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Service Delivery Restructuring <br />Special Districts <br />Separate unit of government that manage specific resources and /or provide specific <br />services within defined boundaries. Special Districts are financed through property <br />taxes, bonds, and /or fees for services. All districts are directed by a governing body <br />elected by the voters. <br />Revenant Types: <br />a) Park and Recreation Districts (ORS 266) can own, operate, and maintain parks, <br />lakes, land, and facilities for parks and recreation uses within or outside the district <br />boundary. <br />Pros: <br />• Provide only one service and can concentrate effort and resources toward <br />providing the quality service expected by the taxpayers. <br />• Not susceptible to pressured by citizens to add new functions or to shift <br />priorities among broad services. <br />• As self- financing legal entities they have the ability to raise a predictable <br />revenue stream directly from the people who benefit from the services. <br />• Have a broad range of funding mechanisms available (e.g., property tax, user <br />fees, bonds, etc.). <br />Cons: <br />• Existing district, city, and county providers must be agreeable to the solution. <br />• Areas served may often require more than one service to meet public <br />demand, but an array of park and recreation districts can become confusing <br />and expensive. <br />• Overlapping single purpose districts may have different boundaries resulting <br />in uneven service delivery and taxation throughout the region. <br />• Reaching consensus on issues in areas with many single service providers <br />can be complex and political discussion is fragmented because each service <br />provider has a separate board of directors. <br />• Formation within the Metropolitan Plan jurisdictional boundary requires a plan <br />amendment. <br />• Anti -tax and anti - government sentiment could work against creating a new <br />district. <br />• A new Park and Recreation District would compete with other local <br />government entities operating within Oregon's property tax constitutional <br />limitations. <br />Open Space Acquisition Funding and Protection Strategies — Draft October 2001 16 <br />