PRK

Why Thrive LA supports PRK

Charter Amendment PRK would double the minimum budget guaranteed to the Department of Recreation and Parks over ten years, increasing the mandated share of assessed property value from 0.0325% to 0.065% by fiscal year 2036-37. No new tax is imposed. Instead, the measure locks in an escalating claim on existing General Fund revenue, growing the parks allocation from roughly $303 million to $995 million annually. Thrive LA supports well-maintained parks. They anchor neighborhoods, give families safe outdoor space, and make communities more attractive to investment. Los Angeles parks have been underfunded for decades, and the results are visible: deferred maintenance, shuttered recreation centers, and facilities that have become magnets for encampments rather than for families. A charter-level funding guarantee forces the city to treat parks as essential infrastructure rather than a line item to be raided every budget cycle. The fiscal trade-offs are real. The City Administrative Officer estimates the mandate will require reallocating up to $497 million annually from other General Fund services by 2036-37, including public safety, public works, and homeless services. The city already faces a projected $63 million structural deficit. Those are serious numbers. But they are also a forcing function. For years, City Hall has avoided the hard work of prioritizing spending and eliminating waste. A binding parks mandate compels elected officials to make choices rather than spreading mediocrity across every department. The ten-year phase-in provides time to restructure, and the fiscal emergency exception preserves a safety valve for genuine downturns. The risk is that future councils respond to the squeeze by raising taxes rather than cutting elsewhere. Thrive LA will oppose any new tax or fee justified by this mandate. The correct response to a binding parks floor is to find efficiencies, consolidate duplicative programs, and eliminate low-value spending in other departments. If this measure forces that discipline, it will have done the city a favor. Vote Yes on PRK. Los Angeles parks deserve a funding floor, and Los Angeles taxpayers deserve a city government that can prioritize.