DeLand officials are set to hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday to discuss how Florida voters’ approval of Amendment 3, a property tax measure expected to reshape municipal finances statewide, will affect the city. City leaders say the amendment's passage will cut DeLand's annual budget by $5.2 million in 2027 and $8.8 million in 2028, forcing a hard look at reserves, revenue strategies, and what services the city can still afford.
What DeLand Officials Plan to Discuss
According to Spectrum News 13, the meeting will center on how Amendment 3 will affect the municipality's budget, with city officials examining all revenue options and weighing their effects on residents and businesses. Discussion is also expected to include whether funds from the fiscal year 2026-27 reserves can be released, and what revenue strategies might improve the city's financial footing heading into the new year. Members of the public are encouraged to attend and offer input, the outlet reports.
DeLand City Manager Michael Pleus has already been preparing for this moment. Per the same report, Pleus said that anything not legally required or absolutely necessary has been diverted into a reserve contingency budget pending the outcome of Amendment 3. The city's budget plan also states that reserves should not be used to paper over ongoing gaps, meaning Monday's conversation will likely focus on sustainable, longer-term fixes rather than one-time patches. Pleus discussed the city's budget structure at a meeting on September 27, before the amendment passed.
What Amendment 3 Actually Changes
Florida voters approved Amendment 3 with 62% in favor, according to WPTV. The measure raises the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, as reported by the Florida Tribune. For many homeowners, that means lower property tax bills next year. For cities and counties, it means a steep drop in the revenue that funds public services.
The statewide numbers illustrate the scale of the shift. The Florida Tribune reports that economists estimate the amendment will cut local property tax revenue by $4.9 billion in its first year, growing to $11.8 billion by 2031. PolitiFact, citing its own analysis, puts the first-two-year hit at $13.7 billion statewide, with losses settling at nearly $12 billion annually after that. Those estimates cover different timeframes, but they point in the same direction: local governments across Florida will have markedly less money to spend on public services. PolitiFact also notes that Florida's schools, counties, cities, and special districts collected about $59.1 billion in property taxes in 2025, a nearly 75% increase from 2019, underscoring how much revenue growth is now being reversed.
Other Florida Cities Face Similar Math
DeLand is far from alone in scrambling to adjust. In nearby Ormond Beach, a state revenue estimate found the city could lose more than $5 million in the 2027-28 fiscal year and almost $9 million the following year, according to Yahoo News. That forecast already has consequences: Ormond Beach commissioners tabled plans to purchase the former Osceola Elementary School property at their Nov. 4 meeting, citing potential ramifications from the amendment.
Elsewhere, Florida TaxWatch estimates Lake Worth Beach will lose $2.9 million in the first year of the higher exemption and $5 million in the second, per WPTV. In South Florida, Doral is projecting a loss of about $2 million to $2.5 million in its first year of impact and roughly $3.5 million the year after, according to the Miami Herald. Osceola County's estimated revenue impact is about $79 million over two years, according to Osceola County, which says the response could involve spending reductions, tax increases, fee increases, or some combination of the three. The county is careful to note that any potential service reductions discussed so far were presented to its board as options in a budget workshop, not as adopted decisions.
That caveat applies broadly across the state right now. PolitiFact reports it could take local governments months to decide how to adjust their budgets and services in response to Amendment 3. For DeLand, Monday's special meeting is an early step in that process, with city officials still weighing revenue options rather than finalizing cuts.
