Sheriff's Office $142.5M 34.7% of it
The Sheriff's Office and its facilities: patrol, investigations, dispatch, and the school resource officers in Osceola schools.
Property Tax Amendment 3
What it is, and how it would affect Osceola County services
In November 2026, Florida voters will be asked to decide Amendment 3. It would raise the property tax exemption on homesteaded properties, reducing the property tax dollars available to fund County services. The increased exemption would not affect non-homestead properties, including second homes, vacation rentals and commercial property.
County property taxes currently raise $492.6 million of the County's $3.1 billion budget; much of the remaining budget is committed by law, limited to specific uses, restricted by grant requirements or contractually obligated. A related law, CS/SB 4F (Chapter 2026-240), separately changes the rules governing how local governments may increase property-tax millage rates. Read the proposed constitutional amendment in CS/HJR 1F (opens in a new tab, Word document) and the related property-tax legislation in CS/SB 4F (opens in a new tab).
The County encourages all residents to understand the full legislation, ask questions, and make an informed decision when you vote in November 2026.
State law requires a balanced budget
Because the budget must balance, any reduction in property tax revenue must be offset by other revenue or by reducing service.
Reductions presented to the Board
These were presented to the Board in a budget workshop as options, not decisions. Nothing below has been adopted. The General Fund accounts for $70.9 million of what has been identified so far.
- Subdivision roadway resurfacing reduced or eliminated, and roadway and building repairs and maintenance reduced
- LYNX fixed routes closed based on ridership: Link 426, Route 10 and Route 26, with a matching paratransit reduction
- The SunRail contract evaluated
- Developer agreements renegotiated or eliminated, including Canoe Creek, Old Canoe Creek, Friars Cove, Hickory Tree, Mildred Bass, Jack Brack, Sunbridge Parkway, Nova and Jones Road
- The Transportation Improvement District, which is tax increment financing, eliminated
- Roadway and building mowing reduced, affecting 1,486.86 lane miles per cycle
- Consulting for road construction and expansion reduced
- Fire Rescue and EMS, $2.7M: the adopted level of service re-evaluated
- Station 54 Harmony, rescue unit removed, 9 positions
- Station 52 Pine Grove closed, 12 positions
- The resulting 21 positions would move to vacancies at other stations
- Mosquito control: standing water still treated, spraying for adult mosquitoes eliminated
- The County contribution to the School Resource Officer program eliminated
- Lot mowing abatement and junk and debris removal eliminated
- Osceola Prosper reduced or eliminated
- Funding for chamber partnerships eliminated
- Funding for the UCF Kissimmee Incubator eliminated
- W192 facade grants and Main Street grants eliminated
- Membership of the Orlando Economic Partnership eliminated
- International business development, including Plug and Play, eliminated
- Veterans services eliminated
- Homelessness assistance eliminated
- Community service grants eliminated
- Outpatient mental health and substance abuse services reduced
- The affordable housing mobility fee credit buy-down eliminated
- The Federally Qualified Health Center at Poinciana and Kissimmee eliminated, $485,000
- Library operations and hours reduced
- No future library expansions
- IT equipment and hardware reduced
- Government affairs professional services reduced
- Early General Fund debt payoff for leased vehicles
- Extension services eliminated
- Park equipment removed at end of life; parks and boat ramps evaluated
- Community center operations and transitions evaluated
- SAVE purchases limited to maintaining what is already held
- Sustainability initiatives reduced
Even with all of these, the budget still would not balance.
- $94.6Mwould have to be found
- $77.0Midentified so far
- -$17.5Mstill to be identified
Property tax
Amendment 3 only affects property taxes
County property taxes bring $492.6 million into the 2027 budget - four separate taxes, not one. $410.3 million of it is the General Fund; the other three pay for emergency medical services, the Osceola Library System and SAVE Osceola. Almost every County service is paid from these four, and the largest single piece of any of them is the Sheriff's Office.
$410.3M General Fund property tax
Inside the largest one
General County Services
$410.3M13.2% of the budget
This is the tax almost every County service is paid from, and the one the Sheriff is funded by. Just over a third of it goes to the Sheriff alone.
- Sheriff's Office $142.5M
- Transportation & Transit $71.2M
- Corrections $67M
- Internal Support Functions $43.7M
- Constitutional Officers $34.8M
- Housing & Community Services $21M
- Everything else $30.1M
If Amendment 3 passes
The County would need to close an estimated $79.3 million annual gap in the General Fund
That could mean spending reductions, increases in taxes and fees, or both.
The impact will grow over time
Because the exemption is indexed to inflation after 2028, its value, and the revenue impact with it, will increase over time.
