SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Seminole County leaders say if voters approve Amendment 3 in November, the cuts would go far beyond property tax bills, threatening the county’s 911 emergency response system and its animal shelter’s no-kill status.
Alan Harris oversees both Seminole County Animal Services and the county’s 911 emergency telecommunications. He said his department alone stands to lose 2 million dollars if the amendment passes.
“If you have reduction of staff, that means reduction of services, which means that we can’t do the things we used to do,” Harris said. “Here at the animal shelter, what that means is that we will no longer be a no-kill shelter.”
The shelter currently cares for about 350 animals a day. Harris said that number would drop to around 150 under the cuts, meaning healthy, adoptable animals could be euthanized after three to five months. The shelter has maintained its no-kill status for 10 years.
Harris said the county would also have to eliminate its trap, neuter, vaccinate and return program for feral cats, along with its foster program for animals needing extra medical care. Community vaccine and microchip clinics, which currently serve more than 100 people a month at low cost, would also be discontinued.
But Harris said the impact would not stop at the shelter. He said the county’s 911 backup call center would disappear entirely.
“911 would look at a cut. We’re looking at our 911 backup center completely going away,” Harris said. “And you don’t have to go back far in time. Atlanta just had a 911 outage that was catastrophic.”
Without a backup center, Harris said calls would be rerouted to a neighboring county already handling its own normal call volume, raising concerns about delayed response times during emergencies.
Not everyone views the amendment as a threat. Nathan Cassidy, a loan originator, said the proposed tax relief could ease financial pressure on families.
“We’re going to see a lot of family be able to afford a lot more things,” Cassidy said. “Life won’t be as expensive and live a little more comfortably once the tax cuts hit.”
Harris said he understands why some residents support the measure.
“That’s a personal choice that everybody’s going to have to make,” Harris said. “It’s not the way I’m going to vote, of course, because I like my government services.”
Harris said the cuts would extend well beyond his department. The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office has said it could lose 300 positions if the amendment passes, and fire services could lose 170.
Amendment 3 would raise Florida’s homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. Voters decide on the measure on November 3.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.