Escambia County's Own Amendment 3 Math: $38 Million Gone in Year One, $56.2 Million in Year Two
The Property Appraiser's estimates put the county's two-year revenue loss at more than $94 million if the homestead amendment passes Tuesday - $2 million from libraries in year one, $7.2 million from Pensacola by year two, and nothing from schools, which are excluded.
Escambia County has already done the arithmetic on the other half of Tuesday's tax ballot. If voters approve Amendment 3, the homestead property tax amendment, county government faces an estimated revenue loss of just over $38 million in the first year and $56.2 million in the second - more than $94 million across two years - according to estimates from Escambia County Property Appraiser Bubba Peters and his staff based on the 2025 tax roll, as reported by NorthEscambia.
The losses spread well beyond the county commission's own budget. West Florida Public Libraries would lose $2 million in year one and $3 million in year two; the City of Pensacola would be out $7.2 million by the second year and the town of Century about $10,800; and the Escambia County Children's Trust would see its property-tax revenue drop by $3.2 million in year two. Schools are the exception - they are excluded from the increased homestead exemption and would not be impacted.
County Administrator Wes Moreno told NorthEscambia the county is planning for the possibility now: 'We been strategizing, planning different ways to make up for the shortfall,' adding, 'Sometimes that is a reduction of services.' The estimates land on the same ballot as the county's separate LOST renewal, which is why election officials and budget officers alike describe Tuesday as a two-part decision about how Escambia pays for roads, libraries and local services - polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at assigned precincts.
