Parks Levy Oversight Committee (PLOC) Meeting January 2025

Attending 

Oversight Committee Members – 

• Alescia Blakely
• Silas Sanderson
• Zay Conant
• Mary Ruble
• Tim Williams

Parks Board Liaison – Casey Mills, not in attendance (meeting materials shared)

Vibrant Communities and PP&R Staff – 

• Adena Long | PP&R Director
• Todd Lofgren | Deputy Director
• Sarah Huggins | Sustainable Future Program Manager
• Claudio Campuzano | Finance, Property & Technology Manager
• Claire Flynn | Parks Levy Coordinator
• Durelle Singleton | Recreation Strategies & Initiatives Manager, Citywide Recreation
• Karen Birt | Recreation Supervisor, Teen Services

Members of the Public – 

• None

Claire Flynn, Levy Coordinator welcomed participants and lead the group through an icebreaker.

Topical Presentation: Teen Programming

Durelle Singleton, Citywide Recreation Strategies & Initiatives Manager, and Karen Birt, Teen Services Recreation Supervisor, gave a presentation on the history of PP&R’s teen programming, current offerings, and Parks Levy impact on teen programming.

TeenForce is focused on engaging youth and giving teens safe spaces and pro-social activities. PP&R has been offering teen-focused programming since 2000. In 2015, after the teen programming had been decreased due to budget cuts, the Mayor allocated an ongoing investment of $2 million for a new Teen Collaborative Initiative focused on building free programming for teens, in partnership with youth service organizations.

As a part of the 2015 initiative, PP&R met with teens to hear directly from them about the types of programming they wanted, with a high focused on underserved and underrepresented communities. Key takeaways showed that youth wanted consistent drop-in programming, convenient locations, understanding adults, freedom of choice, and job opportunities. 

That feedback informed the current model of TeenForce. TeenForce is designed to welcome all youth, while centering the needs of trauma- and violence-impacted youth, youth of color, and youth from low-income households. The programming is free, relationship-based, adaptive to interests of the youth, and always has an open/drop-in element. Teens can drop-in for open gym, lounge and game room, and Teen Night. Registered activities vary from site-to-site but include things like Dungeons & Dragons, hair braiding, cooking, boxing, art classes, and affinity groups. Programs like Park Squad provide youth with seasonal summer work. 

With the Parks Levy, not only is teen programming supported at the same levy and general fund blend for other eligible operations (about 40% in the final years of the Parks Levy), PP&R has been able to expand Park Squad from 20 to 60 youth each summer and bring back an additional TeenForce location at Southwest Community Center. 

Alescia Blakely asked if there were plans to expand the youth programs. Specifically, Home Forward youth are asking about how to create a podcast and do content creation.

• Durelle shared that there are always opportunities to expand the program, particularly as TeenForce is designed to be nimble based on the needs of the kids and offered to connect with Alicia. 

Zay Conant shared appreciation and connection to the presentation, specifically that there is a deep understanding of what teens want and how to engage with teens. They asked if there has been or could be a wilderness survival class.

• Karen said that they have not specifically done a full wilderness survival class, just hikes and outdoor activities but jotted down the idea for potential future programming. 

Zay also asked if the program had online classes that followed the same principle of being able to drop-in or come and go. 

• Karen noted that online platforms haven’t been used since the pandemic, when PP&R did virtual learning videos, but that she’s noting that idea as well.

Administrative Items and Updates

Claire shared an update on Preschool for All. In 2025-26, PP&R’s 11 preschool classes will be a part of Multnomah County’s Preschool for All program, providing tuition-free preschool for 3 and 4-year-olds in families earning incomes below the county’s Self-Sufficiency Standard. The bureau will receive $2.6M in funding which provides financial stability and allows continued employment of teachers, seasonal preschool aids, and to serve 154 students and families. 

Claire thanks Mary Ruble for volunteering to help present the PLOC Annual Report at the Wednesday, January 15 City Council meeting at 6PM and asked other PLOC members to consider attending or helping present. 

• Zay asked if Claire could send out the report that will be presented.
  • Claire shared that the report would be the committee’s annual report, sent around and available online, and offered to send out physical copies of the report if members wanted copies.
• Claire shared that the talking points and presentation have already been drafted so workload for presenting would be light.

Claire noted that the next committee meeting would likely be in early April with a large agenda component being to review proposed budget materials for FY 25-26, and that the meeting would be the last meeting of FY 2024-25 and the last meeting of this PLOC member term. 

Claire thanked Director Long for attending the meeting and shared that all PLOC members were invited to continue on for an additional two years of service. For members who have already served two terms, the PLOC charter and bylaws need to be amended to allow for continued service. The current committee documents allow for four years of consecutive service, but the Office of Community and Civic Life Advisory Bodies Program allows for eight years of consecutive service. Claire asked if the committee was okay amending the charter and bylaws to allow eight years of consecutive service.

