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Residents press Tiburon council for $2M parks investment as staff outlines revenue options
Summary
Residents and parents’ groups urged the council to allocate $2,000,000 toward park improvements; town manager Greg presented revenue options—fee studies, grants, fundraising, and voter‑approved measures such as an add‑on sales tax or parcel tax—and said any large financing would require a new revenue source to cover debt payments.
A string of residents and organized parents’ groups urged the Tiburon Town Council to commit funding to parks projects, including the former sanitation‑pond site and the Bel Air play area. Speakers said the public is ready to fundraise and that a town commitment would catalyze private donations.
Town manager Greg gave an overview of the town’s revenue picture and options for funding capital projects. He explained the town’s general fund is driven primarily by property taxes and that restricted funds (grants, impact fees, Measure AA allocations) total roughly $1 million in the coming year — insufficient to cover all planned capital needs. Greg said the town currently holds about $1.17 million in a parks reserve and roughly $4 million in a corporation‑yard reserve; he warned that recurring general‑fund surpluses that once funded projects have narrowed in recent years.
Greg briefly outlined capital‑funding options: continue pay‑as‑you‑go from reserves, pursue grants and fundraising (the Tiburon Peninsula Foundation has agreed to act as a fiscal agent), or consider voter‑approved debt such as a parcel tax or an add‑on local sales tax. He provided example revenue estimates for add‑on sales‑tax options (using a conservative 90% of FY26 sales‑tax receipts): a quarter‑cent add‑on could generate about $208,000/year, a half‑cent about $416,000/year and a full 1% add‑on about $832,000/year.
Public commenters pressed the council to move decisively on parks funding and offered to present a fundraising plan; several requested the council include at least partial park funding in the FY27 budget. Councilmembers directed staff to return with more detailed options during the upcoming budget schedule (staff will present the operating budget June 3; park recommendations from the community group will appear on a future agenda).
