FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - With Election Day just around the corner, Florida voters are weighing in on Amendment 3.
Amara was proud of finishing her math homework.
“I needed a lot of help because I don’t really know division, and it’s very hard,” she said.
She spends two hours a day at an after-school program while her mom, Liyah, finishes the work day at a doctor’s office in north Broward, where she is an office manager.
Liyah said regular daycare is out of the question financially, but the program she can handle.
“It comes out to about $120 a month, which is perfect for me. It’s very affordable compared to everything else, and at least I know where she is and who she’s with at all times. So, that’s like an added benefit of it,” she said.
The after-school program is funded by the Children’s Services Council of Broward, which, for homeowners, is 45 cents per $1,000 of their taxable assessed value.
A Plantation homeowner’s bill showed it was just over $58 dollars for the year.
A Hollywood homeowner’s bill showed it was $120 for the year.
Voters approved the charge twice, in 2000 and 2014.
The roughly $150 million a year helps pay for:
- Aftercare
- Programs for pregnant women and new mothers
- Swimming lessons
- Summer camps
- Food assistance
- Programs for young people with special needs
- The Eagles’ Haven Wellness Center, opened after the Parkland tragedy
It helps pay for other services as well, touching the lives of 200,000 Broward County kids every year.
“All of it is focused on the idea of improving the quality of life of Broward’s children,” said Cindy Arenberg Seltzer, president/CEO of the Children’s Services Council of Broward.
Should Amendment 3 pass in November, the funding could take a big hit.
The proposed measure would raise the current homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with inflation adjustments and a possible pathway to full elimination.
Critics of the amendment said it will decimate local government services like public safety, parks, libraries, transportation, animal control and public hospitals.
Bruce Lamberto, who enjoys driving around his North Miami Beach neighborhood in his vintage Jeep, said his neighbors, many of whom are elderly, need relief.
He said the government needs to learn to tighten up.
“I guarantee you, if they really pull out their pencil and go down the checklist of all the departments and things that they get, that they could get even leaner,” said Lamberto. “But the bottom line is, what does government exist for? It’s supposed to be taking care of the residents and the people that elected these officials. The essential services have to be paid for first before you pay for anything else, so that means police, fire, first responders.”
Norma Szubartowski, 80, said a surgery kept her from continuing her work as a manicurist, but eventually going back might be a necessity.
“I don’t have too many money for my life,” she said. “I try no, but I need for the income. Social Security is very low. I received $1,120. I need to pay maintenance, assessment, insurance.”
Her property taxes are a few hundred dollars a year, but every penny counts.
Lamberto, who is her Szubartowski’s neighbor, said giving her and others a break is doable if the amendment forces local government to cut costs.
“The assistant doesn’t have to have an assistant anymore. You don’t have to have a take-home car when you just come to work, back and forth to work everyday. So, this is where the money disappears,” said Lamberto.
“I don’t have another source of revenue, so I can’t add fines and fees. I can’t raise sales tax. This is what I’ve got,” said Arenberg Seltzer.
The question of relief for homeowners desperate for a break, or slashed budgets for services people use and need, is what voters will have to decide.
“When you give government a lot of money, and they get fat,” said Lamberto.
“You have to do what’s right for you and your family. I’m not telling you how to vote, but think about what will be lost,” said Arenberg Seltzer.
Amendment 3 requires 60% of voter approval for it to become part of the state constitution.
If at some point lawmakers decide they want to repeal it or change it in any way, it would be difficult because it would require another statewide vote.
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