discuss what Amendment 3 supporters would rather not talk about: Who pays when billions in local revenue disappear? I support real property tax relief. But you cannot eliminate billions in recurring revenue and pretend the costs of police, fire, and essential services disappear with it. Those costs don’t vanish. They get shifted to renters, businesses, higher fees, and assessments. Amendment 3 doesn’t eliminate the bill. It changes who pays it. Floridians deserve the truth before they vote. Watch: wedu.org/shows/florida-this-…

BAIT AND BLAME The Legislature gets credit for cutting your property taxes. Your city gets blamed for raising your fees. And you get stuck paying the bill. That’s the political sleight of hand behind Amendment 3. The Orlando Business Journal reports Amendment 3 threatens $2.2 BILLION in recurring annual revenue across six Central Florida counties. Orange County alone faces an $811.7 million hit. UCF professor Aubrey Jewett warns local governments are “almost certainly going to have to figure out a way to pay for those services.” And we’re already seeing how they can do it. Newberry increased its residential fire assessment from $200 to $300 last year, then to $360 this year. An 80% increase in two years. St. Petersburg is developing a new fire assessment. Deltona proposed a $579 annual residential assessment. Across Florida, local governments are already exploring the very taxes, fees, and assessments that Amendment 3 leaves untouched. Here’s what voters need to understand: Non-ad valorem assessments are NOT capped or eliminated by Amendment 3 and they are not subject to homestead exemptions. Neither are utility taxes, franchise fees, or other local charges. You could save $1,000 in property taxes only to see much of that savings disappear through higher fees and assessments. Meanwhile, in Altamonte Springs, non-homestead properties already pay approximately 80% of property taxes. Under Amendment 3, that share could exceed 95%. Businesses, RENTERS, and consumers ultimately absorb much of those costs. I’m all for cutting taxes. But cutting one tax without cutting spending simply shifts the burden somewhere else. The Legislature never adequately modeled these consequences, identified the spending reductions, or explained who would pay the remaining bill. You cannot eliminate the cost of government by changing the name on the tax bill. The Legislature gets the applause, local governments get the blame, and taxpayers get the bill. That’s not tax reform. That’s bait and blame. bizjournals.com/orlando/news…

Former Key Biscayne Mayor Michael Davey makes an important point about Amendment 3. Florida has 411 cities and 67 counties. Some will survive the financial shock. Others will be forced to cut services, raise fees, consolidate, disincorporate, or become permanent dependents of Tallahassee. I’m all for smaller, more accountable government. But you don’t achieve that by blindly dismantling local government without understanding the consequences. The Legislature never modeled the community-by-community impacts. That’s not tax reform. That’s fiscal malpractice.