Looking to the Future

The population of the area that the Plainfield Park District serves increased by nearly 200 percent between 1990 and 2000, and it continues to experience aggressive growth. An area that once was rural in nature is evolving into a burgeoning suburb.

Plainfield Park District Growth Chart

As an example of Plainfield Park District's eroding tax rate, the graph above provides a comparison of its population growth in relation to it's tax rate betweet 1990 and 2004.

For more than a decade, the Park District has addressed this growth via the acquisition of property. This methodology has resulted in exceeding the nationally accepted guidelines for the number of acres per 1,000 residents.

However, as the need for quality indoor activity space becomes more urgent, a shift in focus to land and facility development is now emerging. A balance between accumulating adequate open space and providing quality indoor activity space must be found to ensure the community’s future needs are met.

Despite many challenges, the Park District has thus far been able to maintain a growing number of park sites and facilities, as well as recreational programs and services, for its expanding community by seeking out alternate ways of generating the necessary revenue. However, since the inception of the tax cap in 1991, the Park District no longer has the discretionary ability to raise taxes without voter approval. This tax cap continues to constrain the Park District’s ability to provide the recreation opportunities its growing constituency deserves.

When compared to 12 neighboring park districts of similar demographics, the Plainfield Park District tax rate and the comparative amount of tax dollars spent per resident ranks last. Without an infusion of additional tax revenue in the near future, the Plainfield Park District’s park sites and facilities, as well as the recreational programs and services it provides, will erode. The Park District recognizes this challenge, and is taking steps to meet the needs of the developing community that it serves.