On the ballot Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026
What the property tax amendment does to a local tax bill, to the budgets that pay for police, parks and roads, and to whoever ends up covering the difference.
A voter's guide for Pensacola and Escambia County. Needs 60% of the statewide vote to pass. Every number has a note with its source or its math.
Amendment 3: Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments
The changes take effect Jan. 1, 2027, and first show up on November 2027 tax bills. It needs 60% to pass.
Today's rules stay: a homestead exemption of up to $51,411, adjusted for inflation each year, and the 10% cap.
Chapter 01
Scroll, and the amendment rewrites this bill line by line.
| Levy | Mills | Taxable | Tax |
|---|
Mills are dollars per $1,000 of taxable value. 2025 rates, held constant; outside the Downtown Improvement District. Fees (fire, stormwater, garbage) aren't shown; the exemption doesn't reduce them.
A home the owner lives in, inside city limits, assessed at $300,000. Six local bodies tax it, and their rates add up to 17.008 mills. Only one line pays for schools. The other five, about two-thirds of the rate, are what Amendment 3 changes.
Today up to $51,411 of a homestead's value is exempt from those five lines: the first $25,000, plus up to $26,411 above $50,000. Their tax on this house comes to $2,896.
If 60% vote yes, the exemption on those five lines becomes $150,000 in 2027. Their tax drops to $1,747.
In 2028 it reaches $250,000. Only $50,000 of this house is left to tax: $582. The school line doesn't change. The whole bill falls from $4,370 to $2,056.
One exception: people who become Florida residents after Dec. 31, 2026 start with a $50,000 exemption, a little less than today's, and get the bigger one in their fifth year of having a homestead exemption. On this house that's $4,386 a year until then.
The exemption counts assessed value, and Florida caps how fast a homestead's assessment can rise, so long-held homes sit well below market. Mayor D.C. Reeves estimated in June that 72% of Pensacola homes would owe no city property tax under a $250,000 exemption. We couldn't find the analysis behind his estimate. For one homestead, the test is simple: assessed value of $250,000 or less owes no city or county tax.
Each square is one in 100 Pensacola homes. Filled: would owe no city property tax, by the mayor's estimate.
Chapter 02
Smaller tax bills mean less money for the county and city. This year's budgets don't change: they were adopted in September and run through next September. The loss starts with the November 2027 tax bills and grows every year after.
At today's rates, every dollar of that loss stays with property owners instead, mostly homeowners through the bigger exemption, and some landlords and businesses through the lower cap. The $59.1 million the county loses in year two is about $59.1 million Escambia property owners no longer pay.
State Revenue Estimating Conference, July 10, 2026. Years 3 to 5 are the state's projections. Squares are percentages, so you can compare the county and city directly; a county square is far more money than a city square. Tap a year for detail.
For scale, the county's total budget this year is $894.4 million, and it levied $246.3 million in property tax last year, including its library and sheriff's districts. The amendment sends no state money to replace the loss. Its list of allowed uses includes public safety but sets no minimum for police or fire.
Neither government has adopted a list of cuts. These are the services local officials have named, and how each one is paid for, which decides how exposed it is.
The city's general fund for fiscal 2026, $80.7 million. Each square is 1%, about $800,000.
An illustration of scale: if police and fire were left whole and the whole loss came out of this fund, it would land on the other 42 squares, about 1 in every 5 dollars for everything else.
Mayor D.C. Reeves said the city's loss equals the entire budget for its 11 community centers plus upkeep of all 95 parks.
58% of the general fund. The amendment lists public safety among allowed uses but sets no minimum, so it isn't protected either.
The CRA has borrowed against future property tax growth. Reeves asked in June how those bonds work if that revenue shrinks. The amendment allows payments on existing debt; we didn't find a published analysis of whether the pledged revenue would still cover them.
Commissioner Mike Kohler listed these as places the county could cut, and said there is no way around service reductions.
West Florida Public Libraries are paid for by a separate library tax, which loses $2 million in year one and $3 million in year two. That's part of the county's total above.
