City Leaders Debate Future Cuts After Amendment 3 Revenue Loss

Florida voters approved Amendment 3 this week, and Jacksonville officials are now talking about what a smaller property-tax base would mean for the city budget in later years. News4JAX reported that the measure passed Tuesday night with 62 percent of the vote and is projected to cost Jacksonville $200 million in revenue in the 2027-28 fiscal year. The same report said the projected loss reaches $300 million by 2028-29. Action News Jax also reported 62 percent approval, above the 60 percent threshold required for the amendment. Those dollar figures are projections reported by news outlets and city officials. They are not a current-year shortfall that has already been written into this year's adopted budget.

Key facts from those reports: Amendment 3 passed with about 62 percent statewide support. It expands the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes. Action News Jax said the exemption increases to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. The Florida Times-Union said the current $50,000 homestead exemption for non-school taxes will rise to those amounts and then increase yearly based on the inflation rate starting in 2029. School district taxes are not affected, Action News Jax reported. Property taxes account for nearly 64 cents of every dollar in revenue collected by the city, according to that report. City Council President Nick Howland estimated a budget gap of up to $200 million in 2027 and $300 million in 2028. Mayor Donna Deegan's office told News4JAX that Kids Hope Alliance is fully funded in the current budget year. Talk of later cuts, including a blanket Kids Hope Alliance reduction discussed in Finance Committee, is debate. It is not an enacted cut.

The Times-Union explained the household side of the same numbers. The cut in property tax bills for homeowners will reduce what they pay to the city of Jacksonville by about $200 million in the 2027-28 budget and by $300 million in the 2028-29 budget, the newspaper reported. It also said many homeowners will pay no non-school property taxes as a result of the higher homestead exemption. That is tax relief for homestead properties. It is also less money for city services that those taxes now support. First Coast News said Deegan, who opposed Amendment 3, said she understands why voters supported the measure given affordability concerns. She said people need relief and that she has always been for relief, and that she wanted it in a responsible package.

District 13 Councilman Rory Diamond has argued that the city should prepare by cutting spending that is not police or fire. News4JAX quoted Diamond saying that money sent to developers and to nonprofit groups can be cut and that there would still be plenty of money for police and fire. First Coast News reported that during Wednesday's Finance Committee meeting, Diamond argued for cutting spending, freezing hiring, and scaling back incentives for private development. Action News Jax quoted Diamond calling for immediate spending reductions, including a hiring freeze and salary cuts, and criticizing grant allocations for community programs. Those are proposals from one council member. They are not a council vote to cut those items.

District 14 Councilman Rahman K. Johnson opposed treating Kids Hope Alliance as an easy place for a blanket cut. News4JAX quoted Johnson saying the committee had talked about a 10 percent budget cut as it relates to Kids Hope Alliance, to cut because the program grew at a higher rate than public safety. Johnson said that, as an academic researcher, that does not make good sense for what works. First Coast News reported that Johnson said accountability matters and that he wants the city accountable for taxpayer dollars, but that cutting salaries in a broad way shows a lack of connection to reality. Action News Jax reported that Johnson also pushed back on dismissing municipal programs and said the city should look at all programs intelligently. No source reviewed for this article said the full City Council has adopted a 10 percent Kids Hope Alliance cut.

Kids Hope Alliance is a City of Jacksonville funding agent, according to the city's nonprofit information page at https://nonprofits.jacksonville.gov/nonprofit-toolbox/city-departments That page says KHA invests in children's and youth programs in Duval County, manages implementation, and monitors outcomes through third-party providers and local nonprofit partners. It lists five essential service categories: early learning, literacy, and school readiness; juvenile justice prevention and intervention; out-of-school programming; pre-teen and teen programming; and special needs. The Times-Union said the city has been increasing support for Kids Hope Alliance after-school and summer youth programs, and that those programs have been part of the city's crime-fighting strategy on the prevention side. City Administrative Officer Mike Weinstein told the Times-Union that Kids Hope Alliance is critical and that investments in children are critical, but that it will be looked at like everything else and maybe will not be at the same level.

The mayor's office, speaking to News4JAX on behalf of Kids Hope Alliance, said the City of Jacksonville provides most of KHA's funding and that KHA also receives grant funding. The statement said KHA provides vital services for children and families and that the city will continue to invest in those programs. It said KHA is fully funded in the current budget year and that will continue to be the case. It said Deegan will propose a lean and balanced budget in July that accounts for reduced revenue in the 2027-2028 fiscal year, and that any necessary adjustments will be made with the community and City Council. That is the administration's description of this year versus next year's proposal. It is not a promise about every later year after July.

Deegan told News4JAX that the city will make cuts and decisions where it has to make them, and that the work has to be done in a thoughtful way with partners on the council. She said it is not something the city will solve in the next 24 or 48 hours. First Coast News reported that she said the city will spend the coming months evaluating the amendment's fiscal impact before making budget decisions, and that Amendment 3 does not take effect until next year. She said she is not going to take things away until the city has a good idea of exactly what it is looking at. Weinstein told the Times-Union that the city does not need to do anything draconian in the current budget, does not need to pit one program against another at this time, and that the city has a budget that is solid. He also said Jacksonville will make some adjustment to the current budget to prepare for 2027-28.

