Why we shouldn’t fall for the anti-local property tax scam

*The specter haunting Florida. (Art: AI for TPP/ChatGPT)*

June 5, 2026 by David Silverberg, candidate for Florida Senate, District 28

As one Tallahassee politician recently stated: “Floridians deserve roads, bridges and clean water that meet the highest safety standards.”

It’s true—but it’s not what we’re going to get if property taxes are slashed and Florida’s communities are starved for funding.

The politician who said that, Rep. Lauren Melo (R-82-Naples), voted in the Florida House to deny Florida’s communities the money they need to keep going and have the highest safety standards for their roads, bridges and clean water.

And starved for funding is what they’ll be if an anti-property tax amendment passes a referendum in November. This proposal isn’t just anti-property tax. I call it “The Anti-Local Amendment.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis and his legislature—what I call “Big Tallahassee”—is aiming to end the fiscal freedom of Florida’s towns, cities and local governments. They want Florida’s roads, bridges and infrastructure to fall into disrepair while their donors enjoy massive tax breaks on their extensive property holdings. They want every town, city and county and everyone in them to come begging on their knees to get whatever pennies the political bosses feel like throwing their way.

I’m David Silverberg and I’m running for the Florida Senate in District 28, consisting of Collier, Hendry and eastern Lee County. I’ve already taken a stand for Florida’s local governments and I’m here to warn you that the Anti-Local Amendment is a scam that has much darker purposes than what you’re being told by Big Tallahassee.

I’m not the only person warning of the dangers of destroying local government’s funding.

“The greatest trick DeSantis ever pulled was convincing Floridians that local government is the problem and state government is the solution,” wrote Jeff Brandes, President of the Florida Policy Project, a non-profit, non-partisan research institute that “advances evidence-based policies to improve the lives of Floridians.”

“If your mayor, sheriff, and county commission have to fly to Tallahassee every year to ask permission to fund basic services, the state didn’t shrink government. It just moved it farther away and gave you less control,” wrote Brandes.

Rick Wilson, a Florida-based former Republican political operative and co-founder of The Lincoln Project, agrees: “Killing all local control and moving it to Tallahassee is fundamentally anti-conservative,” he wrote.

In the contest for District 28, I’m the conservative candidate. I want to conserve our towns, cities and counties so they’re strong and responsive to the people who live in them.

Also, you have to realize that even if the homestead exemption is expanded the money has to be found somewhere and we will be paying more—and probably much more—in other taxes like sales taxes. Also, our millage rates (the rate per $1,000 in assessed value at which property taxes are calculated) will likely skyrocket to counteract the massive loss of money. Businesses and commercial properties that provide much of Florida’s employment will be heavily taxed to make up the shortfall. Many will either be driven out of business or jack up their prices to cover their own costs. Employment will likely fall and the entire economy will probably weaken.

How much will the counties in this district lose? Make no mistake: it will be a major blow in Senate District 28.

According to estimates from the Florida Association of Counties, Collier County would lose $62.9 million in the first year and $121.4 million in the second, under the bill passed in Tallahassee. The Florida Policy Institute estimates the loss at $71.4 million. However it plays out, these are devastating numbers.

When it comes to schools, The Florida Policy Institute estimated Collier County’s school district would lose nearly $94 million ($93,619,633 to be exact) if the homestead exemption is increased to $250,000 as the bill proposes in its second year.

Hendry County will likely lose $5 million under the $250,000 homestead exemption, according to the Florida Policy Institute estimate.

Lee County as a whole stands to lose a whopping $142 million.

Why is Big Tallahassee doing this? I see several reasons.

One is to get ahead of the affordability issue.

Floridians are suffering from skyrocketing costs and Big Tallahassee politicians don’t want that hanging over their heads as the midterm elections roll around. They see the Anti-Local Amendment as a way to tell Floridians that they’re addressing the issue.

However, much of the reason for rising prices is way beyond their control. It’s the result of Donald Trump’s unconstitutional and unnecessary war with Iran, the shock of gas prices because of the war and the federal administration’s overall mismanagement of the economy. (And don’t forget Trump’s immortal words on all this: “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody.”)

Of course, no Big Tallahassee politician will admit this. Instead, they’re renaming places all over the state in Trump’s honor (which is also costing the state infrastructure money that would be better spent on Floridians’ real needs).

Instead of actually helping people, they’re trying to say that they’re cutting taxes so we won’t look behind the curtain at the carnage that entails. They think we’re too stupid to see through this.

A member of the Florida House put this very well. “It’s a political game,” state Rep. Rob Long (D-90-Boynton Beach) told the USA Today Network-Florida. “It’s a turnout mechanism.”

Long said that many Republicans in Tallahassee don’t believe the amendment will pass but thought it would get the base voters to the polls to improve the party’s chances.

Secondly, the Anti-Local Amendment is part of an overall war on Florida’s local governments. I have pledged to fight against this assault on local government and grassroots democracy. I want you, wherever you live, to have a say in the decisions that affect your life. Big Tallahassee doesn’t want that. It wants to centralize all power in the governor’s mansion, which, no doubt, it hopes will be subservient to Mar-a-Lago, which it views as the real seat of power in the state.

Again, I’m not the only one saying this.

“Imagine counties and cities that can no longer fund themselves. Imagine local officials traveling to Tallahassee not to seek a grant for a new project, but to keep deputies on patrol, firefighters in stations, and ambulances on the road,” wrote Brandes in another posting. “At that point, who is really running local government? The answer is not the county commission. The answer is not the city council.” As he put it: “The answer is whoever controls the money.”

He summarized the situation very well: “The real question is whether Florida wants independent local governments or dependent local governments. Because independent local government means paying your own bills.”

(For a fuller discussion of Big Tallahassee’s war against Florida’s towns, cities and counties and my stand against it, see “Why I want to keep Florida’s local governments strong.”)

When the Anti-Local Amendment is on the ballot in November, I’ll have one vote just like everyone else. I am speaking out now because I think it’s a terrible idea in the form that it’s written.

I’m not against expanding the homestead exemption but if we do it we need to do it far more gradually over a longer period of time and in consultation with our local governments—not in opposition to them or laying down a dictatorial command. It should only be done after hearings, widespread consultation and in a way that helps, not harms, everyone from renters, to homeowners, to businesses, to county, city and town governments.

In the meantime, if elected I will do whatever I can to stop Big Tallahassee’s war on our communities. Instead of weakening them, I will work to strengthen them. Instead of spending our tax dollars on renaming roads and airports to satisfy one man’s ego or to open up concentration camps in the Everglades, I’ll work to ensure that we spend our tax dollars to help the taxpayers who make everything possible in the first place.

I hope you agree with me. Together, we can make sure our dollars are spent where we live and to make all our lives better—not for political games and partisan scams.

See Silverberg4Florida.com for more positions and opportunities to volunteer.

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