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Budget, Performance & Data

Parks Tacoma is committed to serving our community with transparency, innovation and dedication.

It is a priority to develop transparent, sustainable financial strategies and systems. This includes:

  • Building trust by being transparent and accountable.
  • Showcasing our financial and non-financial data.
  • Encouraging community involvement and engagement.

With that in mind, on this page you’ll find links to reports and dashboards that track our financial and non-financial metrics and work plan initiatives.

2025-2026 Biennial Budget Update

Updated: June 24, 2026

We were tasked with cutting about $9 million in expenses before the end of the year to offset faulty revenue projections and replenish our reserve funds.

Addressing a shortfall of that magnitude required difficult cuts to programs and staff.

Staff worked continuously on budget recommendations, based on Board and community feedback. The Board considered an amended 2026 operating budget at its June 8 meeting and voted to approve the amendment at the June 22 meeting. The staff presentation, memo and resolution the Board considered are linked below.

Public testimony before and during meetings focused predominantly on the value community members have found in the Beyond the Bell after-school program. The program has been a partnership of Tacoma Public Schools, Tacoma Parks Foundation and Parks Tacoma, serving more than 3,000 students at up to 35 school sites. As noted in a May 17 memo to the Park Board, “the financial structure has placed the vast majority of the program’s costs on Parks Tacoma’s General Fund at a moment when the park district cannot sustain it.”

Below are several documents that summarize questions and feedback received during the first four of five public meetings.

Other budget-related reductions that community members might notice include using less water for irrigation. We understand that plants and trees are important. Learn more about our plans to reduce irrigation water use by at least 50%. Closing or reducing hours for some restrooms had been considered, but we found a way to keep those open.

Necessary reductions will have real impacts on the community and on many of the collaborative initiatives we share with partners. We want to be transparent that upcoming decisions will result in reduced service levels and changes to some joint programs, shared services and community-serving activities. Simply put, we will not be able to maintain the same level of service in every area. As the District works through this program realignment, we welcome conversations about how we can work together to mitigate impacts wherever possible.

Background

As we closed the books on 2025, actual revenues came in $4 million below the revised General Fund budget, and 2026 forecasts were built on the same revenue assumptions, resulting in the need to cut at least $9 million before the end of the year.

Staff developed a range of options to guide the Park Board through amending the budget. The cost-cutting options tried to minimize impacts to the community, but they will be affected.

During the May 4 Committee of the Whole meeting, the Park Board discussed how much money might be saved through several scenarios. We experienced technical sound issues during the first 35 minutes of the recording, but here are the documents that were discussed:

The Park Board held a public hearing during a special meeting on May 18. Before opening to public comment, here is the information that staff presented: 2025-2026 Budget Amendment Presentation.

Recordings of all previous board meetings can be viewed here:

view board meeting recordings

 

Taking Corrective Action

To avoid being in this position again, the Board of Park Commissioners is taking necessary steps to strengthen financial oversight. These actions include contracting with an independent internal auditor, centralizing administrative functions to strengthen internal controls, and establishing a new Finance Committee to closely monitor financial statements, debt and reserves and future budgets.

Following the resignation of the former executive director, the Board hired Tony Piasecki, a longtime municipal administrator, to serve as interim executive director who will help us stabilize the organization over the next few months while we recruit a new CEO.

Preserving Park System Assets

In late April, 77% of voters approved a $155 million bond package to replace, renovate or upgrade aging and deteriorating assets. While this capital budget will help reduce the time and money spent trying to keep aging assets open, bond funding is highly restricted under state law and cannot be used for the operating budget.

Parks Tacoma must meet District policy by maintaining reserve funds equal to at least 5% of the General Fund before issuing the voter‑approved bonds for capital projects. Achieving this reserve level will require reducing spending by at least $9 million. Protecting long‑term financial stability is essential, as is ensuring that Parks Tacoma continues to care for existing assets through timely renovations, replacements and upgrades.

FAQs

Why didn’t the cuts adopted through last year’s budget amendment fix the problem?

While Parks Tacoma reduced expenses substantially, as we closed the books on 2025, actual revenues came in more than $4 million below even the revised General Fund budget, and 2026 forecasts indicate this trend will continue and must be addressed. Key reasons include:

  • Use of fee waivers and scholarships were higher than expected.
  • Pass-through funding was inconsistent. Local and government funding sources don’t reflect the true cost of services, and we did not account correctly for revenues projected through partners or lease agreements.
  • Philanthropic contributions listed in the budget were too aggressive.
  • Some of the budget cuts made last year at the department level did not carry over to this year, and that did not become clear to the District HQ finance staff until they closed the books on 2025.