- 2028 $250,000 fully phased in
- 2033 $289,819 five years later
- 2038 $335,979 ten years later
Illustrative projections
Actual inflation is not known. Article VII Section 6(2)a indexes the exemption to the Consumer Price Index and sets no upper limit, unlike the 3% ceiling that caps how fast a homesteaded assessment can rise.
If Amendment 3 passes
Emergency medical services would lose an estimated $8.7 million a year
Ambulance response, paramedics, and emergency medical care and transport.
Its own countywide property tax of 1.0682 mills, adopted separately from the General Fund. About half of Fire Rescue is paid for by property tax; the rest is the fire assessment, which is not a property tax and which Amendment 3 does not change.
If Amendment 3 passes
The Osceola Library System would lose an estimated $3.6 million a year
Library operations and facilities.
Its own property tax of 0.3000 mills, adopted separately from the General Fund.
If Amendment 3 passes
SAVE Osceola would lose an estimated $3.0 million a year
Buying and caring for environmentally sensitive land across the County.
Its own property tax of 0.2500 mills, approved by more than 83% of voters in 2024.
All four property taxes together
An estimated $94.6 million a year
Amendment 3 reaches all four County property taxes. This is what they lose together.
- General Fund −$79.3M
- Emergency medical services −$8.7M
- Osceola Library System −$3.6M
- SAVE Osceola −$3.0M
Base figures are from the Osceola County FY2027 tentative budget: $492.6 million across the four property taxes, of which $410.3 million is the General Fund. The reduction amounts are the County's own estimates, presented to the Board of County Commissioners at a budget workshop.
Where the General Fund property tax money goes
How the countywide General Fund property tax is spent, 2027 budget.
$410,315,292General Fund property tax, 2027
| General Fund property tax today | $410,315,292 |
|---|---|
| Reduction if Amendment 3 passes | -$79,307,642 |
| Remaining property taxes | $331,007,650 |
| Sheriff's Office | -$142,471,487 |
| Remaining property taxes | $188,536,163 |
| Further reduction if homesteaded property taxes are eliminated | -$30,246,541 |
| Left for everything else | $158,289,622 |
* The Sheriff's Office is about 43% of the $331,007,650 above it. Its budget is held flat here; it has grown by an average of 7.6 percent a year over the past 10 years.
Public safety $220.7M 54%
Everything else $189.6M 46%
Transportation & Transit $71.2M 17.4% of it
Building and maintaining County roads, sidewalks, signals and stormwater, and the County's share of bus and rail services (LYNX and SunRail).
- Transportation Trust $46,275,086
- Constitutional Gas Tax $14,118,096
- Bus and rail services (LYNX, SunRail) $10,764,570
Corrections $67.0M 16.3% of it
The County jail: corrections, inmate medical care, courthouse security and probation.
Internal Support Functions $43.7M 10.7% of it
Internal support services, community development and planning, and County facilities.
Constitutional Officers $34.8M 8.5% of it
Four separately elected offices the County funds. The Sheriff is the fifth, and has a band of his own above.
- Tax Collector $15,159,346
- Property Appraiser $8,931,058
- Supervisor of Elections $6,304,496
- Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller $4,414,719
Housing & Community Services $21.0M 5.1% of it
Community assistance programs: housing, homeless assistance, veterans services and public health partners.
Unfunded State Mandates $14.8M 3.6% of it
Costs the County is required by state law to pay for.
- Medicaid & HCRA $13,345,952
- Medical Examiner $2,015,757
- Court-related Technology $1,879,067
- Florida Department of Health $1,266,541
- Juvenile Justice $952,816
- State Attorney & Public Defender $389,288
Other Public Safety $8.2M 2.0% of it
Animal Services, Emergency Management and Mosquito Control.
- Animal Services $5,219,612
- Mosquito Control $1,727,712
- Emergency Management $833,694
Parks & Public Lands $4.1M 1.0% of it
Park and public land operations outside SAVE, plus lakes management and the tree farm.
- Environment & Public Lands $3,847,342
- Parks, outside SAVE $3,171,932
Fire subsidy from the General Fund $3.0M 0.7% of it
The General Fund's contribution to Fire Rescue, for property that is exempt from the fire assessment.
Point at a band to see what is in it. Click one to open what is inside. Click the same band again, or press Escape, to close it.
The other property taxes
Amendment 3 reduces funding for Emergency Medical Services, Libraries and SAVE Osceola
Each chart shows three levels: what the tax raises today, what it would raise if Amendment 3 passes and the exemption reaches $250,000, and what would be left if homesteaded non-school property taxes are eliminated altogether.
| Current property tax revenue | $82,300,704 |
|---|---|
| Reduction if Amendment 3 passes | -$15,262,131 |
| Remaining property taxes | $67,038,573 |
| Further reduction if homesteaded property taxes are eliminated | -$6,100,196 |
| Remaining property taxes | $60,938,377 |
Emergency Medical Services: $48,535,159 today, $39,858,071 at the $250,000 exemption, $36,255,764 if homesteaded property taxes are eliminated.
