Five years ago, voters overwhelmingly approved a new levy to fund Portland parks. City leaders envisioned the measure as a temporary fix to keep Portland Parks & Recreation afloat and buy time for a more sustainable solution to fund operations and major maintenance of its aging facilities.

So much for temporary. The Portland City Council is back asking voters to approve another five-year funding commitment to keep parks running – or face substantial cuts in service. And this time, the city is asking for a 75% increase , seeking a tax rate of $1.40 per $1,000 in assessed value. The owner of a home assessed at the median of $221,600 would pay $310 a year – about $133 more than under the current rate of 80 cents per $1,000 in assessed value. (Assessed value is typically much lower than m

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