Clark County officials say the region’s parks system is falling behind as staffing shortages, deferred maintenance and population growth continue to strain available funding.
During a Wednesday, May 20, work session, county Parks and Nature Division Manager Ross Hoover described a widening gap between park revenues and operating costs as he presented possible long-term funding solutions to the Clark County Council.
Over the past five years, the county has relied on its reserve fund to maintain park operations. Since 2019, annual revenue has grown, but rising expenses have outpaced those gains.
County staff warn the current funding model is unsustainable, and park conditions and services may continue to decline without more revenue for the county’s 10 regional parks. With only 0.69 full-time parks staff per 10,000 residents, the county falls far below the national average of 3.6 employees per 10,000 residents in counties of similar size.
“We know that 33% of our assigned daily tasks go uncompleted,” Hoover said.
Officials say maintenance delays have led to a growing backlog of repairs and upgrades across the county’s park system. Hoover noted that staffing remains so limited it is difficult to cut spending further without impacting public access and services.
“It is extremely challenging to figure out how to reduce costs without significant impacts to community, to residents, to businesses, to park users, to visitors of our parks, up to and including potential closures of parks,” Hoover said.
Staff expect these challenges to worsen as Clark County’s population continues to grow.
“We know that the projections for growth, population growth in Clark County, we will grow by about 34% over the next 20 years,” Hoover said. “The expectation will be that those new residents and businesses will expect that they have parks close to their home.”
Exploring funding alternatives
Officials outlined two possible long-term funding options. One would establish a regional parks levy modeled after King County.
The other, identified by the regional task force as the preferred approach, would expand the existing Greater Clark Parks District boundary to cover the entire county. The district operates as a Metropolitan Parks District, which requires 50% voter approval instead of 60%, and would not sunset property taxes.
Under that approach, revenue from the metropolitan park district could be shared with cities through interlocal agreements. In short, this would allow cities to maintain control over their own park systems while receiving funding. In March, the council directed staff to collaborate with cities to understand current funding challenges and workshop solutions.
“The cities have their own priorities within their own park systems, but this could be a useful funding tool for cities to carry out their own system plans,” Hoover said.
Currently, the Greater Clark Parks District brings in about $4.5 million each year through a property tax rate that has dropped from 27 cents to about 14 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. County staff members estimate that expanding the district countywide at the current rate could raise about $15 million annually for parks funding.
Councilors voiced support for staff to continue studying the proposal and return with further recommendations.
Councilor Glen Young also stressed the importance of coordination between the county and cities as officials consider future funding measures.
“I think one of the discussions, and it’s going to be coming forward in the future, is really this is a tool that is needed to maintain what we currently have … If we don’t do something, we will start reducing what we have,” he said.
County Chair Sue Marshall said the process will require continued collaboration as officials work through legal, financial and political considerations tied to future proposals.
“I think all of the things that you’ve raised underscore why we need to proceed in a very thoughtful way,” Marshall said. “Fundamentally, there’s a benefit for everyone. Potentially, there’s a great benefit for everyone if we all build our trust and all move forward together.”
Staff said the next steps will include market research, public outreach, legal review and developing revenue-sharing agreements with cities. Officials identified November 2027 as a possible timeline for a future ballot measure.
