Seattle Mayor Edward Murray seeks to convince the city council and voters that the city needs a metropolitan park district (MPD) to take care of its parks. The mayor's plan calls for a majority of those funds (53 percent) be invested in major maintenance, restoration or rehabilitation of existing facilities.

You might assume that a major city like Seattle would already have a metropolitan park district (MPD). Instead, taxpayers have levied upon themselves $24 million annually through the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces ballot measure. The money has been used to acquire 14 sites for future park development. This tax levy, however, as more and more Seattle residents are coming to understand, does not, nor was ever meant to, provide money for operations and maintenance.

This August, a ballot measure proposed by Seattle Mayor Edward Murray may be presented to Seattle voters to rectify what the major says is a park maintenance backlog of $267 million and 300 projects. The mayor is lobbying to create a Seattle Park District, an initiative supported by the Seattle Parks Foundation, the Citizens' Advisory Committee and some members of the city council.

Forming a metropolitan park district (MPD) is a legislative creation that was authorized in Washington state back in 1907, but never imitated in Seattle. It's a legal mechanism for long-term funding for parks development, operations, and maintenance. Monies raised under this statutory authority can only be used for parks. Such a metropolitan parks district could levy no more than 75 cents per $1000 of home valuation.

In a letter to the city council, the mayor addressed some citizen concerns: that a parks district would be unaccountable to the public, would lack transparency and would siphon funds for other uses. The mayor deems such worries "myths."

"My proposal provides for citizen oversight and public accountability, requires a six-year spending plan and explicitly prohibits replacement of parks general fund dollars with park district funds," wrote the mayor. He added: "The city council is elected by the people of Seattle to be responsible stewards of a $4.2 billion annual budget. I am confident that the council should be entrusted with fiduciary responsibilities as the governing board for the park district."

To assuage one concern of citizens, the mayor asserted that Seattle councilmembers would waive any
right to a park district board salary increase, and that all parks and facilities would continue to be owned by
the city of Seattle.

The mayor's vision calls for 53 percent of park funds be invested in major maintenance, restoration or rehabilitation of existing facilities, and 20 percent dedicated to basic maintenance, operations and programs for children, people with disabilities and seniors"?uinvestments that were not included at all in the 2008 levy. A quarter of the overall package would "provide funding that can act as seed dollars to engage potential partners and to make investments that anticipate future demand for our parks."

The Seattle Parks Foundation strongly supports the mayor's initiative, citing parks department staff cut by more than 11 percent since 2007. The foundation notes the city increasingly relies on nonprofits, such as the Woodland Park Zoological Society, Seattle Aquarium Society, and Associated Recreation Councils, to help fund parks, and that park user fees have increased.