Indian River County leaders warn proposed property tax amendment could cost county $50 million

VERO BEACH — Indian River County officials say a proposed constitutional amendment that would sharply raise homestead exemptions threatens to cut roughly $50 million from the county’s budget by 2028, forcing difficult choices on public safety and other core services.

The measure is headed to voters on the Nov. 3 ballot. It would lift the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.

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Commission Vice Chair Laura Moss organized a Friday morning meeting at the Heritage Center in Vero Beach to lay out the potential impact. She did not hold back.

“They’ve declared war on local government,” Moss said of the lawmakers in Tallahassee who advanced the proposal.

Moss argued that the state is trying to dictate how local governments raise and spend money, even though every county has different needs and priorities.

Lance Lunceford, president of the Indian River County Taxpayers Association, called the plan “an unsound, unplanned piece of public policy.”

His group projects the county could lose around $50 million in ad valorem revenue once the higher exemptions are fully in place. The county’s overall budget sits near $597 million.

“That may not be a lot of money to Orlando or to Miami, but that’s a lot of money here in Indian River County,” Lunceford said. “There is no way to fill a hole that size without eating into our ability to provide law enforcement and first responder services.”

Fire rescue, which operates on about $70 million a year, gets 79.1% of its funding from property taxes. Christen Brewer, president of Indian River Firefighters, said a $15 million to $20 million shortfall could stall or cancel three planned fire stations.

Lunceford described the change as less of a tax cut and more of a tax shift. Revenue lost from homestead properties would likely push costs onto other residents through higher impact fees, utility rates and taxes on businesses and non-homestead homes.

“When you increase taxes on businesses, you increase taxes on everybody,” he said.

County leaders say they are trying to get the word out ahead of the November vote so residents understand what the amendment could mean for the services they rely on.