The Escambia Children's Trust, a separate taxing district that funds youth programs, loses $3.2 million a year by year two, on top of the county's total.
A three-year county deal sets funding at about $102 million a year. Its third year, October 2027 to September 2028, is the first budget the amendment would hit, and Sheriff Chip Simmons said of it, "we'll have to see how it goes." He says flat funding means fewer deputies, since 92% of his budget is people. The sheriff's own tax in unincorporated areas loses about $2.8 million in year one and $4.1 million in year two, part of the county's total.
Mainland fire service is paid for by a fire fee, not property tax, and the homestead exemption doesn't apply to fees. In 2025 the county raised the residential fee about 80%, from $125 to $227 a home, to end a general-fund subsidy. Fees are one way to make up lost revenue.
County Administrator Wes Moreno has asked each department to find ways to trim 10%, as a planning goal rather than a decision.
Chapter 03
The city and county have two main ways to close the gap, or some mix. Fees, reserves and other revenue can play a part too. The ballot doesn't decide which; their budget votes in 2027 and 2028 will.
Keep tax rates where they are and spend less: parks, libraries, road work, staff.
Homeowners keep the full break. Everyone lives with the cuts.Each local board raises its own rate so the smaller tax base still brings in the same money: about 32% higher by 2028 in this guide's illustration.
Renters, businesses, second homes, newcomers and higher-value homes make up the difference.It isn't a new tax. Every September, each local board sets the rate for its own line on your property tax bill: the County Commission, the City Council, the Children's Trust and the water district. A bigger exemption leaves less property to tax, so the same rate brings in less money.
Today
11.65 mills on all the taxable property
After, same revenue
15.33 mills on the 76% that's left
Width is the taxable property, height is the rate. Revenue is the area, so a narrower base needs a taller rate to cover the same ground.
New or higher fees for stormwater, fire or garbage are another option the amendment doesn't limit. This guide doesn't model them; we didn't find a specific proposed fee increase.
The same five households, at both ends of the slider, in 2028. They're illustrative, built from local market data. New residents get $50,000 until year five, and the 5% cap's yearly effect on rentals and businesses isn't modeled.
If your home's whole assessed value fits under $250,000, you come out ahead either way. Above that, you keep less of the break if rates rise. Renters and businesses pay more only if rates rise. Newcomers pay about what they would today for four years, and more if rates rise. If services are cut instead, everyone shares the cuts.
Chapter 04
Use your assessed value, not market value. It's on the Escambia County Property Appraiser's site and last August's TRIM notice.
An illustration using 2025 tax rates and the assessed value you enter. The rate-rise case assumes a 24% smaller non-school tax base and raises each rate 31.6%; it isn't a forecast of any board's rate. Fees, other exemptions, future assessment changes and the 5% cap's yearly effect are left out. Not set up for the Downtown Improvement District or Pensacola Beach.
Chapter 05
Six voices to start: the two local officials most involved, and two on each side statewide. Quotes are short and link to where they ran.
In coverage we reviewed through Oct. 28, we didn't find a Pensacola or Escambia official or group campaigning for a yes vote. The yes campaign is run statewide by a Florida Realtors committee, which has raised more than $21.5 million; the two main no committees have raised about $1.3 million, according to state records reported Oct. 28.
Labels reflect only what the linked source shows each person saying, as of Oct. 28, 2026, not their party or job. Choosing a label shows everyone with it.
Bottom line is there will be a loss of services if this goes through.
In a June 3 interview, put the city's recurring loss at $6.2M and says about 60% of the general fund already goes to police and fire. Asked how CRA bonds backed by property tax would work.
If it passes, it's gonna change the way we know government.
Said service reductions would be unavoidable and listed stormwater, staffing, parks and library hours as places to look. Wished the Legislature had worked more closely with counties.
You vote for it, you'll pay less. End of story.
In June he said the Legislature's version wasn't his proposal. By September he was promoting it, and in October he hosted events arguing local revenues had nearly doubled in seven years.
