11-30-16 Council Agenda Packet - amended

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CE,O|CFFS|M2016 ITY OF UGENEREGON ONSERVATION INANCE EASIBILITY TUDY AY Generally, there are three broad-based types of revenue sources available to local governments to pay for parks and recreation: discretionary annual spending (i.e. budget appropriation), creation of dedicated funding streams such as voter-approved special taxesor fees, and the issuance of bonds. The financing options utilized by a community will depend on a variety of factors such as taxing capacity, budgetary resources, voter preferences, and political will. While most local governments can create funding for parks and recreation through their budgetary process, this either happens infrequently or does not yield adequate funding. In the Trust for Public Land’s experience, local governments that create funding via the budget process provide substantially less funding than those that create funding through ballot measures. As elected officials go through the process of making critical budgetary decisions, funding for parks and recreation lags behind other public purposes and well behind what voters would support. It is often quite difficult to raise taxes without an indisputable public mandate for the intended purpose. The power of conservation finance ballot measures is they provide a tangible means to implement a local government’s vision. With their own funding, local governments are better positioned to secure scarce funding from state or federal governments or private philanthropic partners. Having a predictable funding source empowers the municipality, county, or special district to establish long- term conservation priorities that protect the most valuable resources, are geographically distributed, and otherwise meet important community goals and values. Nationwide, a range of public financing options has been utilized by local jurisdictions to fund parks and recreation, including general obligation bonds, the local sales tax, and the property tax. Less frequently used mechanisms have included real estate transfer taxes, impact fees, and income taxes. The ability of local governments and special districts to establish dedicated funding sources depends upon state enabling authority. Conservation finance measures are not right for every local government or they might not be the best approach at the moment. Budget appropriations and other revenue mechanisms that can be implemented by the local government, such as developer impact fees, may well serve as short-term funding options while parks and recreation proponents develop a strategy and cultivate broad support for longer-term financing options. Local Conservation FinanceBallot Measuresin Oregon The property tax and general obligation bonds are the principal local, voter-approvedrevenue sources that could be permitted for conservation purposes in Oregon. Counties and municipalities are authorized to acquire land and easements for purposes including parks, trails, watershed protection, floodplain management, farmland, and cultural and historic preservation. These mechanisms have different requirements forauthorization. In Oregon, municipalities rather than counties have largely undertaken conservation finance ballot measures. Most of these measures are 13 bonds, which can only be used for capital expenses. The property tax may be used to fund operations and maintenance. 13 The Trust for Public Land’s Conservation Almanac Database TTPL::CFD13 HE RUST FOR UBLIC AND ONSERVATION INANCE EPARTMENT