Osceola Library System: $18,417,570 today, $14,825,728 at the $250,000 exemption, $13,463,244 if homesteaded property taxes are eliminated.
SAVE Osceola: $15,347,975 today, $12,354,774 at the $250,000 exemption, $11,219,370 if homesteaded property taxes are eliminated.
| General Fund reduction | -$79,307,642 |
|---|---|
| Emergency medical services, libraries and SAVE Osceola | -$15,262,131 |
| Total reduction if Amendment 3 passes | -$94,569,773 |
| Further reduction if homesteaded property taxes are eliminated | -$36,346,737 |
| Total reduction if homesteaded property taxes are eliminated | -$130,916,510 |
Balancing the budget
Tools available to balance the budget
There are two approaches. Either reduce the services the County provides its citizens, or increase taxes and fees. This can be done in combination.
Reduce services
- Reduce service levels Fewer mowing cycles. Fewer fire stations. Fewer libraries. Shorter hours. Fewer parks kept open. Road construction projects stopped or slowed.
- Stop providing a service State law makes parks, libraries and recreation optional.
- Defer or cancel capital projects Roads, buildings, vehicles and equipment replacement. The FY26 and FY27 budgets already pause capital that adds maintenance cost and defer new projects where delay does not create unacceptable risk.
Increase taxes and fees
- Raise any of the millage rates County purposes are capped at 10 mills under the state constitution.
- Start charging for a service the County provides at no charge today The County already pays to provide it and does not bill for it. A charge would move some of that cost to the people who use the service. It would have to be a fee, not a tax: priced at cost, and declinable.
- Raise an existing fee toward its cost Some are capped by statute.
A closer look, provision by provision
More of your home's value would no longer be taxed to fund County services.
Today: The exemption is about $51,000. It would grow to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.
Keeps Growing Forever: From 2029 the exemption rises with inflation every year, automatically, with no further vote.
Only the Home You Live In: The exemptions only apply to the home you own and live in as your permanent residence. They don't apply to rentals, second homes and commercial property, which would bear a greater share of the cost of those related public services indefinitely.
Other properties get a tax cap, not the new exemption.
Non-homesteaded properties such as rentals, second homes, and small apartment buildings can see their assessed value rise by up to 10% a year today. From 2027 that limit would drop to 5%.
They get no part of the bigger homestead exemption, so non-homestead property would keep paying toward County services and would carry a larger share of the total than it does now.
New Florida residents do not get the full exemption right away.
Become a Florida resident after December 31, 2026 and you get the existing $50,000 exemption for your first four years. The increased exemption starts with the fifth year.
After 2030, the County may shorten that period by a two-thirds vote.
The amendment does not change the tax rate. It increases the exemptions applied to your home.
Amendment 3 raises the homestead exemption, but leaves the millage rate alone. The Board of County Commissioners adopts the millage rates each year in public hearings. For the General Fund, that rate is 6.7000 mills and has remained unchanged for 16 years. It is part of the County's overall aggregate millage rate of 8.3182 mills, which also covers Fire, Library and SAVE.
How the General Fund portion is calculated
- Assessed value
- $300,000
- Less exemptions
- -$51,411
- Taxable value
- $248,589
- General Fund tax at 6.7000 mills
- $1,665.55
248,589 x 0.0067 = 1,665.55
The amendment reduces revenue for each of the County's four property tax rates: General Fund that funds the Sheriff's budget, Fire and Emergency Medical services, Library services and the SAVE program recently renewed by Osceola County voters, leaving less to fund those services.
New State restrictions on how property tax can be used.
Amendment 3 limits permitted uses to: public safety, schools, infrastructure, natural resources, debt, pensions, and the operations and administration of the County. That last category also covers the expenditures the Board approves, except those prohibited by general law.
Frequently asked questions
Below are several frequently asked questions about property taxes, how Amendment 3 would affect Osceola County, and other important pieces of information about how County operations are funded.
What is a homesteaded property?
A homesteaded property is a home you hold title to, live in as your permanent residence, and have the homestead exemption applied to. For tax year 2026 that exemption is up to $51,411 on non-school taxes. It also qualifies for Save Our Homes. Vacation and rental homes, investment properties and commercial properties are not homesteaded.
How much would the homestead exemption increase?
For tax year 2026, the current homestead exemption is $51,411 for non-school property taxes. If Amendment 3 is approved, the exemption would increase to $150,000 in tax year 2027 and $250,000 in tax year 2028 for qualifying homestead properties. Beginning in 2029, the $250,000 exemption would increase annually based on inflation. Amendment 3 also establishes a mechanism for the full elimination of non-school property taxes on qualifying homesteaded property.