When do you expect cuts to be made?

We are taking immediate action to contain costs. While some changes will take place over time, we must balance the budget before the end of 2026, so we have to act quickly.

What are you doing to make sure this doesn’t happen again?

We are integrating business support services to shift from our current decentralized model so that we will have clearer oversight and internal controls in place, and program budgets will be rebuilt and managed by the people closest to the work. We also plan to hire an internal auditor to improve our checks and balances, and the Board is also taking steps to create a Finance Committee.

What is a mid-biennium budget amendment and why is it necessary?

Budgets are living documents, and the mid-biennium budget modification process is part of a healthy budget management system.

As a best practice, agencies that adopt a two-year budget reassess annually to evaluate and compare projected revenue and expenses against actual revenue and expenditures. A mid-biennium budget modification provides the opportunity to update based on the variance between projections and actuals in the first year of the two-year budget.

While this amendment will be larger than we would normally see mid-budget, we still believe a biennial budget is more cost-effective than an annual budget.

What does the process look like to amend the mid-biennium budget?

District leaders and managers are developing response plans. Recommended adjustments will be presented to the Board in April with a planned budget amendment coming before the Board in May for formal adoption.

What criteria will the District use to amend the remaining 2026 budget?

We’re focused on community impact and prioritizing programs that deliver the greatest benefit. Our goal is that each recreational program and service will operate within a defined cost-recovery framework, ranging from free and low-cost programs to market-rate offerings that more fully cover costs and help subsidize broader community services.

By accelerating the shift from a decentralized model to a more coordinated “shared services” approach between Business Administration & Planning (BAP) and Parks & Recreation (PRD), we also aim to capture efficiencies and strengthen internal controls as quickly and thoughtfully as possible.

Will all departments be equally impacted as we reconcile the projected shortfall?

No, mostly those supported by General Fund tax dollars will be impacted. In addition to the capital bond program funding that cannot be used to support general operating expenses, we have several enterprises that do not receive General Fund dollars. While earned revenues for some of these enterprises are lower than projected, and they will be expected to contain costs as much as possible, they will not be as impacted as those supported by General Fund dollars. These include:

  • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
  • Northwest Trek Wildlife Park
  • Point Defiance Marina
  • Meadow Park Golf Course

What are some of the approaches under consideration to balance the budget?

At this time, departments are still evaluating what will be included in the proposed budget amendment. A range of options are under consideration. Proposals to reduce programs or service levels will consider alignment with the System & Strategic Plan, community need, public health and safety, and legal requirements. These include a combination of tactics, including:

  • Modifying General Fund-supported program operations
  • Accelerating a shift to shared support services between the Parks & Recreation and Business Administration & Planning departments to capture efficiencies and strengthen internal controls
  • Implementing conservation measures, such as reduced water use and seasonal browning in select parks
  • Leaving vacant positions unfilled and considering further reductions

Parks Tacoma has several big capital projects in development – why don’t you just scale back on those to offset the operating shortfall?

State laws restrict how different sources of government revenues can be used. This means:

  • Tax dollars that voters approve through an UTGO (Unlimited Tax General Obligation) Bond, like the 2014 Park & Zoo Bond that we use for park and facility improvements, cannot be used for general operating expenses.
  • Those dollars must be applied to capital improvements that voters approved when they supported the passage of the planned bond program.

How do Parks Tacoma’s budget constraints affect the 2026 bond package?

The 2026 bond proposal on the April 28 ballot is separate from our operating budget. This capital project package was considered carefully by staff, a community advisory committee and the Board to focus on taking care of current assets rather than building new ones. It is specifically designed to upgrade or replace deteriorating assets that require frequent maintenance. While the bond package – if approved by voters – cannot be used to address the operating budget challenges, the indirect benefit is that it will reduce the time and money spent trying to keep aging assets open.

Why can't we use the bond funds for operations?

Laws restrict how different sources of government revenues can be used. Tax dollars that voters approve through Unlimited Tax General Obligation (UTGO) bonds can only be used for park and facility capital improvements, including construction, infrastructure, major renovations and land acquisition. They cannot be used for general operating or maintenance expenses.

Operating expenses, including programs, services and staff salaries, are paid with a combination of property tax levies, program fees, grants, partner agreements and other income sources. Expenses and revenues must align, so if revenues come in lower than projected, expenses must be cut.