Weinstein told reporters, according to the Times-Union and First Coast News, that some organizations and projects that receive city funding could face reductions in future budgets. He said the administration intends to maintain key priorities, including affordable housing and public safety. The Times-Union quoted him saying the city is not going to give up on the mayor's priorities of affordability, housing, and public safety. He said public safety accounts for 53 percent of the city's $2 billion budget and will feel the impact. As examples, he said a new fire station requires 24 additional firefighter positions, so a new station maybe will not be built as quickly, and that police cars maybe will not be replaced as quickly. He also said the library system may face some service reductions in the 2027-28 budget, with libraries open fewer hours, and that parks hours or mosquito spraying could be scaled back. Those are examples he offered. They are not adopted 2027-28 line items.

Nonprofit operators say a later city cut would not wait until a fiscal year feels distant on paper. Callan Brown, CEO of the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida, told News4JAX that demand is about to explode, and that when money for these services is taken away, organizations generally have to stop serving the same numbers they used to. Brown said the sector would start to see immediate cuts, immediate impacts, and loss of staffing, and described that as a huge, immediate concern for the nonprofit community. Action News Jax reported that the City Council Finance Committee previously withheld 35 percent of city grant money allocated for nonprofit organizations until the election results were finalized. Jacksonville Today reported in August 2026 that the Finance Committee voted to pause a portion of Public Service Grants and Cultural Council funding pending the Amendment 3 vote. Those earlier holds are separate from any cut that might be proposed for fiscal year 2027-28.

Other council members described delays rather than instant cancellations. Action News Jax quoted Council member Jimmy Peluso saying there are going to be a lot of delays, and that if someone was expecting a new library, it might be delayed two more years. Peluso cited possible delays for road resurfacing, drainage, infrastructure, and new public libraries, and questioned how much money the city would have for Kids Hope Alliance work that makes a lasting impact. The Times-Union reported that Weinstein said the city is not moving away from capital projects recently approved by City Council, including a Northside library in the current budget, and that a new jail is still being planned even though financing will be harder. Downtown development incentives are under more scrutiny in the same week, according to the Times-Union and First Coast News. This report does not treat any one incentive vote as decided.

How this affects Jacksonville residents: homestead owners are in line for lower non-school property tax bills if the exemption changes take effect as described by Action News Jax and the Times-Union. Renters, students in after-school programs, and people who use libraries, parks, or nonprofit services funded with city money are in a different position. Their costs and access depend on later budget votes, not on Amendment 3's passage alone. Kids Hope Alliance programs remain funded in the current budget year, according to the mayor's office statement published by News4JAX. Families using those programs now should not treat committee debate as a notice that a site is closing this week. Providers that rely on city grants should watch the July 2027-28 budget proposal and later council votes. Public safety staffing and equipment replacement could also be slower in later years, Weinstein said. This report does not invent a response-time change.

What you can do: the next regular City Council meeting is listed on the city's Legistar calendar for Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at 5 p.m. in the Council Chamber, 1st Floor, City Hall. News4JAX said budget implications from Amendment 3 are expected to be discussed. Confirm the agenda before you go, because posted items can change. Calendar: https://jaxcityc.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx Council meetings are held at 117 West Duval Street. Residents can speak during public comment if the meeting rules allow it that night. For city service questions, call 630-CITY (904-630-2489) or 311. For Kids Hope Alliance program information, the city points families to KHA as a funding agent for after-school and youth services. This report does not list private nonprofit phone numbers. Watch the mayor's July budget proposal for the first detailed 2027-28 plan that accounts for the projected revenue loss.

Did Amendment 3 already cut this year's Jacksonville budget? No source reviewed for this article said the current adopted budget has already been reduced by $200 million. News4JAX, Action News Jax, and the Times-Union described about $200 million as a projected revenue loss in fiscal year 2027-28, with about $300 million by 2028-29. Deegan said the amendment does not take effect until next year.

Is Kids Hope Alliance being cut right now? The mayor's office told News4JAX that KHA is fully funded in the current budget year and that will continue to be the case. Councilman Rahman Johnson described committee talk of a 10 percent KHA cut. That talk is not the same as an enacted ordinance.

What did Councilman Rory Diamond propose? News4JAX quoted Diamond saying money sent to developers and nonprofit groups can be cut while leaving plenty of money for police and fire. First Coast News and Action News Jax reported that he also called for a hiring freeze and other spending reductions. Those are his proposals, not a finished council action.

When will the city put a new budget on paper? The mayor's office said Deegan will propose a lean and balanced budget in July that accounts for reduced revenue in the 2027-2028 fiscal year. Weinstein told the Times-Union that some current-year adjustments may come first, without what he called draconian cuts now.

Where can residents follow the next vote? News4JAX said the full City Council meets Tuesday, November 10. The city's Legistar calendar lists that meeting at 5 p.m. in the Council Chamber at City Hall. Check the posted agenda. For city questions, call 630-CITY (904-630-2489).