A new tax could be on the horizon for Sacramento property owners, as the Sacramento Parks and Recreation Commission begins plans for polling voters on their support for a parcel tax that could appear on the November 2012 ballot.

The parcel tax, a form of property tax, requires a two-thirds approval from the voters. The tax is a flat fee for property owners in the district, rather than a property tax that is based on the assessed value of the property.

The money will not replace contributions from the General Fund. Currently, the general fund provides 3.9 million for park maintenance costs.

The Commission considered a parcel tax between $25 and $30, a number they believe voters will view as acceptable and a good investment in Sacramento parks. Overall, this will generate approximately $5 to $6 million in revenue for park sustainability.

In the current economy, gathering support for a tax increase from city councilmembers and the public will be a tough feat by the Parks Department.

“We can’t live with ourselves as park supporters and say that we didn’t try everything we could,” Cindy Cooke, District Four Parks Commissioner, said at the November Commissioners meeting.

The polling will begin in mid to late January of 2012 and the results presented to city council around February or March.

“We must ask questions about priority of choices, because there are certain things that can kill this before it even gets launched,” Jim Combs, Director of Parks and Recreation, said at the November Parks and Recreation meeting. “It has to come back with a strong two-thirds. We also have to look at our competition on the ballot.”

Combs pressed the importance of prioritizing services based on the polling information. The results of the poll will reflect what aspects of Parks the public is most concerned about: community centers, recreational programs for senior citizens, youth programs, park maintenance, planting or keeping pools open in the summer. This will determine where the tax revenue derived from this parcel tax will fund, if passed by the voters.

“People want to see what they’re getting in the parcel tax. Park maintenance is not sexy, you can’t sell it in a picture or on a brochure,” Jonathan Rewers, Chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission, said at the October Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. “We need to figure out what people are most interested in funding, something tangible.”

A Sacramento County Regional Parks Phone Poll conducted in February of 2011 found that 74 percent of the respondents were willing to pay a tax increase of $19 per year, while 46 percent of the respondents were willing to pay $49 per year for park improvement.

Finding money to sustain parks has been a challenge for the Sacramento Department of Parks and Recreation Department, which has seen a steep decline in funding from the city’s general fund.

The Sacramento’s Department of Parks and Recreation has a budget of just over $37 million for the 2010-2011 fiscal year to sustain 207 parks and 8 parkways.

Meeting minutes from June of 2004 stated that the Department had a budget of $75 million inclusive of all funding sources. The Department has been stripped of $38 million in the last six years.

Annually, the department reports a total of 5.1 million visitors to the Sacramento parks each year. Finding sufficient public support for the tax measure will be crucial in the spectrum of improvement and maintenance the Department of Parks and Recreation will be able to provide.

Property owners in the North Natomas area currently pay a tax for park maintenance. If the parcel tax is passed, deciding whether areas like these will be asked to pay an additional amount, a lower amount or be dissolved of the prior tax obligation is still up for debate.

“People don’t generally make change until it’s right in front of them. This summer, that might become very evident to people,” Jeff Harris, District 3 Parks Commissioner, said at the November meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission.