Politics

Portland councilors fret over fate of parks levy

By Alex Zielinski (OPB)
June 3, 2025 12:15 a.m.

The City Council discussed the financial situation facing Portland, regardless of whether a levy is renewed

The Creston Park pool in Southeast Portland, April 21, 2025. According to the city’s website, A new audit details facilities across Portland that are in need of repair.

The Creston Park pool in Southeast Portland, April 21, 2025. According to the city’s website, A new audit details facilities across Portland that are in need of repair.

Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB

Portland City Councilors are worried that voters might not be interested in increasing a five-year parks levy in November to maintain current programs and services at city parks.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

“This is a decision about the kind of city we want Portland to be,” said Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney. “A failure to address parks funding results in very painful losses both on the staff side and on the recreation side.”

The parks levy, approved in 2020, requires property owners to pay $0.80 per $1,000 assessed value of a property annually. For example, the owner of a home with a median assessed value of $228,000 — the average for a Multnomah County home — pays $182 per year. That money goes toward community centers and pools, recreational classes and camps, parks discounts to low-income households and routine maintenance, among other programs.

But simply renewing this levy, which expires in July 2026, wouldn’t be enough to keep parks operating at current levels.

That’s due to inflation, a decline in people paying fees to use park facilities, and a drop in property tax values, according to Sonia Schmanski, the deputy city administrator overseeing Portland Parks & Recreation.

During a Monday afternoon City Council meeting, Schmanski said that doubling the levy fee from $0.80 to $1.60 would allow the city to maintain programs and services covered by the Parks Bureau this coming fiscal year, which begins in July. Councilors fear it’s a tough sell.

“It’s a hell of a thing to tell a taxpayer, ‘We want to give you exactly the same thing tomorrow as we give you today, but you have to pay twice as much for it,’” said District 4 Councilor Eric Zimmerman. “It’s one of the worst political propositions I’ve ever been faced with.”

Councilor Loretta Smith, who represents East Portland’s District 1, said she worried that her constituents couldn’t stomach another tax increase. In the past five years, Portland-area voters have approved at least three new, significant taxes and levies.

“We have put a lot of new taxes on the backs of constituents,” Smith said. “I’m worried that there may be some pushback.”

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

If the city chooses to only refer a $0.80 levy renewal to voters this November, it will need to make $35 million in additional cuts next year. If voters reject a levy renewal at any level, the Parks Bureau will face a $90 million budget shortfall and be forced to lay off about half of its staff.

“The question of what to refer to voters is going to be a difficult one,” said Pirtle-Guiney. “But anything short of a win is unacceptable for our city and the system.”

Councilors will need to decide which levy rate to advance to a ballot and vote to refer that ballot measure by July 16.

Recent polling on the chances of an increased tax levy passing in November has been mixed. A poll commissioned by the city last August found that 65% of the 664 Portland voters surveyed said they would support increasing the tax from $.80 to $1.60. A more recent poll, commissioned by the Portland Parks Foundation and reported on by Willamette Week, showed less enthusiasm.

Several councilors on Monday requested that the city commission another poll on the potential ballot measure, now that the city’s recent budgeting process has given the public a clearer view of the Parks Bureau’s funding crisis.

Mayor Keith Wilson has proposed making about $14 million in cuts to the Parks Bureau in his proposed budget, with $7 million directly impacting parks maintenance. Councilors have scrambled in recent weeks to patch that gap with money reserved for other programs. The most notable proposal, which passed with a 7-5 vote, uses a proposed $1.9 million increase to the Portland Police Bureau’s budget to cover park maintenance costs.

The levy plays a significant role in the department’s operating budget. In 2019, before the levy was adopted, the Parks Bureau’s annual budget was around $90 million. For the coming year, the Parks Bureau’s operating budget is $170 million, and more than 40% comes from levy revenue.

Much of the bureau’s budget woes represent a backlog of so-called “major” maintenance projects, such as roof repairs or building new facilities. The parks levy, meanwhile, only covers small-scale maintenance projects, like fixing a broken bathroom sink or repairing a fence.

Advocates for city parks want to change this. The Portland Parks Alliance, a volunteer-led coalition of more than a dozen different park advocacy groups in the city, sent a letter to City Councilors last month, urging that at least 10% of future parks levy revenue go toward major maintenance projects.

“Portland Parks & Recreation simply can’t deliver the services people want and rely on without maintaining its asset base,” the letter reads.

Councilors discussed that idea Monday. Several councilors spoke about how it’s on the city to convince voters that the levy price hike is worth it.

Councilor Candace Avalos, District 1, said she’s committed to ensuring the city’s campaign is successful. But, she said, that solving the parks funding crisis shouldn’t end with the levy renewal.

“We need to make a stronger commitment over these next five years,” said Avalos. “Or we are going to have the same conversation. The budget challenges in the next few years are going to be tough no matter what.”

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

Related Stories