September Water News
2026 Proposed Property Tax Amendment
As part of the November 3rd General Election, Indian River County voters are asked to vote “Yes” or “No” for an amendment to the Florida Constitution as proposed by the 2026 Florida Legislature. The main provisions of this constitutional amendment would increase the homestead exemption to $150,000, starting January 1, 2027, and then increase it to $250,000, starting January 1,2028 – effectively reducing property tax revenue to local governments by reducing the “Taxable Value” of properties by deduction of exemptions from the “Assessed Value” of properties.
If local government services are to be maintained, the proposed amendment would shift the tax burden – potentially by either (a) an increased millage rate to more valuable properties with remaining “Taxable Value”, or (b) other fees or assessments to individuals who make use of these services. Local governments “would be forced into impossible decisions: raise fees, increase other taxes, reduce services, or turn to Tallahassee and beg for financial support.”
The Florida Association of Counties has identified that: “The property tax amendment would slash billions in funding that keeps deputies on patrol and fire stations open. The amendment would shift costs onto renters, small businesses, and shoppers. And it would give Tallahassee the power to decide what your community gets to keep.”
The Florida Policy Institute has identified that:
If Amendment 3 passes, local governments face deep cuts to revenue. Florida families would see cuts to services, increased taxes and fees, or a combination of both.
The loss of property tax dollars under Amendment 3 would ultimately shift costs onto renters, consumers, and small businesses as local governments look to generate revenue.
Property taxes are an important source of revenue for local governments. Florida Tax Watch has identified that Indian River County obtains about 36.9% of its annual revenue from property taxes which are:
more economically efficient than other taxes or fees raising revenue;
less distortionary as they don’t penalize productivity, consumption, work, or investment;
more equitable since they roughly align with government services for property owners;
more sensitive to local government since they are transparent and correlate with services that enhance the value and utility of property;
Florida’s largest government revenue source, $15 billion larger than the state sales tax.
Indian River County’s proposed total recommended FY2026/2027 budget:
is over $614 million - a 13.6% decrease from the FY2025/2026 budget of $711 million;
is in part based upon $120 million obtained from property taxes via an Aggregate Millage of 6.1155 mils;
is substantively below the10 mil limit imposed by Florida Statutes (Section 200.071); and
corresponds to an annual property tax of about $2,350 on an average property in Indian River County valued at $366,544 with a homestead exemption of $50,000.
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy has summarized the history of Florida property taxes:
Property taxation in Florida dates back to 1830, when rates ranged from one-half cent per acre on “first- rate land” to one-eighth cent on “third-rate land.”
The state first enacted a homestead exemption in 1934, around the same time that the property tax transitioned from a state revenue source to a local revenue source.
In 1934, Florida voters approved a homestead exemption on the first $5,000 of a property’s value to help homeowners by lowering their property tax bill.
Florida enacted major property tax reform again in 2008, passing an amendment to the constitution that allowed homeowners relocating within the state to “port” or transfer up to $500,000 of “protected” value on their homes under Save Our Homes. Florida was the first state to enact statewide portability of assessment cap.
In 1992 Florida imposed limits on growth in homestead values to the lesser of 3 percent or inflation, with reassessment upon transfer.
Florida enacted major property tax reform again in 2008, passing an amendment to the constitution that allowed homeowners relocating within the state to “port” or transfer up to $500,000 of “protected” value on their homes.
Florida currently exempts the first $25,000 of homestead value and the value between $50,000 and $75,000 for non-school property taxes for properties with a value over $50,000.
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy identifies that:
Florida has the nation’s most regressive tax system, where low-income families pay almost five times as much as the wealthy.
Florida is often described as “low tax” due to the lack of personal income taxes; while this characterization holds true for high-income families, Florida levies one of the nation’s highest tax rates on the poor.
Florida residents within the lowest 20% of income pay 13.2% of their income for all state and local taxes, while the top 1% pay 2.7% of their income; 43.4% of these taxes are from property taxes while 50.6% are from sales and excise taxes.
Tax reform is needed in Florida. However, the government services needed by Florida residents warrant dependable and equitable funding – with expansion not reduction of funding and services. State leaders need to establish a dependable, legally binding plan to replace the lost revenue before cutting the funding from property taxes that local governments depend upon. Additional state and local government funding is needed to provide for conservation land acquisition and to restore Florida’s water resources.
For additional details of the ballot amendment see House Bill Analysis.
Did you know there are two other proposed amendments on the ballot?
