Local
Ashland locks in $5.15 monthly parks charge and expands help for low-income households
Ashland will continue collecting a $5.15 monthly parks fee that provides about 10% of the department’s budget. The city will also cover half the charge for households enrolled in its low-income utility assistance program.
Ashland’s City Council voted to keep a $5.15 monthly parks fee in place permanently, preserving funding that officials say helps prevent major cuts to city parks. The decision ends the fee’s scheduled expiration in June 2027.
The charge, created last year, appears on monthly bills for customers of Ashland’s municipal electric utility and now provides about 10% of the parks department’s budget.
The council also agreed to have the city’s low-income utility assistance program cover half the parks fee for eligible households. Nearly 500 households already receive assistance, and Interim City Manager Jordan Rooklyn said the city has funding available to help additional residents. The city is working to make more people aware of the program, she said.
The decision followed debate over whether to make the fee permanent before examining other ways to fund parks. Council Member Dylan Bloom said the city had discussed the need for dedicated parks funding for more than two years without reviewing alternatives.
Council Member Bob Kaplan argued the fee was a useful funding tool, noting that Ashland was the last major city in the area to adopt one. The mayor cast tie-breaking votes in favor of making the charge permanent and against a proposal to have it expire in 2029.
Without the fee, the parks department could have faced significant cuts, according to the city’s earlier projections. The assistance program’s expanded coverage is intended to ease the fee’s impact on qualifying households.