Douglas County eliminates day use parking fees at County parks

(Douglas County, Ore.) As you embark on your Memorial Day weekend adventures, the Douglas County Board of Commissioners are very excited to announce that they have decided to eliminate the day use parking fees at all Douglas County operated Parks starting tomorrow, Friday, May 28, 2021. The change comes ahead of schedule, as the Douglas County Budget Committee, who tentatively approved the Douglas County 2021/2022 fiscal year budget recently, determined during the budget meetings that the Douglas County Parks Department’s budget had reached a level of self-sustainment and no longer needed to charge the day use parking fees. The change to eliminate the fees was set to take place at the start of the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1, 2021. But, after review of the projected year end budget numbers, the Board of Commissioners decided to implement this change immediately. Therefore, effective tomorrow there will no longer be day use parking fees required at any Douglas County operated Park.

The Douglas County Parks Department reached their self-sustainment budget goal through increased revenues, grant opportunities, productive investments and operational efficiencies. The day use parking fees were implemented on July 1, 2015, as a temporary revenue source to assist the Parks Department in their quest to achieve self-sufficiency after general fund dollars from the county were reduced to zero. So, as the Douglas County Commissioners promised from the beginning, the fees were collected to invest in improving and expanding our current county park inventory, assets and camping opportunities in order to achieve a sustainable revenue stream. And now that the budget goals have been achieved, the Commissioners were able to eliminate the day use parking fees.

“The Board of Commissioners never intended for the day use parking fees to be a permanent solution to the Parks Department’s budget,” said Commissioner Chris Boice, Parks Department Liaison Commissioner. “It was always our plan to eliminate the day use parking fees once we had achieved a self-sustaining budget through other resources. Our Parks Department has worked hard to secure grants, develop sought after camping sites, and find ways to decrease operational costs. Through these efforts we are happy to reach a point where we can provide Douglas County residents more opportunities to enjoy our beautiful parks.”

The Commissioners collectively want to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend, and hope that everyone finds the time to honor those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our Country.