Budget & Funding

OpenBook includes charts and graphs on Parks Tacoma’s financials for the Operating and Capital Budgets. It also includes a map of Capital Projects that are in progress and completed by Parks Tacoma.

The biennial budget for 2025-2026 guides all of Parks Tacoma’s work over the next two years. The original 2025-2026 budget passed in late 2024 by the Park Board is available below.

Learn More

OpenBook
Learn More

2025-2026 Budget Book

Budget Development Process

Past Budgets

2023-2024 Biennial Budget

2021-2022 Biennial Budget

2019-2020 Biennial Budget

Comprehensive Annual Financial Report

Voter-Approved Measures

2022 – Parks & Recreation Maintenance & Operations Levy
Restored the levy rate to $0.75/$1,000, which funds nearly a third of Parks Tacoma operations. Priorities include supporting evolving community needs, increased safety, and overall park maintenance. 

2014 – $198 million Capital Bond Measure
Funded improvements to protect and improve parks and facilities throughout the Park District. Highlights included a new Pacific Rim Aquarium, infrastructure improvements to Point Defiance Park and expanded citywide access to recreation.

2010 – Parks & Recreation Maintenance Levy
Added an estimated $4.0 million in revenue to fund basic safety, maintenance, and day-to-day operations for 2011 and forward.

2005 – $84.3 million Capital Bond Measure
Used to pay for improvements to 61 parks districtwide

2000 – Sales Tax Increase – one-tenth of one percent
Used to maintain new exhibits and support park projects in all cities and towns throughout the county.

1999 – $35 million Capital Bond Measure
For Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium renovations and new exhibits.

Performance

Parks Tacoma establishes workplan initiatives each biennium that are detailed in the budget book. Parks Tacoma measures some of those initiatives to demonstrate to the community that we are doing what we said we would do. Watch for dashboards for each department to come:

  • Business Administration & Planning
  • Parks & Recreation
  • Zoological & Environmental Education

Dashboards FAQs

What is a Power BI dashboard and how will I be able to use it?

Power BI dashboards are a helpful tool for visualizing data from a variety of data sources. Here are some helpful tips on how to interact with these tools:

  • Pages Each dashboard may have multiple pages dedicated to specific data, departments, or initiatives. Unless otherwise directed, use the arrows on the bottom of the dashboard to navigate from page to page.
  • Filters/Slicers: Some visuals may have a drop-down feature called a slicer. This tool filters data under specific criteria.
  • Specific Information: Some visuals will contain text boxes with additional information, definitions, or page-specific instructions. Ensure to read carefully to best interpret the data.
  • Refresh/Data Updates: The dashboards feature data from disparate systems. Some data supports automatic refresh, and some requires manual refresh by a member of the Parks Tacoma data team. Please consult a given page/visual’s refresh notes to determine when data was likely last updated.
  • Tooltip: Most visuals have a hover feature called a Tooltip containing additional information about the data.
  • Cross-Visual Interaction: Some visuals have clickable features such as points or bars on charts. When interacting, related visuals may change, and filter based on what was clicked

Why will there be multiple dashboards?

In addition to the Office of the Executive Director, Parks Tacoma has three departments with unique goals, targets, and operational processes: Parks & Recreation, Zoological & Environmental Education, and Business Administration & Planning. Each dashboard serves to measure, report on, and communicate the highly specialized and individual goals of each department through a framework that best represents the organizational structure of each department.

Department summaries can be found in the 2025-26 Operating & Capital Budget Plan.

What is the process for developing targets/metrics at Parks Tacoma?

Each department bases metrics/targets on the workplan initiatives highlighted in the budget book. To develop measurable metrics, staff responsible for data within each department consulted with leadership and staff who contribute to the metrics. The data that will be reported does not necessarily represent all the work, effort, programming, and operational initiatives that support the workplan initiatives, but serve as evidence of some of the ways each department measures progress toward fulfillment of the biennium’s initiatives. Please check back as more targets, data, and metrics become available.

When is this data updated?

The dashboards will feature data from disparate systems. Some data supports automatic refresh, and some requires manual refresh by a member of the Parks Tacoma data team. You will be able to consult a given page/visual’s refresh notes to determine when data was likely last updated.

Who should I contact with questions?

Please reach out to Parks Tacoma through our website: Contact Us – Parks Tacoma to get connected with a member of the Parks Tacoma data team.