BELLEAIR — For the past eight months, local leaders have been sounding the alarm about how the state’s plan to expand the homestead exemption would hit their communities. Now that the proposal is headed to the November ballot, that warning has taken on new urgency.
On June 2, the Legislature passed House Joint Resolution 1-F, the “Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes” amendment, sending it to the Nov. 3 ballot. If at least 60% of voters approve, the measure would raise the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with later increases tied to inflation. For roughly 60% of homesteaded owners, it could erase non-school property taxes altogether.
Belleair and Belleair Bluffs officials have spent months trying to spell out what that would mean closer to home: the loss of property tax revenue that funds emergency services, capital projects, community events and, they argue, the overall quality of life that defines the two communities.
The public warnings began in November. “A vote for no ad valorem tax is a vote to defund our city,” Belleair Bluffs Mayor Chris Arbutine said Nov. 17. A day later, Belleair Town Manager Gay Lancaster reinforced the point: “60% of our budget is supported by (ad valorem) taxes.”
At the time, Lancaster said she “didn’t know what was going to happen” with the legislation. “But it’s going to be a tough road to hoe,” she said.
Arbutine, who at more than 25 years in office is among the state’s longest-tenured mayors, has been a critic from the start. In December, he joined other local officials at a Barrier Islands Governmental Council meeting in Treasure Island to sound an alarm he traces to a spring 2025 luncheon with Gov. Ron DeSantis at the Belleair Country Club.
“The governor spoke, and everyone was ranting about local officials and how much money we spend,” Arbutine recalled of the May 2, 2025, Belleair Women’s Republican Club luncheon. “And that’s when I realized we were going to be wards of the state.”
“This property tax thing is just ludicrous,” Arbutine said at the June 12 Belleair Bluffs City Commission meeting, adding there “needs to be a plan” to replace the revenue the community would lose.
Supporters have suggested the state could help offset the ad valorem revenue cities and towns stand to lose — and the services it pays for — but local officials say major questions remain about where that money would come from and how it would be distributed.
On June 16, Belleair officials presented a 13-page report on the proposal, laying out what the town could look like if HJR 1-F passes.
“This is our initial presentation so we can begin to get homeowners to understand where their tax dollar goes and the impact should HJR 1-F pass,” Lancaster said, adding that the information is posted on the town’s website and that more reports will follow.
The report shows the typical property tax dollar split roughly into thirds among the school system, the county and local government, with a small share for special districts.
In Belleair — which has little commercial property and many longtime homesteaded residences — the town “relies heavily on property tax funding, which accounts for nearly 70% of our total revenue,” Lancaster said. The town collects about $9.3 million in property tax revenue a year.
“And our money goes toward taking care of the community,” she said.
If the amendment reaches the ballot and passes, Lancaster said, “there would be zero impact” to the town in 2027, but the years after would cost Belleair millions of dollars in ad valorem revenue annually.
“And if they eliminated property taxes altogether, it would eliminate all of our current budget,” she said. “We would not have enough to pay our police department.”
The warning landed with residents in attendance.
“I’d love to have some clarity on why this is happening, where it’s coming from and whose idea this is,” one woman said. “Because I really don’t understand it.”
Mayor Mike Wilkinson said “Tallahassee” was behind the proposed cut. Asked who that meant, officials pointed to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“The governor made the proposal to do away with all property taxes, and the legislature changed it,” Deputy Mayor Tom Shelly said, adding that if the language clears by Aug. 15, “it will be on the ballot in November.”
Lancaster said she “didn’t want to sound like I am crying wolf because this is not a wolf. This is a reality.” If the measure passes, she said, the cuts could erase the community events, staffing and small touches that set Belleair apart — and potentially the town itself.
“Do we want to abolish the town if we don’t have money to operate?” Lancaster asked.
Wilkinson said the decision would ultimately rest with voters, and he cast the measure as another state effort to erode home rule — the ability of local governments to govern themselves.
“In all my years in office I’ve seen the erosion of home rule,” Wilkinson said. “And the legislators in Tallahassee don’t understand that. … We’re the closest to the people at this level. And we listen.”
Down the road in Belleair Bluffs, Arbutine agreed.
“What is local government about?” he asked, then answered his own question. “One thing — securing our residents’ quality of life.”