Leon County staff painted a grim picture Tuesday of what the governor's property tax cut proposal could mean for local services, warning of a potential $71 million loss by fiscal year 2029 if voters approve the measure.WATCH FUL L REPORT BELOW: Leon County warns of $71 million loss if voters approve Governor's property tax cut proposalCommissioners met Tuesday for the first time since the legislature passed the governor's proposal to raise the homestead exemption to $150,000, and then to $250,000 the following year.Leon County Administrator Vincent Long warned the road to recovery from such cuts would be long."What took 6 days to break may take this board months if not years...to try to piece together what's left," Long said.Under the proposal, Leon County says it would be left with $3.5 million to fund everything that is not state-mandated.Commissioners reacted to the proposal and worked to determine their next steps.Commissioner Carolyn Cummings framed the issue in stark terms."What I see this as is a direct attack on home rule," Cummings said.Commissioner David O'Keefe said the proposal raises a fundamental question for residents."Does Leon County want the local government services and community programs that we have?," O'Keefe said.Long stressed that there are strict regulations around how commissioners can discuss the proposal, saying they are permitted to share data points.Commissioner Brian Welch said he wants to see more specific statistics circulated publicly."These are the libraries that will be closed, this is how many people will be laid off, this is how many ambulance crews will be jeopardized, this will be the cost of mosquito control," Welch said.Chairman Christian Caban offered a different perspective, saying he does not view the situation as a worst-case scenario."We keep talking about how we're losing tens and tens of millions of dollars but guys that's money going back into taxpayers hands," Caban said.Caban called for a more proactive approach to managing the county's finances."I think we need to look at positioning ourselves, if this is legally viable, of having an endowment," Caban said. "We need to look at ways to look at our reserves and invest in our reserves so we're being competitive with the market."The county says that while the vote is in November, preparation work begins now. More discussion is expected when the county holds its budget workshop next week. Caban said if additional workshops are required, they will be scheduled as needed.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website. Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.Like us on FacebookFollow us on Instagram and X. ...read more read less