Tax Reform Bill of Rights
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FLORIDA IS HER CITIES
We, the cities of the State of Florida have fought for property tax reform for years. We agree that now may be the time for change. We agree that the current property tax system – largely the creation of state government – lacks balance and is unfair to some property owners.
We must protect the millions of residents who live within our borders from hidden consequences and to that end it is imperative that state lawmakers understand they cannot act alone to reform a tax system that our residents depend on for the revenues needed to pay policemen and firefighters, keep buses and garbage trucks rolling, provide sewage treatment and fresh drinking water, maintain roads and streetlights, and enforce the myriad local ordinances that help to maintain order and safety in neighborhoods and business districts.
We will agree to a new tax system only if it is fair to everyone, if it continues to provide each city with the critical stream of revenues needed to provide the services we must provide by law to our residents, and if it achieves the level of flexibility required by the state’s 412 cities, each one of which is defined by its own unique set of priorities set by local residents and equally unique characteristics, needs, populations, and resources. A one-size-fits-all solution will not work.
We assert that the way to meet these goals is to assure the public that our voices, our views and our ideas are included prominently in the current debate and that we are given authority equal to our state counterparts in the shaping of final reforms. To assure the solution is fair means it must be local.
In summary, we feel:
Property taxes must be made fair.
One-size-fits-all tax reforms fit no one.
Property taxes are paid locally and spent locally, so they should be decided locally.
Tax reform should not mandate cuts in services.
Tax reform should not ignore local needs and priorities.
Let’s all make this reform work. We urge lawmakers to make property taxes fair – keep them local.
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