⚠ Florida voters will decide on Amendment 3 in November 2026. This page provides factual information only. The City of Winter Garden does not advocate for or against any ballot measure.
November 2026 Ballot
Property Tax Amendment 3
What the proposed constitutional amendment means for the City of Winter Garden and its residents and taxpayers.
Millage rate: 4.8565 mills, 2nd lowest among 7 regional peers. Held steady at 4.50 mills for 7 consecutive years (FY2019–FY2025).
Public safety costs exceed all property tax revenue collected, every year from FY2017 through FY2026.
Population grew 24% from FY2017 to FY2026, requiring more officers, firefighters, and City staff.
7.64 FTE per 1,000 residents, the lowest staffing ratio of 18 peer Florida cities.
The Florida Legislature voted to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the November 2026 ballot. If approved by at least 60% of voters, the amendment would significantly increase homestead exemptions and restrict how local governments may levy property taxes. Below is a summary of the proposal and an estimate of its financial impact on the City of Winter Garden.
Creates a new homestead exemption of $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, applicable to all levies excluding school districts.
📉 Non-homestead Assessment Cap
Reduces the assessment cap on non-homestead properties (e.g. second homes and commercial real estate) from 10% to 5%.
📅 Residency Requirement
Requires a five-year Florida residency period before new residents qualify for the expanded exemption.
📈 Automatic Inflation Growth
Grows both exemptions automatically with inflation each year after implementation.
⚖️ Millage Rate Ceiling Narrowed
Narrows the default maximum millage rate to the roll-back millage rate. Rates above roll-back require a two-thirds governing body vote; rates above 110% require a unanimous vote.
🔒 Constitutional Category Lock
Restricts county and municipal ad valorem taxes to a closed list of seven categories.
Permitted uses of ad valorem tax revenue under Amendment 3:
Provide for public safety, including law enforcement, fire service, and emergency medical service
Provide funding for education and public schools
Finance or refinance infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and stormwater control
Finance or refinance natural resource projects, including flood control
Issue local bonds and make debt service payments for existing obligations
Meet obligations for retirement benefits of local government employees
Fund the operations and administration of county officers and municipalities
Source: HJR 1F, Florida Legislature 2026 Special Session F
Estimated Impact on Winter Garden
Based on the City's current millage rate of 4.8565 mills, 15,226 residential properties within the City limits, of which 10,526 are homesteaded (approximately 70%), the following projections represent the approximate reduction in City of Winter Garden property tax revenue if Amendment 3 is approved by voters.
Year 1 (2027)
−$5.2M
Estimated reduction based on $150,000 homestead exemption
Year 2 (2028)
−$8.5M
Estimated reduction based on $250,000 homestead exemption
FY2026 Ad Valorem Revenue
$30.3M
Year 1 loss = 17% of total property tax revenue Year 2 loss = 28% of total property tax revenue
Public Safety Budget (FY2026)
$38.4M
Exceeds all property tax revenue of $30.3M by $8.1M
Estimates are based on City millage rate of 4.8565 mills, 15,226 residential properties with 10,526 homesteaded (approximately 70%). Actual figures will depend on final legislation, Orange County Property Appraiser data, and voter approval. These projections are for informational purposes only.
How Property Tax Revenue Funds City Services
Reductions in property tax collections directly affect the City's ability to fund essential services. The following shows the City's FY2026 adopted budget allocation of General Fund expenditures, the majority of which are funded through ad valorem property tax revenues.
Service Category
FY2026 Budget
% of Budget
Allocation
🚔 Public Safety (law enforcement, fire & inspections)
$38,426,999
60.2%
🏛️ General Government
$9,599,779
15.1%
🌳 Culture & Recreation
$6,062,068
9.5%
🔧 Physical Environment
$4,538,060
7.1%
🚧 Transportation
$3,155,502
4.9%
📈 Economic Environment
$1,390,051
2.2%
🤝 Public Assistance & Debt Service
$607,369
1.0%
Total General Fund Expenditures
$63,779,828
100%
Source: City of Winter Garden FY2026 Adopted Budget. All figures are adopted budget amounts; actuals may vary.
