Additional Park Funding Exploration

Austin Parks and Recreation sought community input on additional funding sources for parks management, land acquisition, amenities, facilities, and maintenance in alignment with City Council Resolution No. 20241121-072 and sought additional analysis for three of the identified options in alignment with follow up Resolution 20250813-016.

Background

Over the past decade, the City of Austin has acquired 96 additional parks and more than 1,500 new acres of land, for a total of roughly 15,200 acres maintained by Austin Parks and Recreation. Funding for park planning, development, and maintenance has not been able to keep up. The need for additional parkland will continue to grow as the City’s population does. Recognizing the increasing gap, Austin City Council passed Resolution No. 20241121-072 on November 21, 2024, directing the City Manager to convene a team of City staff that may include members from Austin Parks and Recreation, Financial Services, Law, and other departments in the City Manager's discretion, to explore additional funding sources for parks management, land acquisition, amenities, facilities, and maintenance. In addition, Council recommended enlisting the assistance of external consultants with expertise in park system funding to advise the team on possible funding methods, as well as establishing a means of comparing methods used by other park systems in Texas and other states, and providing financial scenarios to compare funding options along with any opportunity costs.

Following the initial study performed by PFM Group Consulting and the Trust for Public Land, Council issued Resolution 20250813-016 which directs the City Manager to assess the feasibility of implementing a dedicated Parks Maintenance Fee, and to explore the feasibility of creating a Parks District or establishing a Local Government Corporation to finance the operations and maintenance of parks and recreation spaces and programs.