FILE: The Creston Park pool in Southeast Portland, April 21, 2025.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Portland voters appear to be approving a ballot measure to renew and extend the city’s parks levy for another five years.
In partial returns, the measure had 55% support as of Wednesday morning. About 45% of votes counted oppose the measure.
The levy pays for a variety of parks programs, recreation classes and some maintenance work.
If passed, it will tax property owners $1.40 per $1,000 assessed value.
That means the owner of a house with an assessed value of $221,600 — the median for a Multnomah County home — would pay about $310 a year, or $26 monthly. The median commercial property owner would pay around $440 annually, or $37 per month.
If approved, the levy is estimated to raise about $84 million in the first year.
The levy was first passed by voters in 2020 at a lower rate: $.80 per $1,000 assessed value. This year, Portland City Council chose to refer a ballot measure to voters that increased that rate by 75% to meet the growing financial needs of the Parks Bureau.
As outlined in a recent audit, the Parks Bureau has struggled to establish a long-term financial plan to plug a massive maintenance funding gap. According to the city, it needs between $500 million and $800 million to restore deteriorating park facilities to a “reasonable level” of wear and tear.
The levy won’t do much to fix that problem. The measure largely funds programs and classes, not maintenance. But it guarantees that roughly $2 million in levy revenue goes to maintenance yearly.
The levy revenue could help the city avoid another financial crisis, however. If approved by voters, the funding will pay for nearly half of the Parks Bureau’s operating budget. Without it, the city said it would need to lay off hundreds of employees and shut down beloved parks programming.