Key Facts About Winter Garden Property Taxes
Millage rate: 4.8565 mills, 2nd lowest among 7 regional peers. Held steady at 4.50 mills for 7 consecutive years (FY2019–FY2025).
Public safety costs exceed all property tax revenue collected, every year from FY2017 through FY2026.
Population grew 24% from FY2017 to FY2026, requiring more officers, firefighters, and City staff.
Homestead properties are already protected, it is a common misconception that homestead property taxes increase exponentially every year. That is not true. Florida's current Save Our Homes cap limits annual increases in assessed value to a maximum of 3% (or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower), regardless of how much the property's market value rises. Homestead owners are taxed on this capped assessed value, not on market value, meaning long-term homeowners are often taxed far below their home's actual sale price.
Sources: City of Winter Garden FY2025 ACFR; Statistical Section FY25; FY2026 Adopted Budget; FY26 Budget Graphs for Budget.
What This Could Mean for City Services
While no decisions have been made, a reduction in property tax revenue of this magnitude would require the City to make difficult choices. The following illustrates the potential scale of impact across key service areas.
🌳 Parks, Recreation & Community Services
Culture and recreation ($6.1M) and physical environment ($4.5M) together represent 16.6% of the FY2026 General Fund budget. These services, parks, athletic fields, recreation programs, cemetery operations, fleet maintenance, and facility maintenance, are integral to the quality of life that makes Winter Garden a desirable community. A revenue reduction of this scale could require the City to defer maintenance, reduce programming hours, scale back community events, or delay capital improvements to parks and public facilities that residents and families rely on daily.
👥 7.64 FTE per 1,000 Residents
The City of Winter Garden employs just 7.64 full-time equivalent staff per 1,000 residents, the lowest staffing ratio of 18 peer Florida cities examined, with a peer average of 11.49 FTE per 1,000. This means Winter Garden is delivering a full range of municipal services, public safety, parks, roads, planning, and administration, with significantly fewer staff than comparable cities. This lean model reflects responsible fiscal management, but it also means there is limited capacity to absorb revenue reductions through staffing cuts alone without directly impacting the services residents depend on every day.
🚔 Public Safety
Public safety represents 60.2% of the General Fund budget ($38.4M in FY2026 budget), all of which exceeds the City's total property tax revenue of $30.3M. The City operates a full-service Police Department with 99 sworn officers and a Fire Rescue Department with 70 firefighters, serving a community that has grown by more than 10,000 residents since FY2017. Public safety staffing has increased by 54 positions over that same period to meet rising demand. Any significant reduction in General Fund revenues could place pressure on the City's ability to sustain these staffing levels and make future public safety investments.
Bottom line for Winter Garden taxpayers
The City of Winter Garden operates with one of the lowest property tax rates and leanest staffing ratios in Central Florida. Every dollar of property tax collected is already exceeded by public safety costs alone, and ad valorem revenue funds 48% of total General Fund expenses.
A reduction of $5.2M in Year 1 or $8.5M in Year 2 would be a significant fiscal challenge for a City this size, requiring difficult decisions about the services, staff, and infrastructure that support a growing community of 52,000+ residents.
The City encourages all residents to read the full legislation, ask questions, and make an informed decision when they vote in November 2026.
Interactive Budget Simulation — "What-If" Tool
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City of Winter Garden — Budget Impact Simulator
Explore how Amendment 3 could affect City services and your community
The Florida Legislature has placed a proposed constitutional amendment on the November 2026 ballot. If approved by at least 60% of voters, it would increase homestead exemptions for homeowners who claim their property as a primary residence. For additional details, please refer to HJR 1F and SB 4F.
Property taxes support essential municipal services, including public safety, infrastructure, parks, recreation, environmental programs, and special events. A revenue reduction of this scale may require the City to reassess service levels, capital projects, and long-term financial planning.
