They’re both in the same county, but when it comes to funding for things like park services, it seems that the cities of La Pine and Bend couldn’t be further apart.
Over the last year, the La Pine Park and Recreation District board of directors abruptly resigned, leaving the staff out of their jobs and the community out of a local outlet for sports and other leisure activities. As we reported previously, a combination of financial woes and “staff facing serious harassment” were among the causes for the closure. The new board told the Source Weekly that the some $370,000 the District brings in each year through property taxes was not nearly enough to fund the District’s operations and the many District staff that were previously employed there. Numerous attempts to raise the tax rate over the years have failed.
The new board should be commended for slogging through the mess they’ve inherited, so as to once again offer sports and other programs for La Pine residents. Children in La Pine should not have to travel the many miles to other cities in order to play baseball. Many families in La Pine do transport their kids to other cities, namely Bend, to access recreation opportunities, but that’s hardly equitable for the kids whose families can’t muster the time or funds for all that travel.
Seeing the situation unfold in La Pine, it’s hard to ignore the contrast between the opportunities available in that town and those available in the larger burg just to the north. In Bend, the Bend Park and Recreation District maintains countless programs, buildings and parks — offerings that are funded through a distinct tax district, separate from the City of Bend, and funded through taxpayer dollars. La Pine also has its own separate tax district.
In Bend, voters have routinely supported ambitious projects like the Whitewater Park and the Larkspur Community Center, completed not long ago. But the contrast between what voters will and won’t support is most stark when looking at a recent project proposed by BPRD.
Right now, BPRD aims to move the historic “High Wheels,” a relic from the old days of logging, out of Drake Park in order to restore the artifact, which has degraded from years’ exposure to water. Historic preservationists want to see the relic completely restored, which could cost as much as $200,000. That represents over half of the entire budget of La Pine’s park district.
It’s not yet clear whether BPRD will follow through with a full restoration or, like in years past, will opt for a more cosmetic fix, and discussions about what to do with the High Wheels are ongoing. But when juxtaposed against the headaches that La Pine is facing in just trying to offer basic services like baseball for kids, it’s clear that the urban-rural divide is very real right here in Deschutes County.
When it comes to government services, you get what you pay for.
This article appears in The Source Weekly January 9, 2025.
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“When it comes to government services, you get what you pay for”. Good one, I needed to start the day with a laugh.
$200,000! Take a photo and make a plaque telling its history. Sometimes we have to make choices that are better for our budget.
La Pine, you get the services your tax money pays for. Lower taxes, fewer services. Even if the programs are offered, can families afford them?
“one of the things we can be enormously thankful for is that we don’t get anywhere near as much government as we pay for.” Will Rogers
This is such an obvious contrast that I wonder what prompted the story. I know LaPine and I have lived in Bend. There is no comparison: Bend has access to lots of recreationists, urban dwellers, tiimber interests, etc. LaPiine is a small town that sits among lodgepole pine forest, dusty, dry and not terribly useful. It’s always been like this, and probably always will. People who live in LaPine, from what I could see, don’t ask for much and are able to live within their means.