R&P Advisory Board Meeting
Originally Published: December 13, 2023
Player Fees Discussed
The Recreation & Parks Advisory Board held their final meeting of the year on December 7th, where the Board and Director Arthur Shepherd covered a range of topics including the budget, capital improvement projects, lighting upgrades, and player fees. Shepherd explained the differences between money from the General Fund, revenue generated from county taxes, and the Enterprise Fund, which is “established to account for governmental entirely or predominantly funded by user charges.” Those are things like the Gymnastics Dept, Aquatic Center, Sports Programs, and Special Facilities. Player fees contribute to the Enterprise Fund.
In FY23, there was an Enterprise Fund deficit of nearly $120K, and a shortfall of $142K is projected for this year. When questioned, Director Shepherd said the deficit is primarily due to staffing needed in parks. The Director said they like one staff member, at least, in each of these seven parks: Baggett, Cecil, Chancellors Run, Chaptico, Dorsey, 5th District, and Lancaster. From December ‘22 through November ‘23, the total staffing cost was nearly $223K, while it’s estimated to be over $249K for Dec. ‘23 to Nov. ‘24. The Player Fee is now $9.50 per player, bringing a total revenue of nearly $99K. As the Board made clear, the shortfall between the salaries and the player fee revenue can be covered in two ways: with funding from the Commissioners, or by raising the Player Fee.
The Board questioned the Director about the need to raise fees. Shepherd said the increase in staffing cost was due to the minimum wage increase, not because of a need for additional staff in parks, but to maintain minimum staffing. The Board asked if any other budget line items, aside from Special Facilities which covers park staff, operate at a loss, to which Shepherd said the Great Mills Pool has always operated at a deficit. Those costs have been covered by excess revenue from other programs, like Leonard Hall rentals and Before and After Care. Rec & Parks looks for each program to support itself, Shepherd explained, but shortfalls are covered if possible. To make up the shortfall in staffing cost, the Player Fee would have to be $24 per player, per season.
Several opportunities for cost savings are available to the Department, primarily through retrofitting field lights with LED’s. Thanks to state grants, Shepherd said, the cost of the project was lowered from $167K to just 43K, covering retrofits at Dorsey and 5th District parks. Savings will be realized through lower electric bills. There is also a push to install light delay switches which will help manage the demand for electricity when lights are turned on. When lights are turned on all at once it creates an energy demand and a surge in pricing. Delay switches will be installed on Field 2 at Chancellors Run Park, which will act as a pilot program to determine cost savings across two sports seasons. Shepherd was advised by SMECO to extend the pilot over two seasons, he says, but the Board questioned if enough data could be collected in a shorter time frame.
Four board members voted to send a memo to the Commissioners, requesting a freeze on Player Fees and asking the Commissioners to cover the funding shortfall, while one member abstained.
