Parks Sustainable Funding Ballot Initiative Campaign Launches

Last week, the Lexington Parks Sustainable Funding campaign launched to place a referendum creating a new dedicated property tax for Parks and Recreation project funding on the November 2024 ballot.

The campaign is a partnership between the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, the Trust for Public Land, and Trees Lexington. If fully adopted, the Parks Sustainable Funding tax initiative would collect an additional 2.25 cents per $100 on all taxable property to support a dedicated Parks Capital Fund.

• This Fund would be used exclusively on capital improvements for parks, starting with projects outlined in the Parks Master Plan.

  • The City would continue to fund operating expenses such as staff salaries and programming through the City’s Budget using the General Fund.

• If passed, the referendum would raise roughly $8 million annually for the Parks Capital Fund. The average Lexington homeowner would pay roughly $53 per year.

• The 2018 Parks Master Plan identified approximately $100 million worth of projects in Lexington’s parks.

Since 2021, Lexington has allocated roughly $24 million toward park projects through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and other Federal COVID-19 relief funds. Many of these projects were much needed repairs or maintenance of park facilities. Despite this historic investment, the city still has $5+ million in deferred park maintenance costs annually.

To appear on the November general election ballot, at least nine Councilmembers must vote to place the measure on the ballot. This vote in Council must take place at least 90 days before the general election on November 5th. Council has not publicly discussed placing this referendum on the ballot as of writing.

You can learn more about the Parks Sustainable Funding Campaign here.