[Rainger99]

With 86% of the votes in, 62% of the people have voted yes on Amendment 3. It needs 60% to pass.

[NoMo50]

Decision called at 9:49pm with 99% of the vote counted, and 62% voting "Yes." The people of Florida have spoken.

By the way, Sumter County came in at 70% in favor. So much for the naysayers, and I hope the taxing authorities take to heart the mood of the voting public.

[Rainger99]

The other two amendments lost.

Amendment 1 would have required the state to put more money in the budget stabilization fund, also called a rainy-day fund.

Amendment 2 would have exempted farmers’ agricultural equipment from property taxes.

[margaretmattson]

Originally Posted by NoMo50

Decision called at 9:49pm with 99% of the vote counted, and 62% voting "Yes." The people of Florida have spoken.

By the way, Sumter County came in at 70% in favor. So much for the naysayers, and I hope the taxing authorities take to heart the mood of the voting public.

I am not surprised by the 70% yes vote in Sumter County. Folks want some changes.

[Sparky99]

Do we have final results yet?

[Rainger99]

Originally Posted by Sparky99

Do we have final results yet?

What do you mean by final results??

Every single vote counted? Or whether it passed?

With 99% of the votes counted, it has 62.0% of the vote.

4,909,673 "Yes" votes to 3,009,545 "No" votes.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Sparky99

Do we have final results yet?

The results will not be final until all votes are counted and certified.

At this point it appears the outcome is assured as there are not enough uncounted votes to defeat the measure.

[GATORBILL66]

Now we can get ready for county taxes in the next year or two. Probably around 4%.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by GATORBILL66

Now we can get ready for county taxes in the next year or two. Probably around 4%.

Huh????

The current Sumter Co. millage rate is 4.89, what are we "getting ready for"?

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by GATORBILL66

Now we can get ready for county taxes in the next year or two. Probably around 4%.

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Huh????

The current Sumter Co. millage rate is 4.89, what are we "getting ready for"?

I suspect he meant the county portion of the sales tax, currently 1%. This is limited by State Statute but I don't recall if the limit is 1% or 2%.

[GATORBILL66]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

huh????

The current sumter co. Millage rate is 4.89, what are we "getting ready for"?

sumter county will have to make up for the 8 million dollar loss due to lower property taxes!

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Bay Kid

People will always vote for something for free.

Even if it costs them double later on.

[kingofbeer]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Even if it costs them double later on.

My taxes will go down, but they will raise the millage rate to make up the difference.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by kingofbeer

My taxes will go down, but they will raise the millage rate to make up the difference.

State law limits how much a county can raise their milage rate.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

State law limits how much a county can raise their milage rate.

EDIT: State law *DOES* limit the rate to 10mills. The commissioners can rase the rate with a unanimous vote but not above the 10mill limit.
I don't believe state law limits an increase in the millage rate, it just sets voting requirements for the amount the millage rate can be increased above the rolled-back rate. The commissioners may be able to raise it as much as they like with a unanimous vote.

But here's where a potential surprise comes in.

The rolled-back rate is the millage rate that would raise the same amount of property tax revenue this year as last year. If the rolled-back rate is calculated using the tax base after exemptions then the effect of amendment 3 will be to significantly increase the rolled-back rate. I may still pay less on my homesteaded property but a non-homestead property would be significantly more.

The only adjustment the county would need to do is to ensure that ad valorem funds are used only for the allowable categories in the amendment. There might be a great deal of tax shifting but maybe not much budget cutting.

NOTE: It's not clear to me what tax base is used for calculating the rolled-back rate. It could be the total market value, the total assessed value, or the total taxable value. If total assessed value then revenue drops. If total taxable value then there could be a millage increase.