Over the past week, city of Sarasota senior staff members have huddled to plan for a budgetary “what if” … a scenario in which millions of property tax dollars the city allocates to fund multiple departments and functions are lost to statewide property tax reform.
Even as budgeting was well underway for fiscal year 2027, financial administration personnel, interim Deputy City Manager Jennifer Jorgensen and new City Manager Karie Friling — at the time with just a few days on the job — have shifted to grapple with the prospect that a statewide referendum to dramatically increase Florida’s homestead exemption for resident homeowners garners 60% of the vote needed for approval.
The constitutional amendment would increase the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027, and increase it to $250,000 in 2028. City staff estimates the increased exemptions would reduce city property tax revenues by approximately $5.5 million in fiscal year 2029, the exemption adjusted for inflation each year thereafter. That’s about 9.5% of the funding property taxes contribute to the general fund…