The question Amendment 3 never asks – and why it matters more than your tax bill:
Start Here
When your house catches fire, a truck shows up. When someone breaks into your neighbor’s house, an officer shows up. When a storm floods the road, a crew shows up.
None of that is free.
It’s paid for by property taxes – mostly the county and city portion of your tax bill. That’s the money that funds your sheriff, your fire department, your roads, your stormwater, your parks, your building department.
Amendment 3 on the ballot cuts that money. It doesn’t say where the replacement comes from.
That’s the whole issue. Everything else is details.
What the Amendment Actually Does
The ballot says “Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes.” Here’s the plain version of what’s in the bill:
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Right now, homeowners get a homestead exemption on the first chunk of their home’s value for county and city taxes.
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This amendment raises that exemption – to $150,000 in 2027, then $250,000 in 2028.
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School taxes are not included. Those stay where they are.
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The cut lands on counties and cities. That’s your sheriff, your fire department, your roads, your water, your parks.
So the trade is simple: your county and city tax bill goes down. The county and city budget goes down with it.
The Question Nobody Is Answering
If the county collects less, what pays for the county?
That’s it. That’s the entire question.
There is no replacement money in this bill. No state fund. No backfill. No guarantee. The amendment cuts the revenue and stops there.
Supporters will tell you the county will “find efficiencies.” Ask them what gets cut. Because something does. It always does.
The Obvious Answer – And Why It’s the Wrong One
Now, here’s what a lot of people assume:
“Good. The sheriff makes too much. The commissioners make too much. Cut their pay.”
That’s the meme. Here’s why it doesn’t work.
Your county budget isn’t mostly salaries at the top. It’s:
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Deputies and firefighters – the people who show up
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Road maintenance – the crews and equipment
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Water and sewer – the plants and pipes
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Building and permitting – the department that approves construction
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Emergency services – dispatch, EMS, storm response
Cut the budget and you cut those things. Not the commissioner’s salary. The truck that comes when your house is on fire.
And here’s the part that should worry you most: when a county loses revenue, the easiest thing to raise is fees. Permitting fees. Impact fees. Utility connection charges.
Those fees get charged to builders – and builders put them in the price of the house.
So the cut to your tax bill can show up again in the price of the next home sold on your street.
The One Thing to Remember
A tax cut is not the same thing as a savings.
A savings means you pay less and get the same thing.
A tax cut means you pay less – and then the question is what you stop getting.
Amendment 3 cuts the money. It doesn’t answer the question. That’s the vote.
Before You Vote
Ask yourself one thing:
If my county collects less, what am I willing to lose?
If you have a clear answer – a specific service you’re fine with going away – then you’ve thought it through.
If you don’t, the amendment hasn’t either.
If you know – you NO.