Local Government: What Services Does the Public Want?’

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida

TALLAHASSEE — After weeks of Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies criticizing local spending and taxes, state House members have started digging into the possibility of asking voters in 2026 to slash property taxes.

And local governments that rely on property taxes to pay for such things as law enforcement, fire and rescue services, roads and parks are raising concerns.

The House Select Committee on Property Taxes spent two days this week getting presentations about issues ranging from how property taxes help fund schools to the finances of rural “fiscally constrained” counties that have limited tax bases.

The House committee remains weeks from crafting proposals that would be considered during the 2026 legislative session. But Rep. Vicki Lopez, a Miami Republican who co-chairs the panel, said reducing property taxes on homesteaded properties could affect the futures of some cities and towns.

“We’re educating, obviously, right now committee members, but hopefully the public is listening to what that would mean in terms of reduction of any kind of revenue in their communities,” Lopez said, adding that cutting property taxes could cause some municipalities to “fold back into the county.”

Committee Co-Chairman Toby Overdorf, R-Palm City, said small local governments could also consider consolidating services with other small governments.

“Are they going to be able to possibly look at health care across their municipality lines?” Overdorf said. “Are they going to be able instead to look at different ways of doing it that many of us in business have had to do?”

Panels of city and county officials pushed back.

Bay County Manager Bob Majka said local government officials consider tax dollars their responsibility.

“We’re fiscally responsible for this. Our employees pay it. Our neighbors pay it. We take our responsibility very seriously,” Majka said. “But it does come down to what services does the public want and the level expected. That’s where rubber meets the road.”

Casey Cook, chief of legislative affairs for the Florida League of Cities, called local governments “the most transparent forms of government in the state,” as municipal officials hear daily from neighbors expecting higher levels of service than what is provided in unincorporated areas.

As an example, Cook pointed to street sweepers that some people might see as waste daily cleaning streets, but they are removing trash that could clog storm drains and result in flooding.