Amendment 1 (Budget Stabilization Fund). Raises the cap on the state's rainy day fund from 10% to 25% of net general revenue, and requires an annual transfer of $750 million or whatever it takes to reach the cap, whichever is less. Saving in good years isn't a bad instinct. But general revenue is the same pot that funds Florida Forever, springs restoration and lagoon appropriations, and we spend every session fighting for those line items already. A bigger locked box means a smaller pot to argue over.
Amendment 2 (agricultural tangible personal property). Exempts equipment and other tangible personal property kept on land classified as agricultural and used for producing agricultural products or for agritourism, starting with the 2027 tax year. State economists project no hit to state revenue and at least $28.7 million a year less for local governments statewide. Two things worth noticing. Agritourism rides along with farming in the exemption, and one legislator's objection during debate was that there are no guardrails and the benefit tilts toward large operations with multiple property accounts. In a county where agricultural land is the main thing standing between us and the next annexation request, how we tax that land matters.
Could Florida Be Next in the Water Shortage Crisis?
Water shortages are no longer a problem for someone else's state. This summer, communities from the Southwest to the Southeast have been rationing, restricting, and racing to find new water supplies. The question for Indian River County is simple: could we be next?
For most of Florida's history, the Floridan Aquifer took care of us. Rain fell, soaked into wetlands and porous limestone, and refilled the aquifer faster than we could pump it out. That balance is breaking down.
Florida has drained more than half its historic wetlands (mostly for agriculture and development), and those wetlands were slowing water down long enough for it to soak into the ground. Without them, much of our rainfall runs straight off the land and out to tide instead of recharging the aquifer. We still get plenty of rain. We just aren't keeping much of it.
At the same time, demand keeps climbing. Florida keeps adding hundreds of thousands of new residents a year, and every one of them needs water to drink, cook, and bathe. But the bigger draw isn't inside the house at all (it's the yard). Landscape irrigation, especially for turf grass, uses far more water per household than anything happening indoors, and it spikes hardest in exactly the dry months when the aquifer needs a break.
Now add a newer pressure: large industrial water users. Data centers, in particular, can use millions of gallons a day for cooling, and Florida is actively courting them as an economic development target. Power plants and other utility-scale operations add to that draw. These are exactly the kind of concentrated, high-volume users that can strain a local water system fast, arriving just as our margin for error is shrinking.
So what happens if the aquifer can't keep up? There are options, but none of them are cheap or simple.
Indirect potable reuse (treating wastewater to drinking-water standards and returning it to the environment before it's drawn back out) is what people usually mean by "toilet to tap." It's working in places like Orange County, California, but it takes real treatment infrastructure and real public buy-in.
Desalination is the most expensive option on the table, both to build and to run, and it comes with its own environmental costs (brine disposal, energy use) that utilities have to manage.
None of these are quick fixes, and all of them cost a lot of money that ratepayers will ultimately cover.
That's exactly why the choices we make now, about wetland protection, growth management, and who gets priority access to water, matter so much. The cheapest gallon of water is the one we never have to replace. CWC will keep tracking these issues locally and pushing for policy that protects our aquifer before we're forced into the expensive alternatives.
Mark Your Calendar: 2026 Low Impact Development Conference
Low impact development is getting its own conference again this fall, and it's worth marking your calendar for.
The Marine Resources Council's 2026 Low Impact Development Conference runs October 22-23 at a new venue, the Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront. This year's theme, "Rooted in Community: Low Impact Development as a Shared Solution," puts the focus on getting LID projects actually built, not just designed.
Sessions cover public-private partnerships, policy and governance, HOA and residential community buy-in, and equity and access in stormwater infrastructure. A keynote from 1000 Friends of Florida headlines the program, along with panels on building community support for stormwater projects and creating climate-resilient communities. An optional field trip runs the afternoon before the conference opens.
Registration is open now and includes access to all talks and panels, exhibitor time, lunch, and a Thursday happy hour reception at Lori Wilson Park. Room blocks are available at the host hotel under group code MR26LC. Link to register: https://givebutter.com/2026-low-impact-development-conference
For water quality advocates in our own watershed, LID is exactly the kind of practical, on-the-ground tool CWC has been pushing for locally (rain gardens, permeable surfaces, smarter stormwater design). This conference is a good place to see what's working elsewhere and bring it home.
Science research students at Vero Beach High School are looking for expert advisors, and Dr. Nikki Mosblech is building a registry of people willing to help.
If you have professional or academic expertise in a scientific field (water quality, marine biology, engineering, health sciences, agriculture, statistics, anything a high schooler might build a research project around), you can sign up to be matched with a student who needs guidance on their study. Teachers and students will use the registry to find advisors whose background fits their topic.