What would happen to my own bill?
If the home you live in is homesteaded and millage rates remain unchanged, the County part of your bill would go down across all four County property taxes: general County services, fire and emergency medical, the library, and SAVE Osceola. How much depends on what your home is assessed at. A home assessed below the exemption would not pay the County any ad valorem taxes. Above it, you would pay only on the value above the exemption.
If you own a home, you would still pay property taxes. School taxes are not affected by Amendment 3, and they are still charged on your home's value. Assessments and fees are not based on your home's value at all, and virtually all homesteaded properties pay some, averaging about $939 a year.
So, a home could eventually reach the point where it owes the County nothing for non-school property taxes but still receives a bill for school property taxes and other County assessments and fees. Your tax bill isn't eliminated.
How much revenue would the County lose?
Based on current estimates from the Property Appraiser, Osceola County could experience an estimated $94.6 million reduction in property tax revenue by tax year 2028, increasing from about $57.3 million in tax year 2027. That reduction does not stop there: it grows every year with inflation, and Amendment 3 establishes a mechanism for the full elimination of non-school property taxes on qualifying homesteaded property.
Would Amendment 3 reduce public safety funding?
Yes. Fire and emergency medical services have their own property tax, so the bigger exemption reduces that fund directly: about $8.7 million a year, growing with inflation. That comes out of the $48.5 million in revenues for this purpose estimated for the 2027 budget. Public safety in total is 54 cents of every property tax dollar the County collects.
Could the County replace the money from somewhere else?
No, not in the sense that there is $94.6 million sitting unused somewhere. Most of the County budget arrives with legal or contractual restrictions, and the remainder is already supporting services residents receive today.
Closing a gap of this size comes down to the same choices facing any budget: spend less, bring in more revenue, or some combination of the two. The Board could raise the millage rate, up to the 10-mill statutory limit for county purposes.
The County could also consider increasing assessments or fees, reducing or discontinuing services, or some combination of these options. No decisions about those measures have been made.
Why not use Tourist Development Tax money?
Tourist Development Tax (TDT) revenue cannot generally be used to replace property tax revenue because its use is restricted by Florida law. TDT is collected primarily from visitors staying in hotels, vacation rentals, and other short-term accommodations. Florida Statutes limit how these revenues may be spent, generally restricting them to authorized tourism-related purposes such as tourism promotion, convention and visitor services, certain tourism facilities, and other specifically authorized uses.
In fiscal year 2025 the County collected about $85.2 million in Tourist Development Tax. None of it can pay for deputies, firefighters, veterans services or most of what property tax funds, unless the Florida Legislature changes the law.
Will the State send money to make up the difference?
No. The amendment provides no mechanism for the State of Florida to replace property tax revenue lost by Osceola County, whether from the increased homestead exemption or the reduced assessment cap on non-homestead property.
Does Amendment 3 eliminate property taxes altogether?
Amendment 3 establishes a mechanism for the full elimination of non-school property taxes on qualifying homesteaded property. Homeowners may also continue to pay non-ad valorem assessments or other charges that appear on the property tax bill, as those charges are not based on a property's taxable value.
I do not own property. What does this mean for me?
The proposal could affect more than homeowners. Renters, businesses and visitors all rely on County services, so if those services are reduced or stopped, the people who use them feel it. And because commercial and rental properties get none of the increased exemption, their owners would carry a greater share of the cost of County services if the Board raised the millage rate in response, which may be passed to tenants through higher rents. And whatever services the General Fund still pays for would keep reaching a homesteaded owner whose own County property tax had fallen to zero.
I am a County vendor and I received a letter. What does it mean?
On September 8 the County wrote to its vendors and partners about Amendment 3 and what it could mean for County contracts. It is not a cancellation or a renegotiation of any particular contract, and nothing has changed about your contract today.
It went out so the business community could prepare. The County relies on local and regional companies to serve its residents, often because the private sector can do the work at lower cost than the County can itself. If the amendment passes, the County would have to review every expenditure, every program and every contract it holds: some vendor contracts would be evaluated, some renegotiated, and some could end. The County knows vendors plan around the predictability of its contracts, and that those decisions reach your staff and your operations.
No decision has been made about which contracts would be affected, and none will be until the November election is decided.
Would fees go up, like the fire assessment?
Amendment 3 does not require Osceola County to increase fees or special assessments. However, if the Amendment passes and results in a significant reduction in property tax revenue, the County would need to evaluate how to continue funding essential services with the resources available.
Informational only. Osceola County's intent is to provide factual information so residents can make informed decisions. This page does not advocate for or against Amendment 3. No decisions about service levels, millage rates or programs have been made; those are made by the Board of County Commissioners in public through the published budget process.