City Council Plan Could Raise Portland Property Taxes by Over $300 for Park Upgrades
PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland City Council is considering increasing the current Parks Local Option Levy from 80 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to between $1.37 and $1,47 per $1,000.
Levy Will Add More Than $300 Annually to Property Owner Bills
If approved, the increased levy will add between $342 and $367 annually to assessment rates paid by local property owners.
The Parks Local Option Levy was approved by public vote in 2020 for five years to generate $47 million annually to fund park operations and maintenance.
However, the levy is set to expire soon, and the City Council’s committee on Climate Resilience and Land Use is listening to public testimony about the proposed increase.
The committee has been told that, on average, Portland parks have more volunteer hours than most cities nationwide. However, financial contributions from nonprofit organizations are 1% compared to as much as 30% in some cities.
The parks levy, paid for by Portland property owners, helps fund community centers, pools, recreation programs, classes, camps, discounts on entry fees for low-income households, maintenance, and trash removal.
City councilors have until 16 July to finalize a decision about increasing the levy payments.
you are forcing us out of our houses
My Social Security certainly does not increase $300.00 a year .Do you have a free tent for me to pitch in your front yard?
NO MORE TAXES ON SENIOR HOMEOWNERS!
Yes, it never ends here. We approve a levy for 5 years and once it gets started it never ends. Why when we are one of the highest taxed areas in the country we don’t already have enough money for parks. Something is wrong here. I don’t want to give them anymore money. It is not like I’m getting a raise to pay for it! I thing some of the $724K they spent on the homeless could have put to better use.
Give us a break on the property taxes. I am a senior, and they are already outrageous! Get the money from somewhere else!