If you’re still still considering whether to vote for Amendment 3 (which would eliminate non-school property taxes for almost every homesteaded property in the state, and give the Legislature far more authority over local governments’ spending decisions) please understand: This amendment is a giant boondoggle, a tax shift gussied up as a tax break.

It would savagely undermine the authority of Florida’s local governments — which, for the most part, are run by folks who actually work to keep your taxes down and spend money responsibly. And it would have ripple effects that people might not have foreseen. Some cities will be forced to raise their overall tax rates just to keep bare-bones services — police and fire, permitting, etc. — up and running. Most local governments will have to cut popular programs.

You may remember Blaise Ingoglia, who is currently acting as Florida’s chief financial officer, trotting around the state claiming to have identified all kinds of government waste. But look through our archives — or his own press releases. He rarely identified any particular spending as wasteful. Instead he just compared budget growth to population growth — often using false numbers for one or both measures, and failing to note the major hurricane, the pandemic and the Tallahassee-based mandates that have forced local governments to spend more.

That’s why we offered 10 reasons to vote against Amendment 3 on Sunday. But we couldn’t stop there. Here are a dozen more reasons to vote no on 3:

1. If you want to avoid additional fees for services that are now paid for with property tax revenue. The amendment would not stop counties from setting up special districts to fund specific programs — like fire service. Fees that aren’t baked on the value of a home would not be reduced by Amendment 3, meaning that owners of homesteaded properties could see one part of their tax bill reduced, while another part increases.

2. If you want to save money on your income taxes. Local property taxes are deductible for the purposes of federal income tax. Special assessments (such as fees for police and fire service) usually aren’t.

3. If you think people accused of dangerous crimes belong in jail. Arresting someone is expensive: At least one (and sometimes two) officers must drive each prisoner to the jail, wait until they are processed in, and then drive back to their city — a process that can take one or two hours of an officer’s shift, or even put the city on the hook for overtime. One obvious solution is to reduce the number of times an officer makes that trek — which could involve a decision not to pursue someone with an active arrest warrant, or to tacitly authorize officers to be pickier over who they arrest and transport. This could be especially problematic in cases of suspected domestic violence.

4. If you don’t own a home now, but want to. Amendment 3 only applies to people who have owned their homes for at least five years. That means new homeowners could face tax bills based on the increased rates, with little relief.

5. If you want your community to be able to bounce back from a major storm. In the aftermath of a storm, much of the burden of recovery — including debris removal and security in storm-wracked areas — falls on local governments. That money is supposed to be refunded by federal officials, but it can take years — Lake County waited three years for reimbursements for Hurricane Ian, for example. This puts a strain on other parts of the budget and with less cash on hand, governments may have to do less or take longer for recovery.

6. If you own a business. Like renters, businesses get almost no benefit from Amendment 3. When tax rates go up, they will pay more.

7. If you care about people who are homeless. Many local residents don’t realize how much money local governments have been spending to shelter, and provide services for, people experiencing homelessness. But earlier this month, Seminole County put nonprofits on notice that it was withholding grant funding until after the election — a move that hits multiple homeless-outreach programs, along with programs like Meals on Wheels, the YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs and other nonprofits that serve tens of thousands of people each year.

8. If you value libraries. A few communities including Orange County already support libraries with a special assessment. But other governments, including Altamonte Springs, are already contemplating big cuts to library services. Those decisions will hit more cities and counties as belts grow tighter.

9. If you like going to community events, such as festivals and Christmas parades. When you look at the list of sponsors for your favorite local events, you’ll often see the name of your local county or city listed. That’s because local governments frequently pick up costs associated with those events — such as police to oversee road closures and provide security, or water and electricity. Without that support, many of the groups behind community events will have to either cut down their plans or find a way to charge admission.

10. If you “back the blue.” Lawmakers have said they will take action to prevent cuts to public safety. But that’s a hollow promise, because a community’s safety depends on so many factors. In addition, many local governments might amend their current year’s budgets to drastically reduce public-safety funding for this year — reducing funding that would otherwise be “protected” by state lawmakers.

11. If you don’t want your county’s animal control to drastically increase the number of healthy dogs and cats they euthanize. Keeping an animal alive costs more than many local governments will be able to afford. Private shelters almost certainly can’t absorb the overflow.

12. If you trust the people who are opposing Amendment 3 more than you trust the ones who proposed it. This amendment shifts massive financial power to the state Legislature — the same entity that sat by and twiddled its thumbs while state leaders spent more than $1 billion (and counting) on schemes like flying asylum-seekers from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, stealing money from Medicaid to fund political ads or building a no-bid immigrant detention center in the Everglades. Local officials have never been caught wasting money on this scale.

That alone should raise a question in your mind. Why are so many Florida legislators hot to go after city and county spending, rather than tackle the excesses that flow from the state Capitol every year? That’s not just the millions wasted on political stunts, it’s the billions the state flings at insurance companies and politically connected “consultants,” and the legal fees it runs up with unconstitutional schemes. The answer to that should be clear: This isn’t just a tax shift. It’s a chance to shift the blame away from themselves, and onto local elected officials.

That’s one more good reason to vote. “no.”

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