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Parks: New Processes Needed to Manage Growing Grant Portfolio
January 13, 2026
King County Parks and Recreation Division’s (Parks or Parks Division) grants program has expanded significantly since 2017, but its oversight strategy has not kept pace with grant volumes. The Parks Division recently made substantial improvements to its process; however, the program is still relatively under-developed given its size and responsibilities, and it would benefit from more focus on planning and governance. Parks has not yet defined specific and measurable objectives to guide its grants program, increasing the risk that it distributes its resources in ways that do not support the grants program’s intent. Parks also does not sufficiently track whether grantees are achieving intended outcomes, limiting its ability to show the impact of more than $100 million of grant funds. Instead, the Parks Division puts an emphasis on financial oversight, but there are gaps and inconsistencies due to some unclear policies and insufficient guidance. By addressing these issues, the Parks Division can strengthen accountability, improve effectiveness, and ensure it uses funds to achieve meaningful results for King County communities.
Audit Highlights
The King County Parks and Recreation Division (Parks or Parks Division) grants program’s oversight structure has not grown enough to keep up with the program’s expansion over the past decade. Program leadership has taken steps to improve oversight practices, but the program still needs to translate high-level goals into specific and measurable objectives. The Parks Division also does not sufficiently monitor outcomes of its grants program, limiting its ability to demonstrate the impact of grant funds.
The Parks Division places a strong emphasis on financial compliance but does not yet apply its approach strategically, limiting its ability to reduce financial risk. Parks requires substantial documentation for all grants (ranging from $2,000 to $2 million) in part because it builds on legacy requirements from when it managed federal grant funds. However, some of the division’s policies, definitions, and standards need more clarity on what invoice documentation should show. The current system places a high administrative burden on Parks Division grants staff and grantees but does not adequately ensure that Parks only reimburses appropriate funds. Because of these gaps, our audit review could not confirm whether the Parks Division made all payments in line with the grants program intent.
We recommend that the Parks Division align its operations with program goals by developing a formal plan for its grants program. We also recommend Parks make changes to grant agreements to enable performance monitoring of both individual grants and its grants program. To ensure a level of financial stewardship that is aligned with goals and risk, we recommend that the Parks Division develop a risk-based strategy to grants oversight and identify areas where it could develop clearer policies and processes. By addressing these issues, the grants program can strengthen accountability, improve effectiveness, and ensure grantees use funds to achieve meaningful results for King County communities.
The Parks Division grants program has expanded dramatically, growing from $3 million in 2017 to more than $100 million (about $20 million annualized) from 2026 to 2031, the majority of which comes from the recently approved 2026–2031 Parks Levy. These grants support local nonprofits, community organizations, tribal organizations, cities, towns, and other public entities that contribute to Parks’ goals and priorities, such as increasing access to green spaces. Given the large amount of grant funding Parks plans to distribute, strong oversight of the grants program is important to ensure grantees use public funds effectively, equitably, and in ways that build community trust.