Today's Financial Situation

Drastic cutbacks have affected both city and county parks up and down the peninsula. County park staff has been reduced from the full-time equivalent (FTE) of 94 rangers and park aids in 1990 to only 50 FTE today—supporting 15,000+ acres of County parks and more than two million annual visits.

Organizations like the Friends have formed a stop gap to provide some small measure of support as well as providing supplemental educational programs. We obtain our funding from:
Another group of volunteers, "Parks for the Future" is working with the Committee for Green Foothills, the San Mateo Parks and Recreation Foundation, and City and County officials to address the continuing shortfall. They are seeking a dedicated source of funding to support the City and County parks, possibly through a nominal increase in the county-wide sales tax. We encourage you to learn more about this grass roots effort, please call Julia Bott at 650-321-5812.