Parks Local Option Levy

Information

Approved by Portland voters in 2020, the Parks Local Option Levy (Parks Levy) is a property tax of $0.80 per $1,000 of Assessed Value that will raise approximately $47 million per year for five years, starting fall 2021. It provides critical operating funding for the PP&R parks system and programs.

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Your Parks Levy Dollars at Work!

Recreation for All

Since the Parks Levy passed in November 2020, Portlanders have experienced re-opened community centers and pools, a new Access Discount option to remove cost as a barrier to programming, and access to new and enhanced recreation programs, camps, classes, and more.

Quote over picture of student and swim instructor high fiving: "We can’t talk enough about water safety. A lot of the kids who live in the city don’t get a lot of exposure to water. This program is about giving them the experience and confidence they need.” Shawn Sloan, teacher Schools to Pools partner

PP&R used voter-approved Parks Levy funds to:

Stabilize the Recreation budget to bring back programming following the pandemic and uncertain fee revenue.
Enhance free summer programming with more Free Lunch + Play sites, the new East Portland Summer Arts Festival, and equitable funding for free summer events across Portland.
Overcome nationwide aquatics hiring challenges to continue providing life-saving swim lessons.
Establish a new Access Discount for City of Portland residents to receive 25-90% off admission, classes, camps, swim lessons, after-school programs, and more. 17,997 people used the Access Discount in Year 3.
Create a new Schools to Pools program in partnership with Portland Public School to provide free swim lessons to second graders across the city.

Dive Into the Data

Graph 1: Growth in number of active recreation users. Youth users (0-17) were 22,459 in FY22, 25,576 in FY23, and 24,660 in FY24. Adult users were 13,037 in FY22, 24,772 in FY23, and 34,690 in FY24. Senior users were 5,467 in FY22, 7,706 in FY23, and 9,255 in FY24. The sum of all increased by 42% from year 1 to year 2 and 18% from year 2 to year 3. Graph 2: Financial assistance. $1.55M provided to 19% of participants in FY22. $3 M provided to 26% in FY23. $4.17M provided to 26% in FY24.

Protect and Grow Nature

Portlanders benefit from expanded capacity and support to remove litter and waste, clean restrooms, maintain assets and landscaping, and improve the health of natural areas– helping to make parks, natural areas and facilities cleaner, safer, and more welcoming. Additionally, enhanced Environmental Education and volunteer stewardship programming is connecting Portlanders to nature.

Quote over a picture of volunteers laying stone on a trail: "I’ve done a variety of things including trail work, planting trees and shrubs, and pulling invasive species. I’ve also learned a lot about environmental stewardship, met some great people, and learned a lot about myself.” Kush Agarwal, volunteer

Parks Levy funds supported:

Revamping the Protect the Best program, which prevents and reduces the spread of invasive species and wildfire mitigation.
Expanding the Soft Surface Trails team to increase volunteer and collaboration opportunities and serve the whole city.
Growing the Environmental Education team and connecting more youth and communities of color to nature.
Establishing Portland’s first ever Park Tree Maintenance Plan to proactively inspect and care for trees in parks and natural areas.
New software to track trees as assets to improve efficiency, accuracy and documentation of tree care and plantings.
Increasing Professional Repair and Maintenance staffing by 64% and Land Stewardship staffing by 45%.

Dive Into the Data

Graph 1: Total staff maintenance hours. 272,803 in FY22, 286,197 in FY23, 385,598 in FY24. Graph 2: Trees planted. FY22 had 2,455 trees planted, 60% in priority service areas. FY23 had 3,495 trees planted, 68% in priority service areas. FY24 had 3,815 trees planted, 79% in priority service areas.

Community Partnerships

Community partnerships are critical to centering the community in decision-making and oversight, and to deliver an equitable parks and recreation system for all Portlanders. Examples of this work include:

Quote over photo of a kid playing giant Jenga: "Black Parent Initiative families are visiting parks more and utilizing the community centers with greater frequency because there is an increased comfort level." Leigh Bohannon, Black Parent Initiative Community Outreach and Resource Manager

Enhanced volunteer opportunities and partnerships
A community oversight committee
Increased community education and outreach about PP&R Recreation programs
Expanded community engagement for the Healthy Parks, Healthy Portland strategic framework and the Portland Urban Forest Plan
New culturally-specific programming like hair braiding and history workshops by LoveSome Hair, tapestry weaving classes, multi-lingual tennis lessons, English as a Learning Language courses, and more.

Community Partnership Program

With the Parks Levy, PP&R created a new Community Partnership Program (CPP) to establish network of support through grant funding, service contracts, in-kind space use support, and collaboration across partner organizations. These partnerships help PP&R better reach communities of color and households experiencing poverty, as well as increase collaboration beyond PP&R to best serve the Portland community. Partners include Friends of Noise, People of Color Outdoors, Home Forward, Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, and more.

