Unofficial returns show voters are passing the tax levy that would provide support to the Portland Parks & Recreation Bureau.
Measure 26-213, a five-year tax levy, would provide $48 million each year to the parks bureau, on average, according to the city. That money would go toward improving parks and natural spaces as well as safely reopening community centers, swimming pools and recreational programs after the pandemic.
It would do so by implementing a tax of $0.80 per $1,000 assessed value beginning in 2021. That would cost the median Portland homeowner $151 per year, or about $13 per month, according to the measure filing.
The average household, according to a Portland State University study done for the parks bureau, has a median assessed home value of $195,000 — far below the city’s market values due to voter-enacted property tax limits from the 1990s.
The measure came to be following major budget cuts to the parks bureau after the city uncovered a $6.3 million annual shortfall in its $94 million operating budget. The coronavirus pandemic further worsened the bureau’s financial situation with community centers and swimming pools closed and unable to collect user fees.
“This community investment will keep our parks clean and safe,” Portland Parks & Recreation Director Adena Long said in a statement. “It will help us appropriately care for more than 1.2 million trees that help mitigate the impacts of climate change in our community, and it will allow us to design recreation activities that serve all Portlanders.”
Long said parks and other outdoor spaces have been critical to Portlanders during the coronavirus pandemic.
“This investment will allow us to provide the parks and recreation system we need as a community during these challenging times,” Long said.
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