What the Property Tax Amendment Could Mean for Dunedin
Published on June 04, 2026
Written By Mayor Maureen "Moe" Freaney
The Florida Legislature has approved a constitutional amendment that will appear on the November ballot. If approved by voters, the measure would significantly expand Florida's homestead exemption and substantially reduce a primary source of revenue used by cities to provide local services.
As Mayor of Dunedin, I believe it is important that residents understand what is at stake for our community.
The City of Dunedin understands and shares the concern about affordability for Florida families. We recognize that property values and ad valorem revenues have increased over the past several years. However, the narrative that these revenue increases represent excess government spending fails to acknowledge the reality facing local governments.
The Reality Facing Local Governments
While revenues have grown, so too have the costs of providing essential public services.
Since 2020, municipalities across Florida have experienced unprecedented increases in personnel costs, health insurance, public safety equipment, vehicles, construction materials, infrastructure projects, fuel, utilities and property insurance. In many cases, these costs have increased at the same rate, or faster, than local government revenues.
For example, the cost of municipal property insurance has increased dramatically following repeated hurricane seasons. The cost of street resurfacing, drainage improvements, public safety vehicles and construction materials has often doubled or more since 2020. Cities must also compete in a challenging labor market to recruit and retain police officers, firefighters, paramedics, utility operators and other essential employees.
These are not discretionary expenses. They are the fundamental costs of maintaining safe, functional and resilient communities.
Dunedin's Experience
The City of Dunedin has not increased its millage rate since 2016. During that same period, the City has continued to absorb escalating operational costs while maintaining the services residents expect and deserve.
Property tax revenue has allowed us to keep pace with inflationary pressures, not create excess reserves or unnecessary spending. In fact, the City's property tax revenue does not cover the full cost of public safety services alone.
What This Could Mean for Dunedin
The amendment approved by the Legislature would substantially reduce the primary revenue source that funds local government operations. If these revenues are removed without a guaranteed, sustainable replacement, cities will have no choice but to make significant reductions in services that residents rely on every day.
For Dunedin, those impacts could include:
- Reduced law enforcement staffing and community policing programs
- Reductions in fire and emergency medical service capabilities and response resources
- Deferred road resurfacing and sidewalk repairs
- Reduced maintenance of parks, playgrounds, athletic fields, trails and public facilities
- Fewer youth, senior, recreation, educational and cultural programs
- Reduced library hours, programming and services
- Elimination of community events and neighborhood initiatives
- Delays to resiliency, flooding mitigation and infrastructure replacement projects
- Reduced customer service levels across City departments
These are not luxury services. They are the services that make communities safe, economically competitive, resilient and desirable places to live.
Public Safety Relies on Every Department
Proposals that carve out funding for public safety alone do not solve the problem. Public safety departments rely on support from every other area of local government, including fleet maintenance, information technology, human resources, finance, facilities maintenance, planning, engineering and public works.
Protecting one category of spending while eliminating funding for the systems that support it creates an unsustainable model that ultimately weakens local government operations.
Preserving Local Control
It is also important to recognize that local elected officials are directly accountable to the residents they serve. Our residents elect us to make decisions regarding service levels, infrastructure investments and community priorities.
If residents desire lower taxes and reduced services, they already have the ability to make those choices through their local elections and budget processes. Removing local revenue authority shifts those decisions away from local communities and into the hands of the State, reducing local control and limiting the ability of communities to respond to their unique needs.
Stay Informed
We are open to meaningful discussions regarding property tax reform and alternative funding models. However, eliminating or substantially reducing local property tax revenue without a realistic replacement plan is not reform; it is a transfer of financial uncertainty to local governments and the residents who depend upon them.
This proposed constitutional amendment will be decided by Florida voters in November. I encourage residents to learn more about the proposal, understand how it could affect local services and make their voices heard at the ballot box.
Click here for more information on property taxes in the City of Dunedin. You can also learn more about the City's Property Tax Information Forums here.