Duluth Mayor ‘Disappointed’ But ‘Optimistic’ After Park Fund Tax Increase Fails By 202 Votes

DULUTH, Minn. – Duluth Mayor Emily Larson was “disappointed” Wednesday that the Park Fund referendum failed to pass during Tuesday night’s midterm election.

But at the same time, Larson said she was “optimistic” about the future of parks because the levy increase question was voted down by only 202 votes.

“The work to get this question that close has created important awareness and started a conversation that I am confident will continue. As for next steps on our parks – our amazing Parks staff will continue to do important work with the resources we have, we will revisit strategies for future funding options and we will continue to be a city which prides itself on our green space and the way it holds a sense of place, and a sense of one another, together,” Larson explained.

The proposed levy increase would have replaced the current Park Fund levy from 2012 by removing a $2.6 million-a-year cap to allow a larger pool of money as the tax base grows with future development.

That meant a proposed levy change that would have added up to $94 a year for a home worth $200,000, or about $27 more a year than that homeowner was already paying in 2022.

The city stressed the added funds were needed to fix parks like Observation Park, which officials described to FOX 21 in October as “dilapidated” and designed to meet the recreational interests of people in 1960.

Below is Mayor Larson’s full statement:

“Good morning! Today, like half of Duluth voters who supported parks, I am disappointed the parks levy question did not pass.

I am so incredibly proud of us as a community for asking this important question – and asking it when it was needed, not when it was politically convenient.

Despite a legally wonky question, a very short campaign window, political noise and it being a mid-term election, nearly half of all voters went with this. What that tells me is that the default, basic premise of funding public space and parks is a resonant, core value.

Even while people are hurting.

This is a time when every dollar makes a difference. Every financial decision in our households matter. Inflation is up. Groceries cost more. Gas, heat and the cost of living are high.

And still, this question performed well.

This also shows that every conversation, and every vote, matters.

The work to get this question that close has created important awareness and started a conversation that I am confident will continue.

As for next steps on our parks – our amazing Parks staff will continue to do important work with the resources we have, we will revisit strategies for future funding options and we will continue to be a city which prides itself on our green space and the way it holds a sense of place, and a sense of one another, together.”