Portland, OR. — A new audit from the Portland City Auditor’s Office paints a troubling picture of Portland Parks & Recreation’s (PP&R) financial management and long-term sustainability. The report found that 86% of the city’s park assets, such as playgrounds, paths, and restrooms are in poor or very bad condition and that it would take $550 million to $800 million to restore them to acceptable levels of use.
“Because the maintenance backlog is so large, some assets will fail regardless of how much funding Parks raises in the next 10 years,” auditors wrote (p. 1). The report concludes that Portland Parks has not taken a systematic approach to identifying cost-saving or revenue-generating strategies, leaving city leaders and the public without essential information to ensure the parks system’s long-term fiscal sustainability.
The 17-page audit, “Parks Fiscal Management: Systemwide goals and sustainability strategies needed to ensure parks for future generations,” describes a department stretched thin by aging infrastructure, unpredictable funding, and political influence over new project decisions. Despite the 2020 operational levy approved by voters, auditors found that many programs and services remain underfunded, forcing closures such as the Columbia Pool and Montavilla Park’s covered picnic shelter (p. 4).
The report also found that Portland’s infrastructure problems extend well beyond its parks system. Citywide asset reports estimate an annual funding gap exceeding $1 billion (p. 3). “Let’s say someone wrote us a check for $600 million dollars today,” one Parks manager told auditors. “We would still see failures.”
Auditors say that Parks’ investment decisions often reflect political pressures rather than long-term need. For example, a commissioner directed staff to invest in University Park despite it not being identified as a priority project, and the mayor allocated $500,000 for skateparks and pickleball courts near Laurelhurst Park to deter camping, projects that bypassed the normal approval process and added to future maintenance costs (p. 10).
The bureau’s failure to plan for upkeep of new facilities is a central concern. The audit reviewed eight recent capital projects and found none included maintenance funding plans, violating city financial policy. Five projects had cost estimates but no identified funds for ongoing maintenance, adding nearly $4.7 million in unfunded annual costs (p. 13). The newly opened Parklane Park alone is projected to add $2.4 million per year to the backlog (p. 14).
“Each new project adds thousands or millions of dollars of unfunded maintenance to an already severe backlog,” the audit warns. “While Portlanders may enjoy new splash pads or shelters today, future residents may inherit unsafe or unusable assets the City cannot afford to maintain” (p. 14).
Auditors recommended that Parks develop a comprehensive fiscal sustainability plan with the City Budget Office, City Administrator, and City Council. They also urged the bureau to communicate cost-saving measures to the public, create a level of service plan to guide investments, and ensure all new projects include maintenance and lifecycle funding plans (p. 14–15).
City Administrator Michael Jordan agreed with all findings and emphasized that Portland’s new government structure provides an opportunity for unified reform. “With Portland’s new form of government, I am optimistic about the future for Portland’s critical infrastructure,” Jordan wrote. “Collaborative and innovative processes… will lead to future improvements in areas you have outlined as historic challenges” (p. 16).
Interim Parks Director Sonia Schmanski also agreed with the recommendations. She committed to creating a public webpage by December 31, 2025, to display cost-saving actions and to developing a long-range financial and service-level plan by June 2028 (p. 17).
The audit concludes with a call for transparency before seeking more taxpayer support: “Best practice recommends that agencies show taxpayers they have exhausted cost-saving measures before requesting new revenue,” auditors noted. “We found that Parks did not offer these assurances” (p. 6).
The findings come just weeks before voters consider the 2025 Parks Levy, raising questions about how the city will balance short-term service demands with long-term financial accountability. Without major reforms, the report warns, Portland’s beloved parks may continue to deteriorate faster than the city can afford to repair them.
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