St. Petersburg's Crist drops his $15M tax cut after Amendment 3

St. Petersburg Mayor-elect Charlie Crist, who beat Mayor Ken Welch last week, is dropping the 0.4-mill city property tax cut he campaigned on, Florida Politics reported Nov. 9. He had estimated it would save owners about $15 million a year. Crist says the city cannot afford it on top of Amendment 3, which city staff estimate will cut its general fund by about $33 million in fiscal 2028 and $54 million the year after. "There will be one cut, not two," he said.

Why it matters: St. Pete owners get the state cut but not Crist's. He also pledged to carry out the $600 million flood and water bond voters approved, which property taxes will repay.