LARGO — Largo would cut its library hours in half, close its performing arts center, community center and public pool, and eliminate the equivalent of about 136 full-time jobs if voters approve Amendment 3, according to a draft budget city staff presented Oct. 6.
The alternative budget for fiscal 2028 shows how the city could absorb an estimated $15.7 million a year in lost property tax revenue if the state’s proposed amendment gets the 60% voter approval it needs Nov. 3. Staff stressed that the document is for informational purposes only and that nothing has been decided.
“By law, the city of Largo doesn’t support or oppose any measure on the ballot,” Kristina Messenger, director of the city’s Office of Performance and Budget, said as she opened the presentation to the City Commission. “What follows is actual information about a budget scenario. It is not a city position.”
Amendment 3 would raise the homestead exemption on primary residences from $51,411 to $150,000 in January 2027 and to $250,000 in 2028, Messenger said. Once the exemption reaches $250,000, staff estimates the city would collect about $15.7 million less in property taxes, a loss “recurring every year, not a one-time impact,” she said.
To build the scenario, the city’s executive leadership team rated 185 programs across all general fund departments. Messenger called the result “a planning and analysis tool, not a decision or a proposed budget,” and said any real budget would still go through public hearings and commission review.
Assistant City Manager Meridy Semones then walked commissioners through the potential cuts.
The library would take the deepest proportional hit: $3.26 million and 27 full-time-equivalent positions, or 62% of its general fund budget, Semones said. Hours would drop from 56 a week to 28, “which will result in reduced public programming and access to general library services,” she said.
Fire Rescue faces the largest dollar cut, $5.22 million and 28 positions. Because the department is funded almost entirely by property taxes from the city and Pinellas County, Semones said, the reduction “reflects the scale of reductions from all of those sources.” It could mean eliminating two advanced life support units, staffing for one of the city’s two district chief posts and the department’s public outreach program.
The Police Department would lose $2.88 million, mostly from non-patrol operations and support services. Semones said the cuts would include reductions in the traffic safety unit and “the elimination of the problem-oriented policing team,” which handles street crimes, homelessness, mental health and senior services. The city could also shift more of the cost of school resource officers to Pinellas County Schools, end the school crossing guard program and give up its police dogs, though the K-9 officers would stay on the force.
Along with the library, Semones said, the Recreation, Parks and Arts Department would see “the largest public-facing reductions.” Cutting $2.37 million and 32 positions could close the Central Park Performing Arts Center, the Largo Community Center and the Highland Family Aquatic Center, along with some nature parks and sports fields. All city events would be eliminated, and hours would be reduced at the Highland and Southwest recreation centers.
The list also included cuts to information technology.
In all, the draft would eliminate 136.24 full-time-equivalent positions from the general fund, leaving 599. That is fewer than the 615 the city employed in 2013, in the aftermath of the Great Recession.
“So, this is a generational reduction in staffing in the general fund,” Semones said.
Commissioner Mike DiBrizzi said he had “a lot of different thoughts about whether we should have done this,” but thanked staff “in the spirit of transparency.”
He said he disagrees with much of the plan. “But if Amendment 3 passes, there’s going to be changes that we have to make. And if it doesn’t pass, there’s still changes we have to make.”
DiBrizzi, CEO of Largo-based Camelot Community Care, a child welfare and behavioral health nonprofit, said city spending “has by far outpaced inflationary growth over the last few years.”
“I’m not going to say this is wasted money. We’ve invested in things our residents really like. ... Unfortunately, we created an unsustainable growth rate that we have to roll back,” he said. “We have to manage growth, and we have to manage spending. And sometimes that means sacrifices and maybe we would not be able to provide some things that we’ve done over the last few years.”
Vice Mayor Chris Johnson, president and CEO of Piper Fire Protection and Electrical Services, said part of the budget growth came from catching up on infrastructure.
“We were critically behind on stormwater and wastewater, and we had to get caught up,” he said. “And we still have a lot of work to do.”
Johnson, who served eight years on the city’s Finance Advisory Board before he was elected in 2022, said the city has had to absorb “historic inflation ... just like our citizens have.” He defended staff, including City Manager John Curp, for putting the draft together.
