Plantation expects to lose $12.7 million in Amendment 3's first year and $23.9 million in its second. City voters backed it 54.5%, short of 60%.
Plantation expects to lose about $12.7 million in property tax revenue in the first year of Amendment 3, and about $23.9 million in the second. Florida voters approved the homestead tax measure Tuesday. City officials have already begun planning for the cuts.
Statewide, the amendment cleared the 60% it needed, with about 62% yes in unofficial returns. Support in Plantation was weaker. The city’s 16 precincts voted 54.5% yes, the Broward County Supervisor of Elections’ unofficial results show.
What Amendment 3 changes
The amendment takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, according to the city’s Oct. 21 presentation to the City Council (PDF). It does three main things:
- Homeowners: a total homestead exemption of $150,000 from non-school taxes in 2027, rising to $250,000 in 2028.
- Other property: the yearly cap on assessment increases for eligible non-homestead property, such as rentals and businesses, falls from 10% to 5%.
- Schools: school property taxes are not covered by the bigger exemption.
The presentation also notes that renters have no guaranteed rent reduction.
What homeowners could save
The Broward County Property Appraiser estimated savings for Plantation homeowners, the city’s presentation shows. These are gross savings, before any new fees or assessments.
| Year | Homes | Average yearly savings |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 ($150,000 exemption) | Assessed below $150,000 | $1,216 |
| 2027 ($150,000 exemption) | Enough value to use the full exemption | $1,348.49 |
| 2028 ($250,000 exemption) | Assessed below $250,000 | $2,147 |
| 2028 ($250,000 exemption) | Enough value to use the full exemption | $2,706.79 |
What it costs the city
Property taxes paid for $85.2 million of the city’s $159 million general fund this year, or 53.6%. That fund pays for police, fire, parks and most other city services.
The city’s estimates come from the state’s Revenue Estimating Conference. They show:
- Fiscal 2028, the first year: $12,727,081 less revenue, or 8.38% of the city’s adjusted budget base
- Fiscal 2029, the second year: $23,853,849 less, or 15.7%
Plantation’s fiscal year starts Oct. 1, so the first full hit lands in the budget that begins Oct. 1, 2027.
Chief Administrative Officer Jason Nunemaker presented the figures at the Oct. 21 council meeting. The “message we’ve been trying to push out is that we’re going to protect our core services,” he said, according to the meeting minutes (PDF). The worst approach “would be to do everything less well,” he said.
Timothy J. Fadgen, then a council member, questioned the slide’s combined two-year figure of $36.6 million. He said the second-year number already includes the first, the minutes show. Nunemaker said he would recheck the math.
Three ways to cover the gap
Nunemaker’s slides set out three planning scenarios. They are illustrations, not proposed budgets.
| Scenario | Cut to other departments, year 1 | Year 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Cut every department by the same share | 8.38% | 15.7% |
| Hold police, fire and EMS cuts to 5% | 12.03% | 27.27% |
| Same, plus a fire assessment and a water utility tax | 0.42% | 15.66% |
The third scenario adds two new charges:
- A fire assessment on property, modeled at about $6.18 million a year
- A utility tax of up to 10% on water service, modeled at about $2.3 million a year
The slides say the utility tax would raise bills for water customers, including renters who pay through their rent.
Parks and Recreation, the third-largest department, has a budget of $20.8 million this year. It would lose $1.7 million in year one and $3.3 million in year two if cuts were spread evenly. If police and fire were protected, the cuts would be $2.5 million and $5.7 million.
Other options on the slides include job cuts through attrition, shorter hours, a new pension tier for future hires, privatization and ending some services. Nunemaker did not recommend selling park land.
How Plantation voted
Plantation voted 18,848 yes and 15,724 no on Amendment 3. Broward County as a whole voted 57.2% yes, 356,136 to 266,415, the county’s unofficial results show.
Only three Plantation precincts topped 60%. Four voted no.
| Precinct | Polling place | Yes | No | Yes share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N014 | Central Park Elementary School | 1,629 | 956 | 63.0% |
| N016 | Volunteer Park Community Center | 1,821 | 1,136 | 61.6% |
| N003 | South Plantation High School | 1,900 | 1,188 | 61.5% |
| N015 | Volunteer Park Community Center | 1,552 | 1,057 | 59.5% |
| N011 | Plantation Central Park | 1,263 | 971 | 56.5% |
| N004 | Plantation Park Elementary School | 941 | 750 | 55.6% |
| N008 | St. Gregory Catholic Church | 609 | 506 | 54.6% |
| N002 | Jim Ward Community Center | 422 | 353 | 54.5% |
| N005 | Plantation Community Center | 1,341 | 1,187 | 53.0% |
| N007 | Plantation Presbyterian Church | 589 | 528 | 52.7% |
| N013 | West Regional Library | 1,489 | 1,384 | 51.8% |
| N012 | Plantation Central Park | 2,065 | 2,048 | 50.2% |
| N010 | Lauderdale West Recreation Facility | 893 | 901 | 49.8% |
| N006 | Plantation High School | 1,052 | 1,072 | 49.5% |
| N009 | West Regional Library | 386 | 425 | 47.6% |
| N001 | Jim Ward Community Center | 896 | 1,262 | 41.5% |
All figures are unofficial until the county canvassing board certifies them.
What happens next
- Every department is preparing a 10% cut analysis. Nunemaker told the council state law now requires it, whatever the vote.
- Strategic planning in 2027. The council will work through the budget department by department ahead of the city’s 2027 strategic planning, the minutes show.
- Resident input. Council President Denise Horland proposed public workshops asking residents what they would be willing to give up.
What it means for you
- If you own and live in your home, your city, county and other non-school tax bills should fall from 2027. School taxes are unchanged. Our property taxes page explains how a Plantation bill is built.
- Check your homestead exemption. The bigger exemption only helps if you have one. The Broward County Property Appraiser handles applications.
- New fees could offset some savings. A fire assessment or a water utility tax would appear on bills, and would also reach renters and businesses.
- Services may change. Parks, libraries and other non-emergency services face the biggest cuts in every scenario the city has drawn up. Budget hearings are public; our who to call at City Hall page lists the council.
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