Oviedo begins preparing for potential property tax vote impact

The City of Oviedo is preparing for a significant loss of funds if a controversial property tax amendment passes in November. 

If approved by 60% of voters, the amendment — officially titled Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes — would substantially cut taxes for homeowners while slashing revenue for cities and counties. Florida’s homestead tax exemption would increase from its current amount of just more than $50,000 — $25,000 of which is exempt from all property taxes, and $25,000 exempt from non-school taxes only — to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. Starting in 2029, further increases would be tied to the rate of inflation. 

The amendment would also give the legislature the authority to create a schedule for property tax elimination for homesteaded properties in the future. If it passes in November, it will take effect Jan. 1, 2027. 

A look at the property tax amendment and what it does (infographic via Seminole County)

The Seminole County Commission began its budget planning around the potential changes in June, as well.

The amendment would not eliminate property taxes entirely. Homeowners would pay taxes on property value above the exemption level, and still receive a property tax bill for school taxes, which make up about 40% of the current property tax bill in Seminole County.

“The narrative that was out there initially from the governor that he was going to eliminate all property taxes on homesteaded properties, that was his concept,” Seminole County Property Appraiser David Johnson said. “That is not what the legislature ended up putting on the ballot because they were quite concerned about how they [would] fund the public school system in the state of Florida.”

At its June 29 work session, the Oviedo City Council saw a presentation by Johnson, detailing what the implementation process of the bill would be, and how the city would be impacted.

To get ahead of the significant impacts if the amendment is passed, the city has already begun putting together revenue replacement and expenditure reduction ideas, from increasing different city fees, establishing new fees, and reducing services and staff.

Possible cost-saving options for the City of Oviedo (chart via City of Oviedo)

“We are a service organization and our largest expense is our people,” Oviedo City Manager Bryan Cobb said. “When we’re looking at these reductions in services, there’s going to be reduction in workforce as well.”

The amendment states that spending needs to be prioritized, with property taxes that are collected — including those from non-homesteaded properties — being used first for core services such as public safety, infrastructure, natural resource projects, debt servicing and more.

What are defined as core services (via Seminole County Property Appraiser)

“Just because your revenues have declined under this particular amendment doesn’t mean you can jettison your responsibility of paying for these core services,” Johnson said. “That’s up to [the City Council] to kind of figure out how to fill that gap.”

Oviedo’s taxable property value in 2026 is nearly $4.8 billion, with just under 50% attributed to homesteaded properties. Should the amendment pass, Oviedo would see an estimated $5.1 million loss (an 18% reduction) in the 2027-28 fiscal year, followed by a $9.2 million loss for a nearly 26% reduction in 2028-29, according to the Seminole County Property Appraiser.

The potential impact of the amendment to Oviedo’s revenue (chart via Seminole County Property Appraiser)

“There will be a huge impact,” Johnson said.

With nearly 60% of its homes being valued at over $250,000, Oviedo will likely not be impacted as harshly as other municipalities throughout the state.

(Top) The taxable value and estimated ad valorem taxes for 2026-27, (Bottom) The total amount of homesteaded parcels broken down by assessed value in Oviedo (charts via Seminole County Property Appraiser)

“There are places in this state, cities that will probably not continue to exist because they do not have 5,500 houses over $250,000,” Johnson said. 

Johnson added that 31 of the 67 counties in the state “cannot pay their bills today for the most basic of services under the current system,” and that number is projected to rise to 37 if the amendment passes.

The Council asked city staff to look into the multiple cost-saving options, some of which potentially include their own jobs being eliminated. The City Council plans to meet again in August to discuss the findings.

“We’re counting pennies,” Cobb said. “Every penny counts.”

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