Courtney Sanchez warns Amendment 3 could strain Tampa Bay charity budgets

Florida Amendment 3 proposes to lower property taxes for homeowners, a move that United Way Suncoast CEO Courtney Sanchez says will squeeze local budgets and push more work onto neighborhood charities.

Sanchez explained that while United Way Suncoast does not rely on municipal funds, many of its partner organizations do. She noted that if local agencies reduce spending, the cuts will reach services that families depend on, such as before and after school programs. These programs allow working parents to keep their jobs without missing shifts.

The measure specifically targets the ALICE category, which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed. Sanchez stated that these families often live paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford to lose the support provided through public school partnerships. She warned that the financial pressure will create new gaps or widen existing ones for these households.

Sanchez said charitable donations cannot cover every shortfall created by municipal scalebacks. She explained that the burden will shift to donors and philanthropists who fund local nonprofits. Those organizations will then have to expand their services to meet the rising community needs.

"There are definitely surprises ahead for what gaps will be created, what gaps that already exist that will widen for ALICE families," Sanchez said. She added that the organization is preparing a call to action while monitoring how donor networks respond to these emerging demands.

Public support for the amendment remains uncertain. The James Madison Institute reported that only one of seven recent surveys showed the measure clearing the 60 percent approval threshold required for passage in Florida. The other six polls indicated that support hovered near the mark but fell short. Analysts noted that a large group of voters is still undecided.

United Way Suncoast leaders have not yet calculated the full financial impact on their partner nonprofits. Sanchez said the organization is currently tracking how local budgets will change and how those changes will affect the specific services provided to families in the Tampa Bay area.