PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A proposal that could provide property-tax relief to Florida homeowners is raising concerns among Palm Beach County nonprofit leaders who worry the savings could come with consequences for organizations serving families already struggling to make ends meet.
Nearly 100 people gathered in Wellington Monday for a presentation hosted by the Nonprofit Chamber of Palm Beach County focused on the potential community impact of Amendment 3, including what organizers say it could mean for nonprofit funding and local services.
WATCH BELOW: Nonprofits raise concerns over Amendment 3
A statewide survey by the Florida Nonprofit Alliance found that 92% of nonprofits surveyed said they would face an impact if Amendment 3 passes. Of those surveyed, 65% reported they may have to cut programs or services or turn clients away.
Monday's panel featured the following speakers:
- Leah McDermott, vice president of Policy & Programs at the Florida Nonprofit Alliance
- Former Palm Beach County Deputy Administrator Tammy Fields
- Jennifer Sullivan, senior vice president of the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County
- Pastor Rae Whitely of Faith in Florida
"The nonprofit chamber is really trying to educate the community about Amendment 3 and its impact specifically on the nonprofit community as it relates to programming that is funded through the county and special taxing districts like Children's Services Council and the Healthcare District," said Michelle Gonzalez, president of the Nonprofit Chamber.
Gonzalez said nonprofits across Palm Beach County provide a wide range of services.
"They're serving pregnant women, children, families, education, childcare, health, you name it. The nonprofit community is doing it, and I don't think people realize the impact on the hundreds of thousands of residents throughout Palm Beach County that are utilizing these services," Gonzalez said.
She said the discussion surrounding Amendment 3 is complicated by the potential savings for homeowners.
"When you look at the property tax valuations, you're talking about $166 on an average home that's about $350,000. So that's how much they would invest in a year in that property tax," Gonzalez said.
But Gonzalez said nonprofit organizations rely on funding from several sources, including special taxing districts.
"It's absolutely crucial. The nonprofit community is working with private funders and individual donors, but we also do rely on special taxing districts like Children's Services Council, like the Healthcare District, to provide services that those entities can't, that the county government cannot," Gonzalez said.
She said Children's Services Council could face a significant reduction.
"When you talk about special taxing districts like Children's Services Council, they're looking at a $25 million reduction in their budget by 2028. And so that's a huge hit to the more than 700 nonprofits that are being funded through them," Gonzalez said.
That potential ripple effect was one of the biggest concerns raised during the event.
Ruth, who said she is with CROS Ministries, an organization that helps provide people with access to healthy food, said she came to learn how Amendment 3 could affect both nonprofit organizations and the residents walking through their doors.
"What brought me out here is to hear what the impact of Amendment 3 is on our community and also on the people that we serve, because it's going to affect the funding that's coming to nonprofits, but also, at the end of the day, affect the people that are coming in through our doors," she said.
She said one of her biggest takeaways was that the impact could reach beyond homeowners.
"So one of the things that I learned is the fact that renters are going to be affected, that there's a trickle down, and although some funds, although some agencies may not be getting funding directly from property taxes, it's going to increase the number of people who are coming into our agencies," Ruth said.
She described the potential impact as a "circle domino effect."
"Yes, it's a circle domino effect that will affect everybody, and I think if we really look at it, even for those of us who may not be affected financially, at the end of the day, our community, we have our brothers, we have our sisters, we have our neighbors. So at the end of the day, what affects one affects all of us," Ruth said.
Whiteley, an organizer with Faith in Florida and CEO of Trinity Counseling Center, was one of the panel speakers.
"Saving money shouldn't come at the cost of somebody else's expense," Whiteley said.
He acknowledged that property taxes are a concern but said he does not believe Amendment 3 is the answer.
"Absolutely. I think that property taxes are definitely a problem and we have to address it. This is just not the way," Whiteley said.
"We really have to study impact or consequences before we make decisions, and I don't think that we've had a, we haven't had an opportunity to study the consequences or the long-term impact on the state of Florida. This was rushed, so we have to do something. I just don't believe that Amendment 3 is that option because we haven't studied the consequences," he added.
Then came a question Whiteley said churches may eventually have to confront.
"If they can't meet that need, you have people who are already struggling, struggle more, and they always come back to the church. And with the church itself struggling, we, we will have our doors open," he said. "But how long can we sustain it? The collection plate should not be a substitute for a county budget," Whiteley said.
Whiteley said some nonprofits are already dealing with financial challenges even before any potential effects from Amendment 3.
"Yeah, there are nonprofit organizations that we're speaking with that are saying that their budget has already been cut 20 to 30% and they had to make layoffs, right? And that's not post Amendment 3," Whiteley said.
"When they lose more funding, they will have to decide whether they're gonna keep those doors open, or they're gonna try to find funding in other areas," he added.
Trudy Crowetz with Nonprofits First said the gathering brought together organizations working in different areas of the community.
"So I'm out here to help the nonprofit sector understand the implications of Amendment 3, the property tax amendment, so we are involved with all of our different types of nonprofits, health and human services, arts and culture, family services, education, so we serve every cause, so we want to make sure that our constituents are well informed about the implications of property tax amendment number 3," Crowetz said.
She said Palm Beach County's economic diversity is an important part of the conversation.
"Because I know that Palm Beach County is a very diverse county and so there are, like I mentioned, areas of wealth and pockets of poverty as well so, keeping that in mind we talk about that as a statewide perspective but we also, we need to figure that out as a county how that's going to affect the different areas within our county," Crowetz said.
Gonzalez said those economic differences are also why nonprofits are focused on residents who may have jobs but continue to struggle with basic expenses.
"There's this population called the ALICE population that United Way of Palm Beach County is really pushing forward. It's asset-limited, income-constrained, but employed, and it's this pocket of individuals and families across the community that are working sometimes two and three jobs, but they're still struggling to make ends meet. That's the area, that's the population that we're trying to serve," Gonzalez said.
With Election Day approaching, Gonzalez said the chamber's goal is to get information in front of voters who are still making their decision.
"Very much so. We are trying to do our part in advocating through the nonprofit chamber so that we can really educate the community, those who really haven't made their decision yet on which way they want to vote. That's what today is all about," Gonzalez said.
Whiteley said the gathering now needs to translate into greater community involvement.
"I think today went really well. I think that whenever you have over 100 people in a room sharing a message, that's important, right? Now, how do we move from being attendees to being organizers?" Whiteley said.
His final message focused less on organizations and more on the people who make up the community.
"Stay involved. Love your neighbor. Think about the impact that it will have on your neighbor, and let's start thinking more as a collective and not individually," Whiteley said.
In Florida, all constitutional amendments require a 60% vote to be approved.
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