Doubling Parks Levy Would Be a Difficult Sell to Voters, Memo Says

In a new memo to city officials, the Portland Parks Foundation says public opinion research it commissioned shows weak support among Portlanders for a doubling of the existing Parks Levy, which Portland Parks & Recreation officials say they need in order to avoid massive cuts to the parks system.

The new research—conducted by MSH Strategies on behalf of the Parks Foundation and provided to leaders of Portland Parks & Recreation earlier this month—shows a difficult path for the parks bureau, which says it will be forced to cut 25% of its current services if the existing property tax levy isn’t doubled from 80 cents to $1.60 per $1,000 of assessed value.

The firm’s memo says a doubling of the levy has “uncertain voter support at this moment,” support that was in the “low 50s” and of “weak intensity.” (MSH did not say specifically in its memo if it had conducted a poll, but it is strongly implied.)

Support between 50% and 55% is indeed a weak starting point, offering little margin since the support is measured before any potential opposition campaign is launched.

The firm wrote that an increase of the levy from 80 cents to $1.30 showed support in the “mid-50s” and of “stronger intensity.”

A renewal of the levy at its current 80 cents, MSH wrote in its memo, has “strong voter support” in the “mid-60s”.

Leaders of Portland Parks & Recreation have warned that a simple renewal of the existing levy would result in the bureau having to cut 25% of its current services—which is why bureau leaders have been pressing councilors to send voters a measure this November to double the levy’s size. Should the levy just be renewed and not increased, the parks bureau says it would have to shave $35 million from its 2026–27 budget.

The memo from MSH, issued May 16, offered few details about its research, including what questions were asked, the number of respondents surveyed, or how the questions were framed. (The Portland Parks Foundation, which commissioned the research, is a private fundraiser that supports city parks.)

But the top-line results that the firm did opt to share were certainly not sunny.

The memo comes as the City Council is less than two weeks away from approving the city’s next budget. In his proposed budget, Mayor Keith Wilson focused the bulk of his cuts on outdoor parks maintenance. While various councilors are trying to plug the parks maintenance hole (so far, two amendments have been approved totaling $3 million for restoring parks maintenance), it’s not yet clear how much of that gap will be filled.

Last week, the City Council approved by a 7-5 vote a proposal to divert $2 million in new police funding to the parks bureau for maintenance. During the contentious discussion, Councilor Steve Novick mentioned that the Portland Metro Chamber had told him it would consider supporting a doubling of the Parks Levy on the fall ballot—if funding for the Portland Police Bureau remains intact.

Jon Isaacs, vice president of public affairs for the Portland Metro Chamber, confirmed that in a statement to WW last week.

“The chamber is open to a potential Parks Levy increase if it is explicitly to fund parks maintenance, safety, cleanliness, and modernization of parks operations,” Isaacs said. “Unfortunately, the council adopted a $2 million cut to police staffing at literally the 11th hour last night. Any serious conversation about a Parks Levy will require that funding to be restored.”

Novick positioned himself as a potential mediator for such a bargain.

The results from MSH, now shared with city councilors, show why cutting such a deal would matter: If the parks bureau goes out for a $1.60 levy, it will have weak voter support even before any detractors go out to oppose it. And the position of the local chamber of commerce, which represents many of the executives with the means to mount that opposition, could be pivotal.

MSH wrote in its final recommendations to the Parks Foundation that a doubling of the levy would need a broad base of support—and that any dissension could kill it at the ballot box. Though the firm did not mention the metro chamber by name, it acknowledged that any opposition could easily doom the levy.

“Given current public opinion, the single most important factor in passing a levy and maximizing Parks services is the strength of support and the intensity of opposition,” the pollsters wrote. “Any discord among and between partners and City Councilors will be amplified at the moment of referral and feed public skepticism. The right decision is the one that brings together the strongest coalition of support and clarity of purpose for voters.”

The City Council is set to hold a three-hour work session on the Parks Levy on Monday.