Amendment 3 is first and foremost an affordability measure
Says public safety and tax relief can both be funded. Had spent $19.5M+ on ads as of Oct. 14.
The outgoing Senate President, a Republican who presided over the session, announced he will vote no, issuing the statement through the Florida Sheriffs Association.
There is nothing in the amendment that prevents or limits increasing revenue or spending.
The nonprofit taxpayer research group recommends a no vote, warning that lost homestead revenue could be replaced with other taxes, fees and assessments.
all the SROs would be coming out of schools
His office has 36 school resource officers. Chief Deputy Randy Tifft projects a $7M hit to law-enforcement salaries, roughly 56–58 deputies. No specific cuts have been decided.
Amendment 3 addresses both sides of the affordability equation
Responding to analysis that renters could pay more.
train wreck
A conservative sheriff whose criticism became a talking point for the No campaign.
the amendment's harmful potential impacts remain the same
Said after the court-ordered rewrite that the new ballot language is more accurate but the policy is unchanged. The institute she leads opposes the amendment.
Fat cat bureaucrats are using scare tactics
Argues local governments are protecting years of revenue growth and that county government has grown too large. Written June 1 about the governor's original plan, before the Legislature narrowed it. We didn't find a later position on the final amendment.
tax relief and public safety are not competing priorities
The Florida Sheriffs Association opposes the amendment.
The county expects to lose roughly $38 million in year one and about $56 million in year two, and is planning how to cover it, which may mean reducing services.
The county's later public estimate was $43M a year. The estimates come from different dates and methods.
We all want property tax reform.
Said personnel is about 92% of his budget, so flat funding would mean fewer deputies. Said he'll abide by year two of the county's three-year funding deal; on year three, "we'll have to see."
Santa Rosa has eliminated 23 vacant positions and is holding others open until the vote. The choice after that is cutting services or finding another funding stream.
County estimate: $22M loss, rising to $36M the following year.
Supports homeowner relief but worries about first responders and law enforcement. Said a sunset clause would have been more responsible, and noted that one was proposed during the session and voted down.
There was no funding mechanism, and there were no guardrails at all.
Speaking about the state trust fund for local governments that was dropped from the final plan. Voted to put the amendment on the ballot; said passage is up to voters.
Voted to place the amendment on the ballot. We did not find a public statement from her on Amendment 3 itself as of Oct. 28.
Listed here because she represents the Pensacola area and cast a vote on it.
Before the special session, praised the governor for “a real plan to phase out property taxes” and said he'd vote for it.
Written about the governor's original phase-out plan, which the Legislature later narrowed. Voted yes on the final measure.
October polls range from 44% to 63% support. Shown: the latest poll from each pollster we found, in the order they were taken. They differ in who they asked and how they described the amendment. Each square is 5% of voters polled, rounded; filled squares support it. The line marks the 60% it needs.
Chapter 06
Settled now
A homestead exemption of $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 on county, city and other non-school taxes; a 5% cap for other property; a list of allowed uses for property tax; a $50,000 exemption for newcomers' first four years.
Left to decide later
How the county and city close a gap equal to about 15% to 28% of last year's property tax: cutting services, raising rates on what's still taxable, adding fees, or some mix. Those votes happen at public budget hearings each September. The amendment also tells the Legislature to set up a way for counties and cities to exempt even more of a home's value, up to all of it; special districts can too, by referendum.
Settled now
Today's rules stay: the homestead exemption of up to $51,411, adjusted for inflation each year, the 10% cap, and no list of allowed uses.
Left to decide later
The same yearly budget and tax-rate votes that happen now.
Either way, watch your August tax notice (the TRIM notice). It lists each board's proposed rate next to the rate that would raise the same money as last year, so you can see who is raising taxes and by how much, then speak at the September hearings.
Chapter 07
Each small numbered box above opens one of these. Source notes link to where a figure was published. Calculation notes show the arithmetic.