Motion to Support Parks and Recreation Levy on November Ballot

By Brian Hoop 

A motion to support the Portland Parks and Recreation levy on the November ballot will be considered at the September 2 Linnton Neighborhood Association meeting. Portland City Council recently approved the five-year tax levy to go to voters (costing $0.80 per $1,000 of assessed value costing the average Portland homeowner about $11 per month or more than $130 per year). 

The levy would provide approximately $48 million each year to cover operating costs with a focus on restoring recreation programs that have been cut in recent years, even more as the COVID crisis has evaporated fees from parks users. This would include funding for swimming lessons, after-school camps for low-income families and keeping the doors open at a slew of community and arts centers. 

The Linnton neighborhood is significantly affected by Parks funding as the Linnton Community Center has received support for summer camp and after-school programming. We also all live along Forest Park, for which funding for maintenance has been lacking. Our Neighborhood Association also advocated for not closing the Columbia indoor pool in North Portland, the closest one to Linnton. As of this writing, it is not known how the levy would affect funding for these programs.