• Zay asked about the deadline to decide about renewing service and Claire noted that she would connect with Zay outside of the meeting for their specific circumstance.
• Mary asked if the reason for amendment was to align with Office of Civic Life.
  • Claire shared that the primary reason would be to allow members who are reaching their term limit to continue serving.
  • Sarah noted that there are a couple of members for which this would be the conclusion of their fourth year, so if they wanted to continue to serve, they could not without this amendment.
• Tim noted that the PLOC doesn’t have strong context for the change or recommendation and assumed there would not be any issues with it.
• Members voted to amend the bylaws and charter accordingly.

Claire shared that the Parks Levy webpage was updated to more prominently show Parks Levy outcomes, adding program examples, charts, and quotes to the main page. This was partially in response to PLOC feedback to more visually represent Parks Levy impact and for more engaging communication around the Parks Levy.

• Mary asked if PP&R has educated new City Council members about the Parks Levy or if the Parks Levy report presentation will be the first that members will have learned about it.
  • Director Adena Long shared that the bureau has been briefing all of the Council districts and will have had all four district meetings before the presentation of the Year 3 Parks Levy report on January 15. The presentations cover information about the Parks Levy in general, as well as timing and options for a sequential ballot referral. Director Long also thanked the PLOC for their work and Mary for presenting the PLOC report.
  • Director Long also noted that the morning following the report presentation, City Council will have a Service Area onboarding work session with additional information about PP&R and the Parks Levy. 

Parks Levy Independent Audit

Sarah Huggins, Sustainable Future Program Manager, presented an overview of the Parks Levy Independent Audit. The audit was completed by Sjoberg Evashenk Consulting, Inc. (SEC) and published in December 2024. 

The report covered a light history of the Parks Levy including previous polling and funding cuts, an overview of the Parks Levy as a supplemental funding source on top of General Fund, and the application of the Leveraged Funding Model. SEC reviewed ballot commitments, organizational key documents and internal controls, and random sampled 60 non-personnel expenses paid for by the Parks Levy.

The audit found that use of the Levy funds complied with measure commitments and requirements, including spending funds on operating expenses and providing an allocation of funds to the Portland Children’s Levy. The review found that Parks Levy dollars are clearly and accurately tracked, with reported revenue and expenditures agreeing with underlying financial records. Further, PP&R had a framework in place to administer the Levy and demonstrated its commitment to continually seek improvement and strengthen its practices.

Sarah thanked Claire Flynn for her role in ensuring processes were clearly outlined and documented, and thanked members of the PLOC for their role in helping refine and improve reporting and communication tools.

The PLOC did not have any follow up questions.

Current FY 2024-25 Financials and FY 2025-26 Budget

Claudio Campuzano, Finance, Property, and Technology Manager, shared current finances for FY 2024-25 through the end of November. Expenses are tracking as expected in all categories in the General Fund. Parks Levy revenue is being impacted by property value compression, as expected. PP&R expect that this fiscal year will be the first year of the Parks Levy where expenses are more than revenue and the bureau will start to utilize the fund balance. 

For the FY 2025-26 budget, continued impacts from FY 2024-25 include the $4.6M General Fund cut, $6M compression loss on Parks Levy revenue, personnel cost increasing, and internal service provider costs increasing. In November, Mayor Wheeler issued guidance for bureaus to cut budgets by 8%, higher than PP&R anticipated and additional impacts on internal costs increased. These cuts and higher costs will be incorporated into the “trial” budget at the end of February, which will be followed by community engagement and work sessions, before the budget proposal and adoption in May. 

