Alternative Funding Exploration

Update

Parks Alternative Funding Exploration Questionnaire: Share your thoughts about alternative funding options now through April 11.

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 the Parks and Recreation Department (PARD). 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 the Parks and Recreation Department, Financial Services Department, the Law Department 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 staff team on funding methods to sustain and expand the available funding for Austin's parks, as well as establishing a means of comparing funding methods used by other park systems in Texas, and in other states, and providing financial scenarios to compare funding options along with any opportunity costs.

Project Description

This project will be broken into three phases. Phase 1 will research comparable Parks and Recreation Departments, within Texas and nationally, to determine best practices related to Department funding and operations. Phase 2 will analyze gaps in Austin PARD funding and the total budget shortfall, quantify the economic benefits of parks and recreation, and identify funding opportunities. Phase 3 will develop recommendations regarding potential revenue sources for PARD, including a memo and presentation to City Council. As the Resolution recommends enlisting the assistance of external consultants with expertise in park system funding, consultants PFM and the Trust for Public Land have been selected to assist in data collection and analysis.

Anticipated Schedule

• March 2025: Phase: 1 Research
• April 2025: Phase 2: Analysis
• May 2025: Phase 3: Develop Recommendations and Present to City Council

Community Engagement

A survey is available now through April 11 to get community feedback on possible ways to increase park funding:

• Parks Alternative Funding Exploration Questionnaire

A briefing on the scope and project goals will be given to the Parks and Recreation Board on March 24, 2025.