Editor's Note: This article is part of a series exploring county and state ballot measures. Voters wishing to research their ballots for the General Election can find more information in the 2026 General Election Voter Guide, created in partnership with other local media in the News Collaborative of Central Florida.
This Election Day, Marion County voters will decide whether to approve a new, local source of funding to develop parks and protect the environment.
On the General Election ballot the item is called the “Marion County General Obligation Bond Referendum for Parks, Trails, Clean Water Protection, Farms and Forests.”
If voters approve it, the ballot item would authorize the County Commission to issue up to $140 million in bonds to fund parks and trails, plus efforts to protect farms, forests and water resources. The bonds would be paid off with revenue from property taxes, which would be allowed to increase by up to 0.35 mills, or up to $35 per $100,000 in taxable property value.
At least 70% of the money generated for the program would go toward designing and building new parks and trails. Between 10% and 20% would be used to acquire and preserve land in Marion County, including farms, forests and land for parks and trails. Up to 10% of funds would be used for program management.
The county’s website lists details about projects that would be prioritized for funding support, including land acquisition and improvements to various parks and trails. Also among the projects are plans to upgrade certain parks and sports complexes with LED lighting, as well as a future multi-functional facility for athletic programming and a special needs emergency shelter.
Marion is one of seven Florida counties where voters this November will decide whether to create or renew a local source of funding for environmental protection.
Bonds, taxes and timelines
General obligation bonds are a form of long-term debt local governments can issue to pay for capital needs, according to the Municipal Research and Services Center. Those capital needs often include things like land acquisition, park development and transportation projects.
Voting for the proposal means voting to allow for a property tax hike to pay off the debt the county will take on for those purposes.
If voters approve the proposal, Marion County property tax rates could increase by up to 0.35 mills in a given fiscal year. That doesn’t mean property taxes would rise that much, necessarily — only that they could, should commissioners determine it’s necessary for funding efforts outlined by the proposal, like land conservation and water-resource protection.
Bonds wouldn’t be issued automatically, either, should voters approve the ballot proposal. The county could issue up to $140 million in bonds, at maximum, but each batch of funding would need to go through its own, separate approval process before the County Commission.
“All of that would come through PRAC [Marion’s Parks & Recreation Advisory Council], and then back to the board for final approvals. None of this is automatic,” Director of Parks and Recreation Jim Couillard told commissioners at a workshop in August.
Should voters approve the proposal, any bonds would need to be paid off within 20 years.
Local conservation context
Recent local efforts to fund land protection in Central Florida come as the region continues growing steadily. Between 2024 and 2025, Ocala’s population grew more than any other metro area in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Historically, Florida voters have largely supported bonds proposed to fund land and water conservation, according to the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit that helped Marion commissioners develop the program idea.
TPL has worked on similar land-conservation funding initiatives with other local governments in Central Florida, including Lake and Osceola counties. In 2024, voters in both counties overwhelmingly approved authorizing bonds for land conservation.
Earlier this year, TPL met with Orange County commissioners as they considered proposing a new sales tax to fund the acquisition of conservation land. Ultimately, commissioners tabled the idea.
