PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – The idea of lowering property taxes sounds enticing to some homeowners. However, city and county leaders said that with reduced property tax funds, they will have to look at difficult cuts.
“You’ve got veterans services; you’ve got the Bay County Council on Aging, we’re all kind of on the chopping block,” said Sarah Burris, the president of Friends of the Bay County Public Libraries.
Governor Ron DeSantis is pushing for Amendment 3 to pass before he leaves office.
“I think with the property tax, the good thing about it is people have more money in their pocket, you are going to have a better economy locally because they are going to be able to breathe, they are going to be able to spend money,” DeSantis said on August 31 while speaking in Jacksonville.
Even before ballots are cast, the Bay County Public Library will lose 40% of its book funds, Burris said.
“That’s $86,000, and that is just in preparation for if it does pass,” Burris said. “If it passes, the library will lose additional funding, and the library is already on a hiring freeze as well.”
Burris also said that there’s no alternate funding source for public libraries, which could be detrimental to libraries across the state.
“Where is that funding source going to come from. It’s probably going to take several years to kinda get it all flushed out, and do we have that time?” Burris asked.
NewsChannel7 is told Bay County Commissioners will be discussing Amendment 3 at Tuesday’s meeting. They declined to comment before then.
The amendment needs at least 60% of Florida voters to vote “yes” for it to pass.
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