Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton recently presented his 2010-2011 budget, noting that like state and local governments across the country, Jacksonville is facing financial challenges.
Contributing to those challenges - overall property values in the county are declining again this year.
As local homeowners struggle to make ends meet in this current economy of rising taxes, they are taking an additional hit to their personal budgets as they watch the value of what is for most families their largest investment and asset - their homes - continue to go down.
Realtors across the country and here in Northeast Florida have been working hard.
They have been promoting policies to protect homeowners' investments and stimulate the recovery of the housing market.
Passage of the federal homebuyer tax credit have proven successful as pending home sales for June 2010 in Northeast Florida increased 20 percent over the previous year.
While the recovery is slow, we are optimistic that our efforts to continue the upturn will be successful.
However, a looming threat to the state's economy could derail our recent gains and send our community into a deeper recession.
Amendment 4 would require a taxpayer-funded referendum for every change to a local growth plan; plans that, according to the Florida Department of Community Affairs, go through thousands of changes each year.
Higher taxes, long delays in construction for our schools, hospitals and public safety projects and loss of jobs as a result of Amendment 4 will lead to greater decreases in home values and reverse the progress we've made here in Northeast Florida.
Amendment 4 has all the trappings of an economic nightmare. Please vote "no" on Amendment 4 in November.
CAROL A. HILL,
president,
Northeast Florida Association of Realtors