Dive into the Data

Graph: Volunteer hours. FY 2021-22 had 174,006 rec-related hours and 124,672 nature related hours and a total of 349,102 hours. FY 2022-23 had 208,111 rec-related, 145,646 nature-related and a total of 373,454 hours. FY 2023-24 had 237,124 rec-related hours, 130,405 nature-related, and a total of 388,995 hours. In Year 3 PP&R granted $2.24 million across 25 organizations.

Annual Reports

Audit

As part of the 2020 Parks Local Option Levy measure requirement, the PP&R committed to voters they would conduct an independent performance audit of the 2020 Parks Local Option Levy. The audit, completed by Sjoberg Evashenk Consulting, Inc. in December 2024, found:

Parks Levy funds were used for their intended purposes
PP&R has good tracking and financial systems

The report shows that Portlanders are receiving services they voted for, and that PP&R is transparently and accurately accounting for every Parks Levy dollar spent.

Read the full audit report here.

Parks Levy Oversight Committee

The Parks Levy Oversight Committee (PLOC) is composed of five members, selected from an open public applicant pool, appointed by the PP&R Director. The PLOC reviews program implementation, advises on transparency and communication strategies, and will counsel on an independent audit process. They report annually to City Council regarding program progress. Members meet quarterly and review information produced by PP&R staff to verify compliance with the purposes set forth in the Parks Levy as approved by the voters.

Read the Parks Levy Oversight Committee Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2023-24

Additional information, meeting notes, previous annual reports, and more can be found on the Parks Levy Oversight Committee page.

Additional Resources

Parks Local Option Levy Overview1.9 MB

Местный опционный сбор за парки1.78 MB

Opción Local de Impuestos sobre los parques1.76 MB

公园本地选项征费2.07 MB

Tùy Chọn Thuế Địa Phương Cho Công Viên1.8 MB

Parks Levy Commitments from the November 2020 Voter Pamphlet

(Exhibit C/Ballot Title) Parks Levy funds will:

Enhance and preserve parks, rivers, wetlands, trees, and other important natural features in urban areas for the benefit of all Portlanders and wildlife;
Provide park and recreation services to diverse populations including communities of color, seniors, teens, households experiencing poverty, immigrants and refugees, and people living with disabilities;
Increase opportunities for communities of color and children experiencing poverty to connect with nature;
Prevent cuts to recreation programs, closures of community centers and pools; and
Enhance park maintenance to keep parks clean and safe, including litter and hazardous waste removal, restroom cleaning, and playground safety.

(Exhibit D/Explanatory Statement) The services and programs to be funded by this measure are planned to include, but are not limited to:

Protect water quality and wildlife habitat, control erosion, remove invasive species in 8,000 acres of natural area.
Deliver recreational programs, including, but not limited to, environmental education and access to nature for youth, summer camps, family-friendly movies and concerts, fitness and arts classes, teen- and senior-focused programs, life-saving swim lessons, and a summer playground program serving free lunches to children experiencing hunger.
Remove financial barriers for low-income households by ending current dependence on recreation fee revenues, allowing an equity-focused delivery of community events and programs and reducing the likelihood of further cuts to recreation offerings.
Clean litter and hazardous waste in parks and natural areas, maintain grounds and landscaping, provide safety checks on play equipment, improve preventative and traditional maintenance.
Keep public restrooms open and cleaner.
Plant new trees in communities where today canopy coverage is lower, to improve air and water quality, diminish the impacts of climate change, and provide wildlife habitat.
Protect Portland’s 1.2 million park trees by performing proactive maintenance, safety checks, hazard removal, and replacement of damaged trees in parks and natural areas.
Modernize data systems to improve internal efficiency.
Prioritize services for communities of color and households experiencing poverty, including equity-centered engagement and outreach, community partnership grants, and increased engagement with volunteer and partner groups.

A community oversight committee will be appointed to review levy expenditures and to report annually to City Council. The Measure also directs the Bureau to provide for a performance audit to ensure that services funded by the levy are consistent with voter intent.

The full resolution to refer the Parks Levy to Portland voters on the November 2020 ballot is available here.

Parks Levy Funding and the PP&R Budget

Budgeting of Parks Levy funds goes through the same process that the entire PP&R budget goes through. The budget is shaped by staff input and the Parks Budget Advisory Committee. The requested budget is submitted to the City Budget Office, reviewed by the Mayor, and adopted by City Council.

Click here to learn more about the Parks Levy in the PP&R budget.

History of Parks Levy

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