Portland Parks & Recreation is seeking to double the size of its property tax levy on an upcoming ballot, telling city councilors in recent weeks it needs the increase in order to sustain its existing services amid a deepening budget crisis.
The parks bureau is shopping the renewal proposal, which would double the tax from 80 cents per $1,000 of assessed value tax to $1.60, with members of the City Council, according to four councilors recently briefed by bureau leaders. The parks bureau must get a majority vote of the council to send such a measure to the ballot, either in May or November of this year.
The current Parks Levy, passed by Portland voters in November 2020, expires in June 2026, so should the city seek to renew the measure, it would have to be done by the current levy’s expiration date…