Portland city leaders are asking voters to weigh a November ballot measure that even they admit presents an exasperating choice: either significantly increase money collected from property owners to maintain existing parks and recreation services, or watch one of the city’s most treasured civic assets wither under severe budget cuts and the ensuing neglect those would cause.
Measure 26-260 would raise Portland’s current parks levy by 75%, from 80 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value annually to $1.40, a move that city officials say is necessary just to sustain current parks operations.
Under the proposed five-year tax hike, an average city homeowner would pay an extra $133 a year. For commercial property owners, that amount would be about $188…