Title
Review and Recommend the Recreation and Parks Department 2024 Annual User Fee Schedule.
Body
To: Honorable Chair and Members of the Recreation and Parks Commission
From: Justin Long, Recreation and Parks Director
BACKGROUND
On January 22, 1992, the City Council adopted Resolution Number 12191, codifying all fees for services into a Citywide fee schedule (Fee Schedule). This Fee Schedule is updated each year, via resolution, to reflect changes in the cost of providing services as well as in the Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco Bay Area.
The proposed Recreation and Park User Fees (Exhibit 1) are reviewed annually by the City's Recreation and Parks Commission with its recommendation brought forward to the City Council for final approval. The Alameda Recreation and Parks Department (ARPD) staff reviewed the current fees and recommended adjustments based on its expenses in combination with fee comparisons with other local jurisdictions including San Leandro, Emeryville, Piedmont, Fremont, Union City, and San Ramon, and comparisons for large rental venues in Alameda.
The Fee Schedule is updated annually as part of the City budget process, which begins July 1. Due to the timing of summer recreation programs, the ARPD User Fee Schedule is adopted earlier, with an implementation date of January 1. However, the school-year fees are noted separately with a start date of August to coincide with the start of the school year.
DISCUSSION
Fees represent direct costs for program staff time, facility maintenance and utilities, plus indirect costs for administrative staff time and supplies. Fees are intended to recover costs as a whole system while balancing the benefits for the community and individuals. For example, programs that are available to a broad section of the community as well as at-risk populations, such as the free mobile recreation program, free Summer Park Baseball, and Mastick Senior Center activities have a lower cost recovery rate than programs with specific group or individual benefit, such as facility rentals, summer camps, or adult sports leagues with a higher cost recovery rate. This creates a framework to offset and balance the total budget and help fund administrative costs.
As described below, fees were added or adjusted for the proposed 2024 Recreation and Park User Fee Schedule to address rising staff and supply costs and to create opportunities for new programming and rentals. The overall market and cost comparison relative to programs in other cities and in Alameda were also considered (Exhibit 2). Given that staff, supply, and utility costs increase affect all programs and activities, the proposed fee schedule includes a 5% fee increase across most programs except for facility and picnic rentals. The following fees are proposed for 2024:
The overarching goal of the ARPD User Fee Schedule is to provide effective cost recovery with a balanced model of community benefit. The ARPD continues to seek and secure additional program and facility funding through partnerships, grants, donations, and fundraising events.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The Fee Schedule changes are intended to offset expenses as described above per the approved Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget.
RECOMMENDATION
Make comments and make a recommendation to City Council for the Recreation and Parks Department 2024 Annual User Fee Schedule.
Respectfully submitted,
Justin Long, Recreation and Parks Director
EXHIBITS
1. Proposed 2024 User Fee Schedule
2. Comparison Study