Days ago, somebody walked into a Leon County courtroom and took a shot at your property tax cut. Not with a protest. Not with a campaign ad. With a lawsuit, filed quietly and timed perfectly, sitting in front of a judge who could decide what happens to your ballot this November.
Amendment 3, officially Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes, would raise your homestead exemption from $50,000 today to $150,000 in 2027, then $250,000 in 2028. For about 60 percent of Florida homeowners, that wipes out your non-school property taxes completely. It needs 60 percent of the vote to pass. So of course the machine is already fighting it. The group suing calls itself Save Our Voters From Misleading Ballot Language. Sounds nice, right? There's a hearing set for July 29th, fast tracked because counties start printing ballots in August. Once that printer runs, whatever happens in that courtroom is final.
The complaint says it was filed by a voter advocacy group and two registered voters. What it conveniently leaves out is who those two voters actually are. Thomas Campenni, former mayor of Stuart. Michael Davey, former mayor of Key Biscayne. Both filed as regular individuals, no mention of the mayor titles anywhere in the paperwork. Davey's already called the amendment a power grab in public. Their lawyer, Jamie Cole, is the current city attorney for Weston right now, while this case is happening. He's held that same job in Hollywood and Miramar too. His entire career gets paid by cities, and now he's suing to protect the exact pot of money cities pull from.
Cole's pulled this move before. Back in 2007, Florida put a Super Exemption on the ballot that would've given homeowners up to $195,000 off their assessed value. Cole sued over the wording, representing another sitting Weston mayor, and won. The judge pulled the whole measure off the ballot. Homeowners got stuck with a $50,000 exemption the next year instead of what could've been. Cole's own firm brags about that case on their website, saying they help local officials protect home rule power. That's just a fancy way of saying keeping your tax dollars locked inside city budgets instead of your bank account.
Little Known RMD Strategy Allowed by the IRS
For investors with $1M+ in retirement accounts, the tax code allows specific strategies that can reduce your tax exposure once RMDs begin—but only if used before then.
The window is open for anyone within ten years of 73. A fiduciary advisor can review which may apply, at no cost.
Cole says he's not trying to get Amendment 3 pulled, just reworded to sound more neutral, something like "increase tax exemption" instead of "Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes." Sounds harmless until you realize which one you'd actually vote yes on. A lot of people only read the title in the voting booth. That's the whole strategy, make it sound boring and technical enough that just enough voters get confused and vote no, or don't bother voting at all. You don't need to convince all of Florida, just 41 percent.
And it's bigger than one lawsuit now. There are three lawsuits total, all the same crowd of former politicians, all expected to be heard together on July 29th. Meanwhile cities and counties are out there claiming this tax cut means cutting police, roads, and fire. Uncle Ronnie D already shut that down publicly, and it doesn't hold up. Cities will still get about 70 percent of their property tax revenue from non-homestead properties, businesses, Airbnbs, and rentals, and Amendment 3 requires that money go straight to police, roads, schools, and fire.
So how do they keep paying for parks, libraries, and community events? Easy. Stop wasting your money first. FAFO already found over $3.6 billion in wasteful spending after auditing just 20 out of 67 counties. Hillsborough's own DOGE committee found $675 million in waste on its own. Broward spent $890,000 on DEI training that included something called the "genderbread person." Alachua spent $31,000 on a Planned Parenthood program aimed at kids as young as 13. This was never a revenue problem. It's a spending problem. They don’t have to come up with new income. They need to quit spending on DEI, nonprofits and social programs nobody voted for.
Amendment 3 is the biggest shot Florida homeowners have ever had at real tax relief. Two former mayors and a career city attorney dressed up as concerned citizens are trying to take it away from you before you even notice. Don't let them. Vote YES on 3! Thats how we win!
Grant Warrington
Think like an Investor
YouTube Channel
P.S. - If you’re new here, I break down what’s really happening in Florida, no fluff, no filters. If you want to go even further, become a Florida Patriot. You'll get access to The Warrington Report. My members only show on YouTube where I give you my raw take on the stories that matter most. Click Here to Join
