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San Mateo County seeks new funding source for parks Supporters of
Forming a park district is significant because it provides a dedicated source of funding for parks. San Mateo County is one of only two counties in the entire nine-county Bay Area without a
dedicated source of funding for parks. To address this need, countywide parks districts have been formed by others, including San Diego, Santa Barbara, Napa, Marin, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Sacramento counties.
Lacking dedicated sources of funds, San Mateo County Parks have seen budget reductions of 32% over the past two years, and will undoubtedly suffer Chaired by Supervisors Jerry Hill and Mike Nevin, the County's
committee investigating this problem determined that the most effective way to ensure funding for our parks is to create a countywide park district that could provide new sources of
revenue for park agencies at both the city and county levels. The proposed district would focus on traditional recreational uses (rather than the preservation of open space, like the
There are still many details to be worked out by the County working in concert with city parks departments. The first step is authorization by the State Legislature, followed by approval of a
countywide vote before the district would be created. The earliest that the district could be formed would be November 2005. Until then, we can expect to see park closures at least seasonally,
and only bare bones staffing, which is not a tenable situation for visitors or park resources. We're pleased to see that there might be an end in sight for this as San Mateo makes real progress towards funding of County Parks. |
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