‘This is about control.’ Coral Springs officials weigh in on property tax repeal
.png "Elected officials Dan Daley, Chip LaMarca, Christine Hunschofsky and Tina Polsky share their opinions on the property tax ballot measure during a Coral Springs-Coconut Creek Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday, June 4.")
Business leaders from Coral Springs, Coconut Creek and the surrounding area gathered in the Coral Springs Museum of Art gallery on Thursday to hear from elected officials about the biggest issues they tackled in the state legislature this spring.
State Sen. Tina Polsky and Reps. Christine Hunschofsky, Chip LaMarca and Dan Daley spent much of the time speaking about a property tax reform initiative that will be on the ballot this November.
The legislation will have to be approved by at least 60% of voters to be passed into law.
“My hope is that the voters will pay attention,” Daley said. “What we needed was a scalpel, but what we passed was a shotgun.”
Ten proposals were put on the House floor, but the final product came directly from the office of Gov. Ron DeSantis after two days of revisions, Hunschofsky said.
She also questioned why the legislature couldn’t wait until next year’s Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission meeting to come up with a better-researched plan.
“I think the conversation about property taxes was a pivot from property insurance,” Daley said, characterizing the legislation as a going-away gift for DeSantis, who is term-limited and will leave office in January.
LaMarca, the sole Republican onstage on June 4, disputed the claim. He said that a committee spent a year looking into the property tax cuts and gathered data from property appraisers, including Broward County’s Marty Kiar, to determine local impact.
According to Kiar’s analysis, Broward cities could lose between 1.2% and 34% of the taxes they collect, depending on how many people rent or own their homes.
Coral Springs, which has a higher proportion of homeowners, would sit somewhere in the middle.
How cities will close the gap remains up for debate.
“The sponsor on the floor said the state will not be backfilling dollars,” Hunchofsky said.
She added that the sponsor — Rep. Toby Overdorf, a Palm City Republican — also said that some cities may need to merge public safety programs or dissolve completely.
“This is not just about taxes, this is about control,” Hunchofsky said.
Budget cuts could mean reductions, layoffs and closures for police, fire, EMS, parks and recreation, libraries and other services, Hunchofsky said.
Polsky also said that if voters approve the measure, more of the tax burden will fall on renters, businessowners and new homeowners who don’t qualify for the Homestead Exemption until five years after establishing residency.
She took issue with the fact that these details aren’t mentioned on the ballot that citizens will cast their votes with in November.
“That’s not fair,” Polsky said. “There is actual language on the ballot that is absolutely false.”
If the amendment passes, LaMarca committed to addressing issues presented by municipalities as they come up, comparing it to AIDS medication funding that was nearly erased during this year’s budget negotiations.
One thing all panelists agreed on, though, was ensuring that voters know what, exactly, they’re voting on.
“It’s really going to be on us to explain this to voters,” Polsky said. “There’s always a price to pay.”
This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 4:40 PM.
