As Florida residents prepare to vote on Amendment 3 in November, some are concerned about how voting yes could affect public library systems.
The amendment would triple the current homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 per year in 2027. It would go up to $250,000 in 2028.
It will also reduce the annual cap on assessed value increases for non-homestead properties from 10% to 5% and set new rules for certain new residents and for the use of revenue from property taxes.
Gov. Ron DeSantis supports Amendment 3 for making property taxes lower for homeowners overall.
"Tax is purely in your hands. You vote for it, you'll pay less for it," he said.
Property taxes pay for many municipal services, and if Amendment 3 passes, cities and counties across the state may face budget cuts to critical services — including library systems.
Ava Habif, executive director of Friends of the Miami-Dade Public Library, and Sarah Burris, president of Friends of the Bay County Public Libraries, share that libraries offer more than just book rentals. It is a community that expects to be disrupted by Amendment 3.
Understanding how big these Florida library systems really are
Bay County Public Library is the headquarters of a seven-branch library system in three different counties.
Their libraries offer services other than books, like computers, study spaces and reference assistance.
“If a county or two loses libraries, then Amendment 3 with budget cuts could also affect how much state funding we get if we lose branches,” Burris said. “So everything's a domino effect in terms of our headquarters and how it affects other branches.”
The Friends of the Miami-Dade Public Libraries support a 50-branch public library system, which is the largest in the state. For areas that do not have a library built, they offer bookmobiles that provide regular service to those areas.
How much these library systems are preparing to lose if the Amendment passes
Looking at Bay County itself, if Amendment 3 passes, it is projected to lose $36 million by 2028.
“Unfortunately, that's not going to cover the library services, parks and [recreation], and Bayway Transit,” Burris said. “There are going to be a lot of services that are going to not fall within that budget, and it's just a numbers game.”
Since the Miami-Dade County library system has millage, Habif was able to estimate how much funding could be lost.
“Our library system has a millage, which means that for every $1,000 in taxable value, the homeowner typically pays about 28 cents that goes directly to the library, and in Miami-Dade County, that's about $42 a year for the average homeowner,” Habif said.
Effects of library systems losing funding
In Miami-Dade, many libraries are used as election polling sites.
If Amendment 3 passes, Habif anticipates a 20% cut across the board, which would include these voting locations — potentially making it harder for residents to vote.
Most people turn to the library for trusted information and free access to the internet.
“That's one of the biggest things that the library does is kind of gap-cover the digital divide in America,” Habif added. “People who do not have access either to Wi-Fi, internet, or the device itself, they go to the library to get those.”
Burris and Habif address concerns over government spending
Some support Amendment 3 because they view government spending as out of control since they are seeing budgets go up.
But according to Burris, in the last five to 10 years, library budgets have been the opposite — causing libraries to pinch pennies,
“Libraries are actually one of the places that you see your tax dollars hard at work,” she said. “I think that every grant that is given to a library, they really make sure that each dollar is spent wisely, and stretch it the longest and furthest it can.”
Others support the amendment due to their view on the Florida affordability crisis. For example, Florida Realtors CEO Margy Grant said the organization works as community advocates and has heard about cost of living challenges.
"I represent more than a quarter of a million small business owners, realtors who are in every single community in Florida statewide. And the one thing they've been telling us, as they've been home with their clients, customers and friends, is that the affordability challenge for Florida families is a real issue, and that something has to be done," Grant said. "And that is why we are proud to support Amendment 3 because that's going to allow so many hardworking Florida families keep more of the money they work so hard to earn."
But as a homeowner, Habif does not believe this is a reason to vote yes on 3.
“The pressure that people are feeling is real, but the amount of return that you get on your tax dollars and the services that you get, even if you never step foot inside of a library, you are benefiting from other people in your community stepping foot inside those places, and they really are just absolutely essential things in the community, Habif said.
This story was compiled from interviews conducted by Carlton Gillespie for "The Florida Roundup."
