Amendment 3 Passes: What It Means for Oviedo’s City Services
Homeowners will see big tax savings starting next year. City Hall now has to figure out how to replace up to $9 million a year.
Florida voters on Tuesday approved Amendment 3, the property tax overhaul that dominated this fall’s local debate. Unofficial results show it won about 62% of the vote statewide, two points above the 60% needed to amend the state constitution. For Oviedo homeowners, that means noticeably smaller tax bills starting in late 2027. For Oviedo City Hall, it means the planning that leaders spent the fall describing as a worst case is now the budget they have to write.
What the amendment does
Amendment 3 raises the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027, then to $250,000 in 2028. It also cuts in half the cap on yearly assessment increases for non-homestead property such as rentals, second homes and commercial buildings, from 10% to 5%. And it places new limits on how cities and counties can spend property tax revenue.
A few things don’t change. The amendment does not eliminate property taxes, and it does not touch the portion of your bill that goes to Seminole County Public Schools, which is roughly half of a typical tax bill. Bills mailed this month for 2026 also stay the same. The amendment takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, so the first bills with the larger exemption will arrive in November 2027.
The savings for homeowners are real. The Seminole County Property Appraiser’s office estimated that a homeowner here with a house worth more than $250,000 would keep about $1,912 a year once the full exemption kicks in.
The hole in Oviedo’s budget
That money comes out of local budgets, and city officials say Oviedo is especially exposed. The Seminole County Property Appraiser told News 6 this summer that cities like Oviedo and Winter Springs would be the hardest hit in the county, because so much of their tax base is owner-occupied homes. About half of Oviedo’s property tax revenue comes from homesteaded properties.
At a virtual town hall in October, Assistant City Manager Patrick Kelly laid out the numbers. Oviedo’s total budget is about $111 million, and $24.8 million of it comes from property taxes that feed the general fund, which pays for most day-to-day services. Staff estimate the amendment will cut those receipts by about $5.1 million in the first year and up to $9.2 million by fiscal year 2028-29. City leaders have described that as roughly a 37% drop in property tax collections once the $250,000 exemption is fully in place.
Public safety is the biggest piece of what’s at stake. City officials say 59% of Oviedo’s property tax dollars fund police and fire, and about 17% go to Recreation and Parks. Deputy Mayor Natalie Teuchert has said protecting public safety is the council’s top priority. That means the next-largest category, parks and recreation, is likely to take the deepest cuts.
Three paths, none painless
Throughout the fall, the city framed its choices the same way: cut services, raise money another way, or do some of both. City leaders have said cuts alone aren’t realistic.
Cutting services. Mayor Megan Sladek has warned that the city’s response could range from cutting up to about half the budget to adding new fees and taxes to get back to current service levels. She told WFTV that protecting police and fire positions would mean eliminating about 70 other city jobs. The city has about 320 employees now. City-sponsored events have been named as possible cuts, including Oktoberfest, holiday celebrations, Juneteenth and Independence Day. Youth recreation programs and park and pool hours are also on the list.
Raising new revenue. The council has discussed new fees, including a possible hurricane or fire fee, and Sladek has said some council members informally support pursuing a fire fee. Raising the millage rate is also on the table, although the city held it flat at 5.6692 mills in this year’s budget. One catch for homeowners: a flat fee is charged regardless of a home’s value or exemption, so it could take back part of the savings Amendment 3 delivers.
A mix of both. This is the path most officials expect. To model the options, the council was set to vote Monday, the day before the election, on bringing in Raftelis Financial Consultants through a piggyback agreement with the City of Groveland. The firm would produce a financial sustainability analysis. Money for consultant services, $114,328, was already in this year’s budget.
The current budget, approved in September, already trims the size of government by an estimated 4% to 5% after inflation, according to Sladek. The deeper decisions will come with the 2027-28 and 2028-29 budgets.
Neighbors face the same math
Oviedo isn’t alone. Winter Springs, which has the highest share of homesteaded properties in Seminole County at nearly 71%, projects a loss of about $6.5 million over two years. City officials estimate a 22% budget hit in 2027 and 38% the following year. Seminole County estimates a 20% cut in county tax revenue, which officials have said could eliminate funding for public transit, parks and libraries.
The case supporters made
The amendment’s backers, including Florida Realtors, argued that local spending has grown faster than residents can afford and that homeowners are overdue for relief. Jesse Phillips, who ran for Winter Springs mayor as a supporter, said the amendment’s spending rules would push cities to prioritize police and other core services. In his view, waste is what will get cut. Opponents, led by police, fire and sheriffs’ groups, warned that public safety would suffer. Several local leaders, including former Oviedo Mayor Dominic Persampiere, said they support tax reform but not this version of it.
The vote also raises questions about renters. Advocacy groups have warned that the tax burden could shift onto renters and businesses, while Gov. Ron DeSantis has rejected the idea that rents will rise because of the amendment.
What happens next
Much of what Amendment 3 means in practice is still to be written. The Legislature is expected to pass implementing legislation in its 2027 session. That legislation will likely address a procedure for cities and counties to raise the homestead exemption up to a home’s full assessed value, and whether to create a fund to help rural, cash-strapped counties. The Legislature’s choices will shape how much flexibility Oviedo has.
For residents, the coming budget hearings are where the trade-offs will be decided, including which events survive, how long the pools stay open, and whether a new fee shows up on your tax bill. Those meetings are open to the public, and they will decide how much of your Amendment 3 savings you actually keep.
Sources: WFTV, CBS12/News Service of Florida, Suncoast Searchlight, Florida Chamber of Commerce, Momentum Realty, ClickOrlando/News 6, Spectrum News 13, CitizenPortal (City of Oviedo meeting coverage), iLoveOviedo, Tampa Bay Times, The Real Deal. All results are unofficial until certified.