OSCEOLA 360
An Investigative Look Inside Osceola County
A Special Report for The Sun Post News
By Marcos A. Tejeda
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
The Sun Post News
October 1, 2026
OSCEOLA COUNTY, Florida — Yesterday, we asked what would come next for Osceola County.
Today, some of the numbers are clearer.
The 2026 State of Osceola County presentation revealed a financial warning with potentially significant consequences for residents:
Osceola County has placed approximately $92 million in capital projects on hold while awaiting the outcome of Amendment 3 in the November 3 election.
And that is not the largest number.
County officials estimate that, once fully implemented, the proposed constitutional amendment could reduce Osceola County property-tax revenue by approximately $94.6 million annually.
That changes the discussion.
The debate is no longer only about how much an individual homeowner might save.
It is also about how much revenue local government could lose — and what services, projects and spending decisions might change as a result.
Where Does the $94.6 Million Come From?
Osceola County has launched a public information website explaining its fiscal estimates for Amendment 3.
According to the County, its four property-tax levies currently generate approximately $492.6 million within Osceola’s roughly $3.1 billion FY2027 budget.
The County estimates the annual revenue impact as follows:
General Fund: -$79.3 million
Emergency Medical Services: -$8.7 million
Osceola Library System: -$3.6 million
SAVE Osceola: -$3.0 million
Total estimated annual impact: -$94.6 million
Those numbers are Osceola County’s projections based on its current budget and its interpretation of how the proposed amendment would affect taxable property.
They are not losses that have already occurred.
The election has not yet taken place.
What Would Amendment 3 Actually Do?
Separating the official ballot proposal from the political debate surrounding it is important.
According to Florida’s official constitutional-amendment records, Amendment 3 would increase the homestead exemption applicable to non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with subsequent inflation adjustments.
The proposal would also reduce from 10% to 5% the annual assessment-growth cap applicable to certain non-homestead properties.
The amendment would require at least 60% statewide voter approval to become part of the Florida Constitution.
The proposal therefore involves two distinct effects.
Eligible property owners could receive a larger exemption from certain property taxes.
Local governments could collect less revenue from those properties.
How voters weigh those effects is their decision.
OSCEOLA 360’s role is to examine what each could mean locally.
$92 Million Is Already on Hold
One consequence is not hypothetical.
It is happening now.
Osceola County says it has already paused approximately $92 million in capital projects while awaiting the election results.
County officials say the pause has focused particularly on projects that could create additional operating expenses after construction.
That distinction matters.
A building may require a one-time construction investment.
Once it opens, however, government may also need employees, utilities, maintenance, equipment and other recurring expenses.
The County is therefore considering not only whether it can afford to build certain projects, but whether it can afford to operate them afterward.
Still, the $92 million figure leaves one critical question unanswered:
Which projects are on the list?
Residents Need to See the List
A dollar amount tells taxpayers the magnitude of the decision.
It does not tell them what their community may be waiting for.
OSCEOLA 360 believes the $92 million should ultimately be broken down project by project:
Name.
Location.
Commission district.
Original budget.
Current phase.
Money already spent.
Funding source.
Original construction schedule.
Expected operating cost.
And the reason each project was placed on hold.
A $10 million road project has different consequences from a $10 million park, library or government facility.
Until residents can see the individual projects, $92 million remains a large number without a physical address.
Even the Proposed Cuts Do Not Close the Gap
Another number revealed by the County may be even more important.
Osceola says approximately $77 million in potential reductions have been identified through budget discussions.
But the projected revenue impact is approximately $94.6 million.
That leaves a difference of roughly:
$17.5 million.
In other words, under the scenario presented by Osceola County, the reductions identified so far would still not completely close the projected gap.
Local governments must balance their budgets.
If Amendment 3 passes and the County’s projections prove accurate, additional reductions, alternative revenues or some combination of both could therefore be required.
What Could Be Reduced?
The County has published a series of options discussed during budget workshops.
The word options is critical.
These are not necessarily final decisions.
Areas examined include funding associated with mental-health and substance-abuse services, affordable housing, library operations and hours, extension services, park equipment, community centers and other government functions.
The County’s own figures also demonstrate how heavily several major operations rely on property-tax revenue.
Within approximately $410.3 million in General Fund property-tax revenue, the County identifies roughly:
Sheriff’s Office — $142.5 million
Transportation & Transit — $71.2 million
Corrections — $67 million
Internal Support Functions — $43.7 million
Constitutional Officers — $34.8 million
Housing & Community Services — $21 million
Those numbers help explain why finding nearly $80 million exclusively within the General Fund could require consequential decisions.
