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The homeowner benefit derived from passage of state Constitutional Amendment 1 is evident enough once the bureaucratic language encrusting it is scraped away.

If passed, the amendment would exempt as much as $25,000 in property taxes for those whose homes are valued between $100,000 and $125,000. This would bring to $75,000 the maximum homestead exemption for some Florida homeowners.

But there are reasons the Florida Association of Counties and the Florida League of Cities oppose the Amendment proposal. The South Florida Sun Sentinel labeled the amendment proposal an “election-year gimmick” and other publications have been equally critical.

Passage of Amendment 1 would save one sector of homeowners a relatively few hundred dollars, the opponents say, while choking off the flow of millions into the coffers of local governments across the state.

It “would exacerbate the inequities in Florida’s tax code and cost millions that local governments need for basic services such as parks, libraries and public safety,” said the editorial board of the Tampa Bay Times.