Amendment 3 passes; reporter says local budgets face cuts

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Amendment 3 reached 60% and passed Tuesday, and Christian Casale of Suncoast Searchlight said he was surprised it passed at all.Casale said many locally elected officials opposed the amendment and campaigned against it.Casale said many officials saw the amendment as a cut to their budgets. He said many also see it as a power grab from Tallahassee.He said home rule, the ability for local governments to set their own policy, especially on land use and land development, has been watered down over the past several years. He said Tallahassee has been taking much of that power.Casale said he spoke with voters at the polls Tuesday. He said people know who David Jolly, Angie Nixon, Ashley Moody and Byron Donalds are, but he does not think the vast majority could name their city or county commissioner.He said most of a citizen’s interaction with government is with local government. He listed public transportation, roads, firefighters, police, infrastructure and stormwate