Florida's property tax revenues doubled in seven years – and local governments want voters to forget that.
Ron DeSantis is calling out every city hall bureaucrat who's been screaming about fire departments and police cuts.
And Ron DeSantis just destroyed the biggest lie local governments are telling voters about Amendment 3.
Local Governments Doubled Their Money and Still Want More
Local property tax collections across Florida's 67 counties surged from $33 billion in 2019 to $62 billion today.
Nearly $30 billion more – every single year – flowing into government coffers.
DeSantis asked the question they can't answer: "Are you getting twice the services you were getting in 2019? Of course not."
https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/2112990882630947233?s=20
Even accounting for inflation and population growth, the governor calculated local governments are collecting roughly $13 billion more annually than those factors would justify.
Meanwhile, Florida homeowners are still getting crushed.
Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Tomás Regalado put real numbers on what Amendment 3 means for a typical family.
An average Miami-Dade homeowner paying $6,600 in property taxes today would see that bill drop to $4,370 in 2027 – and $3,291 in 2028.
That's cutting your property tax bill nearly in half.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff Just Proved the Fear-Mongering Wrong
The loudest opposition to Amendment 3 has come from law enforcement groups warning that cutting property taxes means cutting cops.
Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz walked into DeSantis' roundtable Wednesday and dismantled that argument from the inside.
She outlined $32 million in savings her department identified without firing a single deputy.
Renegotiating technology contracts alone saved $12 million annually.
Eliminating the county sergeant-at-arms program saved $4.1 million more.
Modifying existing patrol vehicles instead of repainting them avoided $5.7 million in costs.
"Tax relief and public safety are not competing priorities," Cordero-Stutz said.
She said the quiet part out loud: the government should examine its own spending before demanding more from the people funding it.
https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/2113020083941331100?s=20
State Rep. Alex Rizo made the same point with Miami-Dade's own budget numbers.
The county's population grew 13% over a decade – and its unincorporated budget grew 134%, from $6 billion to $14 billion.
Rizo's question cuts to the heart of Amendment 3: "Do governments exist for people, or do people exist for their government?"
This Is the Biggest Property Tax Fight Florida Has Seen in Decades
Florida hasn't seen a property tax reform battle like this since 1980 – when voters raised the homestead exemption from $5,000 to $25,000.
It took 28 years to get another increase – to $50,000 in 2008 – and it hasn't moved since.
Amendment 3 would jump it to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, creating a pathway for the Legislature to eventually eliminate non-school property taxes on homesteaded properties entirely.
Florida's own DOGE operation – established by DeSantis in 2025 – already documented what's been happening on the spending side.
A 99-page report identified $1.86 billion in wasteful spending across Florida's largest local governments.
The same Miami-Dade that's warning Amendment 3 will gut services saw Florida DOGE identify nearly $140 million in potential budget reductions tied to excessive or wasteful spending.
DeSantis also addressed smaller rural counties, promising state grants to preserve essential services – and told any skeptic to name a specific cut so he could cover it personally.
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/2113062648233476531?s=20
He then urged voters to reject Amendment 1, which would expand the state's Budget Stabilization Fund – because Florida already has the reserves, and Tallahassee doesn't need more of your money sitting in a government savings account.
Here's what local governments are counting on: they're betting Florida homeowners are too distracted, too confused, or too worn down to believe anything will ever change.
They've had 18 years to prove they deserved the money voters gave them in 2008.
Instead they doubled their budgets, found $1.86 billion in waste only when forced to look, and now want you to believe a sheriff can't operate without every last dollar.
November 3 is the answer.
Vote yes on Amendment 3.
Sources:
- Michelle Vecerina, "DeSantis, Miami-Dade officials accuse local governments of 'fear-mongering' over Amendment 3 property tax cuts," Florida News, October 21, 2026.
- Fox 49 Staff, "The sky isn't falling: DeSantis blasts local governments over property taxes," Fox 49, October 22, 2026.
- Office of Governor Ron DeSantis, "Governor Ron DeSantis Hosts Miami Roundtable in Support of Amendment 3 Property Tax Relief," October 21, 2026.
- Nicole Huyer and Christopher Lynch, "Florida's DOGE Has Promoted Government Efficiency Under DeSantis," Daily Signal, July 13, 2026.
- "The last time Florida saw significant property tax relief was in 1980," kjnbtv.com, October 2026.