To assist residents and businesses in understanding the potential fiscal impacts, the City of Winter Garden has developed this interactive budget simulation model.
This information is provided solely to ensure residents have access to factual, objective details necessary for informed decision making. State law prohibits local governments from using public resources to advocate for or against any ballot measure.
City of Winter Garden — Budget Transparency Portal
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City of Winter Garden — Budget Transparency
Ten years of General Fund revenues, expenditures, and key fiscal metrics
Welcome to the City's Budget Transparency Portal. This page is designed to provide residents, businesses, and stakeholders with a clear view of how taxpayer dollars are collected and spent. Through interactive charts and historical data, you can explore ten years of General Fund revenues and expenditures, including nine years of audited actual results and the FY2026 adopted budget.
Our commitment to transparency ensures that you can see where public funds come from, how they are allocated, and how financial resources support the essential services that maintain and enhance our community.
A homestead property is a homeowner's primary residence that qualifies for Florida's homestead exemption and Save Our Homes benefits. Vacation homes, rental properties, and investment properties generally do not qualify.
Yes. Florida's existing Save Our Homes law already provides significant protection for homestead property owners. The Orange County Property Appraiser can only increase the assessed value of a homestead property by a maximum of 3% per year, or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower, regardless of how much the property's market value increases. Homestead owners are taxed on this capped assessed value, not on the full market value. This means that long-term homeowners in rapidly appreciating markets like Winter Garden often pay taxes on a value significantly below what their home would sell for.
The current homestead exemption is typically $50,000. The proposed amendment would increase it to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. It would also direct the Florida Legislature to establish a schedule for fully eliminating non-school property taxes on homestead properties over time.
The City estimates a reduction of approximately $5.2 million in Year 1 (2027) and $8.5 million in Year 2 (2028). These projections represent 17% and 28% respectively of the City's FY2026 ad valorem revenue, and approximately 8% and 13% of the FY2026 adopted General Fund budget of $63.8M. These estimates will be refined once final legislation and Property Appraiser data are available.
Winter Garden's millage rate of 4.8565 mills is already the second-lowest among neighboring municipalities, and the City employs the fewest staff per 1,000 residents of 18 peer Florida cities. This lean operating model means there is limited room to absorb significant revenue reductions without directly impacting services. The City cannot simply "cut waste", it has already optimized for efficiency.
Property taxes help fund services residents rely on every day, public safety, road maintenance, parks and recreation, facility maintenance, and economic development programs. Revenue reductions of this scale could require difficult decisions about staffing levels, capital projects, programming, and future service investments.
Public safety represents 58.6% of Winter Garden's General Fund budget at $36.7M, already more than the City collects in all property taxes combined. The City has added 54 public safety positions since FY2017 to serve a rapidly growing community. A loss of $5.2M–$8.5M annually would make it significantly more challenging to maintain staffing, replace equipment, and expand services to meet continued population growth.
The proposal could affect all residents. Renters, businesses, and visitors rely on City services and infrastructure. Because commercial and rental properties would not receive the same exemption benefit, property owners could face higher relative tax burdens over time, which may be passed along to tenants through higher rents or to customers through higher prices.
Local governments have limited authority under Florida law to create new taxes or increase existing revenues. There is no single revenue source currently available that would fully replace a loss of this magnitude. City leaders would likely need to consider a combination of spending reductions, fees, and other legally authorized revenue options.
The legislation currently under consideration does not include a recurring source of state funding sufficient to offset the City's projected long-term revenue losses. The City would therefore remain responsible for addressing any resulting budget shortfalls.
Yes. The proposed exemption applies only to non-school property taxes. For many homeowners, school taxes represent the largest portion of the annual property tax bill. Even with a larger homestead exemption, most homeowners would still receive a property tax bill and remain subject to the same collection requirements.
No. The City of Winter Garden's intent is to provide factual information so residents can make informed decisions. State law prohibits local governments from using public resources to advocate for or against a ballot measure. Individual elected officials, however, may express their personal views.