This is a good fit for anyone in our world who has spent a career working on Indian River Lagoon or other water issues. Students doing serious research benefit enormously from someone who can tell them whether their methodology holds up, and the time commitment is generally modest.
To register, fill out the form here.Questions about the expert advisor registry can go to Nikki Mosblech at nicole.mosblech@indianriverschools.org.
Join us on Wednesday, September 16th, for the "What's Up in the Watershed?" Q&A Webinar.
Jessy Wayles, the IRLNEP Community Engagement Coordinator, will host Olivia Escandell, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, to discuss the habitat restoration project on Samson's Island.
Register using this link: Webinar Registration
PROGRAMS & EVENTS:
International Coastal Cleanup
September 19 at Oslo Boat Ramp from 9-11am
This year Pelican Island Audubon Society is acting as a Park Champion or Site Coordinator for the International Coastal Cleanup coordinated by Coastal Connections. Please join us as quantify and categorize marine debris at the Oslo Boat Ramp. Cleanup supplies will be provided.
🌿 Let us know you’re joining us by registering here: https://coastal-connections.salsalabs.org/icc2026irc/index.html
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“Rooted in Change: Food, Planet, and the Power of Plants” Presentation with Kevin Mitchell
September 28 at Garden Club of IRC at 7pm
Join Pelican Island Audubon Society for our September General Meeting as we explore the Plant Based Treaty, a global campaign urging governments, businesses, and individuals to prioritize food systems in the climate crisis response. We are excited to feature guest speaker Kevin Mitchell, Plant Based Treaty Ambassador and Sustainability Consultant, who will present his talk, "Rooted in Change: Food, Planet, and the Power of Plants."
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Nature Photography Series ($) with Jennifer Satterly
September 28th, October 2nd & October 9th at Pelican Island Audubon Society & off-site from 9-11am
Join the Pelican Island Audubon Society/s Environmental Educator, Jennifer Satterly, for a three-day Introduction to Nature Photography class. During this hybrid course of both in-class and in the field, Jen will guide you through the process of capturing the beauty of nature through your camera lens. This class is intended for beginners but all are welcome.
🌿 Registration required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/workshop-nature-photography-series-tickets-1998508125602
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PIAS Volunteer Orientation
October 13th at Pelican Island Audubon Society at 10am
Join Pelican Island Audubon Society as we work to preserve and protect the plants, animals, natural communities, and the land and water on which they depend throughout Indian River County. There are so many ways to get involved—from working in our native plant nursery and maintaining trails to assisting with bird inventories, cleaning, outreach, education, or even sharing your unique talents by leading a program. Whatever your interests or skills, there’s a place for you at PIAS!
Join us to learn more about the many ways you can make a difference with your time, talents, and passion for our natural world.
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“The Magic of Monarchs” with Missy Weiss
October 20th at Pelican Island Audubon Society at 6pm
Join us for an engaging presentation about the incredible world of monarch butterflies! Discover their remarkable life cycle, epic migration, and the challenges they face along the way. Learn how native plants and pollinator-friendly landscapes can help support monarchs and other butterflies and how you can make a difference right in your own backyard.
🌿 This is a free event but registration is recommended: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lecture-the-magic-of-monarchs-tickets-1998812978425
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Weed Wrangle with PIAS & City of Sebastian at Stormwater Park
October 24th at Sebastian Stormwater Park from 9-11am
We need your help! Team up with PIAS and the City of Sebastian during the United Day of Caring as we tackle invasive plants at the popular Stormwater Park. Equipment will be provided, but feel free to bring your own if you have it. Every plant we remove makes a difference and every pound of invasive plant matter collected helps protect our native ecosystems! Join us and be part of the effort to keep Stormwater Park healthy and thriving.
🌿 This is a free event but registration is recommended: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/volunteer-opportunity-weed-wrangle-at-sebastian-stormwater-park-tickets-1998813433787
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Camp Wild Roots ($)
November 6-8 at Pelican Island Audubon Society
Camp Wild Roots is a one-of-a-kind, adults-only nature camp that invites participants to unplug, explore, and reconnect with the natural world. Hosted by UF/IFAS Extension of Indian River County, Indian River County Stormwater, and Pelican Island Audubon Society this three-day immersive experience combines outdoor adventure, hands-on learning, and creative activities. Whether you're kayaking through the Indian River Lagoon, discovering local wildlife, trying nature photography or watercolor, or simply enjoying time with fellow nature enthusiasts, Camp Wild Roots offers a fun and welcoming environment for curious adults of all experience levels.
🌿 Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1998376506927?aff=oddtdtcreator
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