The Sheriff’s Budget Is Back in the Conversation
One of the most significant issues involves the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
Only weeks ago, the County and Sheriff reached an agreement providing an approximately 12% budget increase after the Sheriff had sought roughly 17%.
County officials had previously asked constitutional officers to limit increases to approximately 6%.
The dispute had reached the point where the Sheriff could have appealed the budget decision to the state.
A compromise was eventually reached.
Now that agreement may be revisited.
Chairman Brandon Arrington said publicly that if Amendment 3 passes, the County could potentially look at clawing back the 12% increase.
That means a budget dispute that appeared settled may not be settled at all.
School Resource Officers Could Also Be Affected
An even more sensitive issue involves School Resource Officers.
Current reporting indicates that Osceola County covers approximately 30% of the cost of 52 School Resource Officers, with the Sheriff’s Office funding the remainder.
The County’s contribution has been identified among areas that could potentially be affected under budget-reduction scenarios.
That does not mean 52 deputies have been ordered removed from schools.
No such conclusion should be drawn from the information currently available.
The immediate issue is financial:
Who would pay for them?
The Sheriff has indicated that his office would seek a way to fund the officers if the County reduced its contribution.
For parents, students and taxpayers, that funding arrangement deserves close attention before any final decision is made.
EMS Faces a Projected $8.7 Million Reduction
Emergency Medical Services has its own property-tax levy.
Osceola County currently estimates approximately $48.5 million in property-tax revenue for EMS.
Under the County’s fully implemented Amendment 3 scenario, that amount would fall to approximately $39.9 million.
The difference is approximately:
$8.7 million annually.
Arrington has discussed scenarios in which reductions of this magnitude could affect services, potentially including a fire station and mosquito-control operations.
Again, those possibilities should not be reported as final closures or approved cuts.
They are scenarios being discussed by County officials.
The distinction matters.
Libraries and Conservation Are Also Exposed
The County estimates that its library property-tax revenue could fall from approximately $18.4 million to $14.8 million.
SAVE Osceola could decline from approximately $15.3 million to $12.4 million.
SAVE Osceola is particularly noteworthy because voters renewed the land-conservation program for another 20 years in 2024.
County officials said during the State of the County that the program has helped preserve more than 3,300 acres of environmentally important land.
That creates another question worth following:
How would lower future revenue affect conservation commitments previously supported by Osceola voters?
The Other Side of the State of the County
Reducing yesterday’s presentation entirely to Amendment 3 would also be incomplete.
County commissioners highlighted several accomplishments.
According to Osceola County:
more than $70 million has been invested in affordable housing over the past decade, contributing to more than 3,200 housing units;
Osceola Prosper has served more than 12,000 students;
public and private investment connected to NeoCity has exceeded $1 billion, with nearly 800 high-paying private-sector jobs projected;
approximately 145 lane miles have been resurfaced and nearly 1,200 potholes repaired;
and seven new or renovated fire stations have opened during the past three years.
Those are the results the County chose to emphasize.
They now have to be considered alongside the fiscal constraints the same government is warning about.
Both are part of Osceola’s current financial picture.
County Information and the Ballot Question Are Not the Same Thing
Osceola County has launched a website specifically addressing Amendment 3.
It includes fiscal projections, service information and possible budget reductions.
The County says the site is intended to provide factual information and does not tell residents how to vote.
That distinction should be maintained.
But readers should also understand the source of the numbers.
The $94.6 million figure is Osceola County’s fiscal estimate.
The constitutional amendment itself is an official statewide ballot proposal.
Political arguments supporting or opposing it are something else entirely.
Voters should distinguish among:
the official amendment language;
Osceola County’s projections of its local fiscal impact;
and
political arguments for or against the proposal.
Those are three different categories of information.
OSCEOLA 360: Show Us the $92 Million
Yesterday we asked what would come after the State of Osceola County.
Today, the numbers provide a partial answer.
$94.6 million in projected annual revenue impact.
$92 million in capital projects placed on hold.
Approximately $77 million in potential reductions identified.
About $17.5 million still unresolved under the County’s scenario.
And possible consequences touching transportation, EMS, libraries, housing, conservation and the funding structure for deputies assigned to schools.
Now the next document matters more than another speech.
The public needs the complete list of the $92 million in paused projects.
Which projects?
Where?
Which communities were expecting them?
How much has already been spent?
When were they originally supposed to begin or finish?
And which could disappear entirely if the County’s financial assumptions become reality?
A $92 million figure commands attention.
But when that money becomes a road, sidewalk, park, public building or neighborhood project, it stops being an abstract budget number.
It becomes something residents can see.
And potentially something they may have to wait longer to receive.