• Mary asked if PP&R anticipates needing to use Parks Levy dollars more quickly next year that anticipated, since General Fund will be cut.
  • Claudio noted that citywide final decisions will be a factor but, without any changes to expenses or revenue, the Parks Levy would be leant on more heavily and that balance would be negative.
  • Mary clarified if that would mean cuts.
    • Claudio shared that there would need to be some reduction in level of service in order to land the balance at zero.
    • Todd Lofgren, Deputy Director, reminded the committee that, in previous meetings, PP&R projected that the balance would land right at zero at the end of the five-year term. Now, with the added General Fund cuts, to land at zero, there would have to be reductions. If a Parks Levy was renewed at an increased rate in May or November, those reductions could be avoided but if it is renewed at the current rate or expires, the funds would be insufficient to provide the current service levels.
  • Mary noted it would be important for the PLOC to have a sense of where cuts would be made.
    • Claudio shared that, with the current 80-cent rate, PP&R projects a 25% service cut. City Council and the community would be involved in what services would be cut. With about $46M in levy collections and about $20M in General Fund cuts and unanticipated cost increases, the impact would be significant if the rate is not increased.
    • Todd noted that one decision point would be keeping services at the same level through summer 2025, despite the start of the fiscal year, and then making cuts to delay service reduction and give additional time for decision making.
    • Sarah added that much of the information about where and what cuts would be made will be covered at the April PLOC meeting, following the release of the trial budget.
• Tim asked if it is ultimately City Council voting on the budget and if PP&R had any indication of support on City Council.
  • Todd shared that PP&R will following the lead of the City Administrator and Mayor. The new City Council has two former Parks Board members and a former Parks Commissioner and park services are generally favorable but there are difficult decisions to make when balancing a budget citywide.
  • Tim asked if that means that PP&R staff go through the City Administrator and don’t interact directly with City Council.
    • Todd confirmed and clarified that there will potentially Council committees that will be open for public testimony which PP&R staff might support.
• Mary requested that, at the next PLOC meeting, there be a visual or pie chart that shows the percentage of expenditures in various categories (by service categories like Recreation, Urban Forestry, and programs).
  • Director Long shared that she had a similar question from a Council briefing and that the Parks Levy Annual Report appendices are a valuable resource in seeing spending down to the functional service areas and specific programs.

Future of the Parks Levy

Sarah Huggins shared, that in response to the November 20^th resolution from the previous City Council that directed PP&R to come back to the new Council in early 2025 to prepare a May or November 2025 ballot referral, Sarah and PP&R and Vibrant Communities leadership have been briefing new City Council members on the Parks Levy, polling, and financial forecast information and considerations. 

Sarah shared the presentation deck that has been used at the Council district briefings:

• The timeliness and financial implications include that, renewal at the current 80 cent rate, will result in forecasted 25% service reductions for all Bureau operations. The forecasted need to keep current service levels for another full five years is $1.60 rate. If the levy expires, 50% of Bureau operations would be reduced.
• The presentation includes information about the PP&R system, what the Parks Levy supports, successes and performance form Year 3, and the history of the Parks Levy.
• Polling indicated high support for a renewal at the current 80-cent rate and 64% support for a $1.60 rate. Polling also showed high satisfaction with park services.
• Timing of a referral is important to how PP&R prepares for the fiscal year. Technically a replacement levy could be on the ballot as late as May 2026 however, the earlier something is referred, the longer the lead time to implement reductions or sustainment in service, avoiding the possibility of a very abrupt service impact. 

Sarah asked for any questions.

• Mary asked if PP&R has talked with City Council about doing both a levy renewal and a bond.
  • Sarah shared that Mayor Wilson received a briefing on the Parks Levy and an in-depth briefing about capital maintenance. Polling has shown that when a levy and bond are on the same ballot, there is less support for both, but that both have majority voter support if on different ballots.
  • Todd noted that the City Administrator is looking at capital maintenance needs across the City and there is a possibility for a more citywide approach.
• Tim asked about May voter turnout and if one election is better than the other.
  • Sarah shared that November elections generally have higher turnout. However, polling completed was specific to a May 2025 turnout level.
  • Tim also asked if there was anything else upcoming on the May ballot.
    • Sarah noted there has been talks of a Portland Public Schools bond that could be on the May ballot.
    • Todd shared that in the November 2020 election, there were multiple funding measures on the ballot and not all passed, but the Parks Levy did. The $1.60 rate is relatively low compared to other funding measures.
• Tim asked if the language of the current levy will stay the same if the rate increases to $1.60.
  • Sarah noted that the language will be primarily the same, which is best for communications and service delivery. Some wordsmithing might be applied for transparency, but generally, same overarching idea.
• Silas Sanderson asked if, with the budget being compressed, PP&R is considering leaving elements of the current language out to direct funding towards the more impactful commitments.
  • Todd iterated that the Parks Levy language is broadly defined, partially because it was written in the middle of the pandemic when PP&R and the community needed flexibility. That flexibility allows for programs to be piloted or for focus to be moved around.
  • Silas asked if PP&R knows or is looking at what parts of the Parks Levy have been most impactful, particularly knowing there won’t be resources for everything.
    • Todd shared that strategy sessions around performance measure help define that and the PSU community survey will give additional information.
    • Director Long noted that the Parks Levy Annual Report and PLOC Annual Report are also a good tool and resource to communicate impact. Particularly, the qualitative and quantitative data in the report show the community what has been done with the Parks Levy.
• Mary emphasized the importance in educating and bringing together different parks advocacy groups for shared understanding and priorities.
  • Director Long shared that Deputy City Administrator Sonia Schmanski is working with a specific group with increased interest and hoping to share the strategy on the current operations and capital maintenance funding needs.

