The proposal, sponsored by Councilman Ben Reno-Weber, would place a referendum on the next regular election ballot in 2027 asking voters to approve a dedicated tax for park improvements. If approved by voters, the tax would take effect Jan. 1, 2028.

At issue is a maintenance backlog that a 2023 Parks Alliance of Louisville report pegged at $177 million. Reno-Weber said the city needs a dedicated revenue stream to tackle deferred projects.

"We have a deferred maintenance problem in our parks," Reno-Weber said. "Parks are free third spaces available to everybody. We should have a choice about whether or not we want to come together as a community in an incredibly progressive way to invest in that."

Under the ordinance, voters would be asked to approve an additional tax of 2.25 cents for every $100 of assessed property value. For a home assessed at $200,000, that would amount to about $45 a year. Revenue would flow into a dedicated park fund for capital projects.

Reno-Weber argued that Louisville lags its peers on park spending. "You benchmark Louisville's park spending against our peers. We are at the bottom of that list. It's really important, I believe, to have those additional resources," he said.

The measure faces opposition from the Metro Council Republican Caucus, which issued a statement in April pushing back on the idea. "We will not support an effort to ask persons within our community to carve out a new tax specifically for parks when there are plenty of other worthy causes worthy of equal consideration," a caucus spokesperson said.

Caucus leader Councilman Anthony Piagentini said he plans to vote against sending the measure to the ballot. He pointed to the $40.8 million budget Metro Council approved for Louisville Parks and Recreation for 2026-27 and argued the city should make better use of existing dollars.

"We can invest in our parks. We can improve them. We do not need to raise people's taxes to get there," Piagentini said. He added that improving the city's procurement process could stretch current funding further. "That's where we can start to extend our money by being more efficient with the dollars we do have," he said.

Some residents also voiced skepticism. Vincent Riven said the city should first explore working within its current budget. "I think there is a very prudent and wise way that they could probably work with what they actually have before they start leveraging another tax," he said.

Andrew Wilson raised concerns about timing. "I just don't know that it's the time to be increasing taxes to make people's living expenses high when it's already so high," he said.

The ordinance is scheduled for its first reading Thursday. It would then go to the Labor and Economic Development Committee for further consideration before a final vote by the full council.

The proposal follows a similar measure approved by Lexington voters in 2024, which established a park tax at the same rate.