Parks and Recreation
Recommendation
Cities and counties should restructure their parks and recreation departments so they do not include services already offered by the private sector or those that serve only a small minority of residents. Local governments should also implement user fees to recover the costs of services that benefit only specialized groups.
Background
The role of the city and county parks and recreation (P&R) departments is to provide citizens with sports, exercise, and outdoor activities. However, many P&R departments have stretched outside these traditional boundaries by providing uncommon services that benefit only a minority of citizens. P&R departments also provide many services and facilities already offered in the private sector. Not only is government sponsorship of these services unnecessary, but it threatens the for-profit and non-profit organizations that provide them with government competition. With the wide variety of activities and services now offered by many North Carolina cities and counties, local P&R departments have also lost focus.
In order to ensure the best use of taxpayer dollars, local P&R departments should invest in projects that benefit the greatest number of people. They should also avoid services that can be found in the private sector, as well. Finally, local P&R departments should charge service fees for those facilities that are used by a minority of the community members to ensure that those who benefit from these facilities are also the ones who finance them.
General principles
In order to better serve the recreational interests of the general public, local government officials should follow three guiding principles to keep P&R departments within proper boundaries.
Principle No. 1: P&R departments should not compete with services already provided by the private sector (for-profit and non-profit).
Across North Carolina, many private recreational centers provide swimming pools, golf courses, gyms, and other athletic services. These facilities are the source of income for many North Carolinians. When P&R departments operate similar facilities, they threaten the business of these citizens. P&R departments have an unfair advantage over private sector services because they have access to tax dollars. They also do not have to pay taxes on their facilities and land as private sector businesses do.
Public facilities also compete with private non-profit firms, such as the YMCA. These organizations rely on user fees and private charitable donations to stay open and pay employees. Competition from taxpayer-funded P&R departments is harmful and unfair.
Principle No. 2: Where services are provided for specific activities, user charges should capture the total costs of the activity.
Community members who do not benefit from specialized P&R department services should not have to bear the cost of them. User fees should be charged that would cover capital costs, administration costs, maintenance costs, and the taxes that would have been charged had the service been provided by the private sector. For example, softball league user fees should cover the costs associated with a public softball complex. Local governments should implement accounting systems to ensure that these costs are fully recovered. P&R departments should use their limited funds to offer services that are beneficial to the entire community.
Principle No. 3: Cities and counties should divest themselves of services that are used by a small minority of the population or the upper economic segment of the community.
When local governments use taxpayer funds to subsidize highly specialized recreational activities, they are benefiting a tiny segment of the community at the expense of the whole community. This problem has manifested itself in North Carolina most noticeably in city-owned golf courses. In general, higher-income individuals tend to use these more than lower- and middle-income people. Taxpayers should not have to fund these projects because they do not benefit most people.
City- owned and- operated golf courses also unfairly compete with private courses that pay taxes. These taxes are subsidizing their competition. In addition, many of these private courses are open to the public and charge green fees comparable to the subsidized rates at the city courses. P&R departments should get the most out of taxpayer funds by investing in recreational facilities and services that benefit a majority of community members.
|