“We asked for this. I asked for this,” Johnson said. “This isn’t what’s going to pass. This isn’t what’s going to happen. This is just what would happen if we didn’t do anything. And we’re not going to not do anything.”
Commissioner Curtis Holmes floated alternatives, including “outsourcing everything,” as some communities around the country have done, or raising the tax rate to 7 mills.
“Amendment 3 does not get rid of the property tax,” he said. “It says, ‘this amount is exempt from,’ and it’s on certain properties. So, you could change your millage and you’re back in the saddle again.”
Others on the dais pushed back. Mayor Woody Brown noted that state law limits how much the city can raise its millage rate in a single year, and Johnson and Curp said a higher rate would come nowhere near covering the lost revenue.
“I think about 2 or 3 million is all we could recoup,” Johnson said. Curp put it at “about 2 million in a given year. We could never catch up to 15.”
Holmes, who is seeking reelection to Seat 2 in November, said he was “shooting from the hip.” He also suggested renting out the city’s cultural center to private companies.
The commission took no vote and no public comment on the item, but residents weighed in on the draft budget during public comment at the start of the meeting.
“In my opinion the city manager has wrongly told everybody when this passes, services are going to have to be cut, we’re going to have to lose personnel and fire and police response times are going to be slower,” said Dwayne Wilson, an auditor and accountant who has been an outspoken supporter of Amendment 3. “None of this is true.”
Wilson said he reviewed the city’s expenses from 2021 through 2025 and “came up with $19 million that we can cut that was in excess instead of cutting services,” including high wages and insurance packages.
“Let’s get rid of the excess,” he said.
Matthew Faustini, chair of the city’s Planning Board, who is challenging Holmes for Seat 2, faulted the commission for not preparing sooner.
“This is a severe situation for Largo if Amendment 3 passes,” he said. “By year two, 90% of Largo homesteaded properties would be paying zero in property tax. They would not be paying a dime for their police services. They would not be paying a dime for their fire service, and this commission didn’t do a new study (of special assessment fees) because of the city manager’s failure in leadership.”
Faustini said the city could save $5 million a year by contracting with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office for police services.
“Let’s be honest with people,” he said. “We didn’t do these kinds of cuts during the Great Recession. It is a disgrace, the budget you are presenting.”
Before the meeting, Brown told Tampa Bay Beacons that presenting the draft budget now “was a little premature. But I think it shows how we’re going to get to these numbers.”
One result, he said, would be fewer people working for the city.
“I think, unfortunately, there’s going to be some unintended consequences,” Brown said. “Employees will have the opportunity to go somewhere else, and they’re going to take that opportunity. And as a result, there will be less people working for the city.”
A detailed breakdown of the alternative budget is available at Largo.com.
Notable options for reductions
Here’s a look at options for some of the city’s operating departments
Fire Rescue
Cuts: $5,224,700
Staff reduction: 28 FTE (full-time equivalents)
Details: Options include reducing deployment at 3 stations and eliminating 2 ALS rescue trucks and 3 Lieutenant positions within EMS Response; reducing relief staffing, reducing District Chief coverage, and eliminating 1 Division Chief within Fire Administrative Services Division
Library
Cuts: $3,263,400
Staff reduction: 27 FTEs
Details: The library’s primary option is to cut its hours in half each week from 56 to 28.
Police Department
Cuts: $2,881,900
Staff reductions: 29.4 FTEs
Details: Personnel make up approximately 81% of the department’s budget, so most options are staffing reductions. Options include reducing the Traffic Safety Unit by a sergeant and 5 officers, reducing the Problem-Oriented Policing team by a sergeant and 4 officers, and eliminating the part-time School Crossing Guard program.
Recreation, Parks & Arts
Cuts: $2,366,800
Staff reductions: 32.03 FTEs
Details: Options include closing the Central Park Performing Arts Center; closing the Largo Community Center; closing McGough Nature Park, which would require rehoming city-owned animals; closing Bonner Park; closing Whitesell Softball Complex; closing Highland Tennis Courts; eliminating all special events; and a full closure of the Highland Family Aquatic Center.