SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — The Seminole County Sheriff says job cuts are coming after voters said yes to property tax reform. The office says it’s too early to say if it includes deputies, but public safety will be prioritized.
According to Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma hundreds of jobs will be cut over a 2-and-a-half-year period.
Exactly one week after 62 percent of Floridians approved amendment 3, Lemma said discussions about staffing and reductions were already underway.
“I spent most of my day today talking about what this looks like, but we have a benefit of a long runway here,” said Lemma.
The amendment takes effect January 1st. It increases the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.
According to Seminole County, the amendment will reduce county property tax revenue by 27 percent, but there are other revenues that will not be impacted. Leaders now need to figure out how to cut 20 percent of the services funded by ad valorem taxes.
“We’re gonna start our budgeting process similar to the way we did last year. Very early and start thinking about how we map out the next two years,” said Seminole County Board of County Commissioners Chairman, Andria Herr.
The county said Amendment 3 related budget decisions have not been made yet. But staff is working on revenue projections to be ready when official budget talks begin in January.
“They’re asking for tax cuts. We’re going to give them tax cuts, but we’ve made no decisions on how we’re going to fund things that have to be funded, that they expect to be funded,” said Herr.
As for the sheriff’s budget, Lemma said he believes the commission will keep public safety a priority but said personnel cuts are coming.
“There will be significant cuts in the hundreds,” said Lemma, “I think the natural thing to do is to not replace people through attrition. When people retire out, when they separate from the organization, for whatever reason, you don’t replace that.
Lemma also said Sheriff led community events will likely be reduced.
“If we’re doing 10 or 15 community events a month, maybe that’s reduced to three to five per month,” Lemma said.
Lemma said he won’t make cuts that create a dangerous environment and was adamant people will still be protected, but said mental health programs and other programs geared toward reducing the root causes of crime were vulnerable.
“Substance use disorder, mental health counseling, peer support team, all of these things. I’m not going to abandon those things, but maybe it’s not a paid government employee who’s actually doing it,” Lemma said.
The sheriff added that the community may have to fill in the gaps.
On Tuesday, he convened about 80 faith and community leaders to discuss youth mental health.
The meeting explored how social media, artificial intelligence, and other technologies can intensify mental health challenges, and how faith leaders can support parents.
During the meeting mental health advocates discussed the elevated stakes with mental health programs increasingly on the chopping block in a post-amendment 3 landscape.
“Services for those who are struggling with domestic violence or abuse or mental health … were already hard to find. That was the truth. And now they could virtually and literally go away,” said Andrae Bailey, the co-founder of Breaking Thru, a mental health leadership initiative.
“Faith communities are going to have to step up in a historic way, or people will suffer,” Bailey added.
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