ASHLAND, Ore. — The City of Ashland will keep its parks fee for every residence in the city, making it permanent despite an unanimous original City Council vote to end the fee in June 2027.
Ashland City Councilor Dylan Bloom challenged the City Council at its Tuesday night meeting, “When I asked for the original two-year sunset, it was because this fee was meant to be a bridge, not a solution. The sunset was supposed to give us time for a broader community conversation about a dedicated funding source for parks. That work never happened.”
After Bloom’s proposal Tuesday night to extend — then end — the fee from next year to 2029 failed in Ashland’s City Council meeting, the Council voted to keep the parks fee permanently, to make it adjustable for inflation up to 5% a year, which can exceed 5% with City Council approval at that time, and to add a low-income waiver for 50% or a full waiver for homes in its low income utility assistance program…