Claire thanked members for attending, noted follow-up items would be forthcoming, and adjourned the meeting.

Meaningful Access Statement

It is the policy of the City of Portland that no person shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in any city program, service, or activity on the grounds of race, color, national origin, disability, or other protected class status. Adhering to Civil Rights Title VI and ADA Title II civil rights laws, the City of Portland ensures meaningful access to City programs, services, and activities by reasonably providing: translation and interpretation, modifications, accommodations, alternative formats, and auxiliary aids and services. To request these services, contact 503-823-2525, or for Relay Service or TTY, contact 711.

Traducción e Interpretación (Spanish)

Es política de la Ciudad de Portland que ninguna persona sea excluida de participación, se le nieguen los beneficios, o esté sujeta a discriminación en ningún programa, servicio o actividad de la ciudad por motivos de raza, color, nacionalidad, discapacidad u otra condición de clase protegida. En cumplimiento con los Derechos Civiles Título VI y con las leyes de derechos civiles del ADA Título II, la Ciudad de Portland asegura el acceso significativo a programas, servicios y actividades de la ciudad al brindar de manera razonable: traducción e interpretación, modificaciones, adaptaciones, formatos alternativos y ayudas y servicios auxiliares. Para solicitar estos servicios, llame al 503-823-2525, al TTY de la ciudad o al servicio para las personas con problemas auditivos: 711.
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Устный и письменный перевод (Russian)

Политика администрации Портленда запрещает отстранять от участия в городских программах и мероприятиях, отказывать в обслуживании и льготах или иным образом подвергать дискриминации на основании расы, цвета кожи, национальности, инвалидности или иного защищенного статуса. В соответствии с разделом VI Закона о гражданских правах и разделом II Закона о правах американских граждан с ограниченными возможностями администрация Портленда заботится о полноценном доступе жителей к городским программам, услугам и мероприятиям. При необходимости доступны устный и письменный перевод, адаптивные меры, специальные устройства, материалы в альтернативном формате и иные вспомогательные средства и услуги. Для заказа этих услуг свяжитесь с нами. Телефон: 503-823-2525; служба коммутируемых сообщений: 711.
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Письмовий і усний переклад (Ukrainian)

Згідно з політикою міста Портленд, жодну особу не можна позбавляти права на участь, відмовляти їй у матеріальній допомозі або піддавати її дискримінації в будь-якій програмі, службі чи діяльності міста на підставі раси, кольору шкіри, етнічного походження, інвалідності або іншого статусу захищених класів. Дотримуючись законів про права громадян, а саме розділу VI Прав громадян і розділу ІІ Закону про права американських громадян з обмеженими можливостями, місто Портленд забезпечує значний доступ до програм, служб і заходів міста, надаючи такі послуги: письмовий і усний переклад, модифікування, адаптування, альтернативні формати, додаткову допомогу й інше. Запитати ці послуги можна, скориставшись контактними даними: 503-823-2525, служба комутаційних повідомлень: 711.

Traducere și interpretariat (Romanian)

Este politica orașului Portland ca nicio persoană să nu fie exclusă din programe, servicii sau activități ale orașului, să nu i se refuze acestea și să nu facă obiectul unor discriminări pe bază de rasă, culoare, naționalitate, dizabilități sau alte situații vizând categorii protejate. Respectând legile privind drepturile civile „Civil Rights” (Drepturile Civile), articolul VI, și „ADA” (Americans with Disabilities Act - Legea privind americanii cu dizabilități), articolul II, orașul Portland asigură acces adecvat la programe, servicii și activități ale orașului oferind, în mod rezonabil: servicii de traducere și interpretariat, modificări, cazare, formate diferite, ajutoare și servicii auxiliare. Pentru a solicita aceste servicii, contactați 503-823-2525, Serviciu de retransmitere: 711.

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Chiaku me Awewen Kapas (Chuukese)

Mi annuk non ewe City of Portland pwe esap wor emon esap etiwa an epwe fiti, esap angei feiochun, are epwe kuna iteingau non meinisin an ew tetenimw kewe mokutukut, aninnis, are mwich nongonong won i chon ia, enuan, chon menni muu, weiresin inis, are pwan ew tapin aramas mi auchea are pisekisek. Fan itan an fiti Civil Rights Title VI me ADA Title II annuken pungun manau, ewe City of Portland mi ennetata pwe epwe wor etiwaoch ngeni an ewe tetenimw mokutukut, aninnis, me mwichren an aworaochu: chiaku me awewen kapas, ekkesiwin, etufich, sokonon napanap, me pwan ekkoch minen awewe me aninnis. Ika ka mochen ekkei pekin aninnis, kokori 503-823-2525, Fon Fan Itan Ekkewe mi wor Ar Osukosukan Manau: 711.