Recked?

By Hannah Wever
Review Staff Writer

Published: June 5, 2008

In a series of budget work sessions earlier this year, county officials considered low projected revenue and increased expenditures for FY 2008-2009. While scrubbing the budget, in an attempt to cut a few cents of a proposed tax rate increase, the county’s parks and recreation department was targeted as an area in which to reduce spending.
The supervisors’ decision to reduce funding for the parks and recreation to no greater than 15 percent per activity will save county taxpayers $521,075.
“We just went through a massive reassessment last year. We’re looking at raising taxes this year, and we’ve chosen to build a $50 million school. Something’s going to have to give somewhere,” Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Johnson said.
But now, Orange County Parks and Recreation is in a transitional period following the dismissal of its department head, and the board of supervisors’ decision to require every program to break even, or risk being shut down.
“I want us to facilitate the leagues having the best possible programs,” District 2 Supervisor Zack Burkett said during budget discussions. Burkett advocated the board assuming a position of supporting parks and rec programs, rather than running them, he explained.
“But, that will require leadership from the community,” he added.
Debra Bickley, a seemingly permanent fixture as director of the Orange County Parks and Recreation department, was fired from her post several weeks ago. Rolfe said county staff is in the process of searching for someone to “oversee” the parks and recreation department.
“I’m not going to say it’s going to be a director at this point,” he added.
Since Bickley was let go, Rolfe, Assistant County Administrator Julie Jordan and Director of Finance Karen Karasinski have restructured parks and recreation activities and operations, Rolfe said.
“In reviewing all the fees, we’re taking it program-by-program as it comes in the schedule,” he explained.
The review process involves analyzing the number of participants, revenues and costs and other factors specific to each activity. To determine the new fees for each activity, every parks and recreation activity is scrutinized.
“It doesn’t appear that the department of parks and recreation has ever been looked at on a program-by-program basis,” Rolfe said. But now, and in the future, bookkeeping methods are being implemented in a way that makes it easier to see how each program performs.
According to Rolfe, that’s a new process for parks and rec sports and activities, but it seems to be working.
“At this point we’ve established that every single one of them will break even,” he said. “We will be able to achieve the supervisors’ goal of generating 85 percent of funds.”
Basic math determines a program’s viability for the season.
“We’ve got to have X number of people willing to pay X number of dollars in order to make it break even.” Rolfe said. “We’re making sure that happens.”
Historically, there have been cases where that didn’t happen. The result was programs that hemorrhaged taxpayer dollars. In some cases, participants weren’t paying their fees. Instead, they ran up tabs with county government for sports, activities and childcare. 
“There is a lot of outstanding revenue owed to the county,” Rolfe said.
One of the programs under the Orange County Parks and Recreation Department’s umbrella that struggled just to break even for several years was the Child Garden daycare program. Over the course of a series of budget worksessions earlier this year, the Orange County Board of Supervisors cut funding completely to the Child Garden, and ordered the doors to close permanently.
“Had we been collecting fees like we should have, we wouldn’t be as far in the hole as the books indicate,” he explained. For individuals who owe money for Child Garden and other parks and recreation programs, payment plans are being set up to collect past-due enrollment, equipment and activity fees.
Even if all the fees are collected, it will still be too late to resuscitate the Child Garden.
There are still several childcare programs still in operation offering before and after-school daycare. And although they are being reviewed for maximum efficiency, it doesn’t seem likely those programs will be shut down, according to Rolfe, but parents can expect to see a new fee schedule.
“At this point in time, there are no programs on the chopping block other than what the board decided during the budget process,” he said.
Parks and recreation participants may see new fees attached to their activities, but according to Rolfe, they won’t see a degeneration of organization.
“There will be no changes to the level of service,” he said. And although Rolfe said he predicted a certain amount of “sticker shock” when supervisors decided to make funding changes to sports programs during the budget process, he’s been somewhat relieved at the community’s response.
“So far, I don’t think it’s been too bad. We’ve worked with parents groups as we’ve established these fees. They’ve actually been very helpful as we’ve worked with these programs. We’ve been very happy with the cooperation we’ve gotten.”
This will be a transitional year for Orange County’s parks and recreation, Rolfe said. There will be a significant change to the fee schedule of parks and recreation programs, as a result of the board of supervisors’ decision to limit subsidies. And similarly, 2008 parks and recreation programs will undergo a certain amount of restructuring, with parents and boosters taking a greater role in youth league sports, which until now, had been under the direction of the parks and recreation department. But giving the community a greater amount of control, and providing more opportunity for parent participation in youth league sports is more in line with what Rolfe sees as an appropriate amount of government involvement.
“We don’t understand why we’re running a swim team,” he said.
Based on feedback he’d received from parents, Rolfe said, they agreed they should take a more prominent position in the administration of youth league sports.
“We’re saying we think there are programs that are good programs, but they don’t need to be run through county books-and the parents are agreeing.”
Orange County resident Jack Rickett, who has three children involved in youth league baseball, football and basketball, doesn’t exactly agree with county government’s decision to change the way youth activities are funded and run.
Parents and volunteers, without guidance from an organized source-like a well-structured parks and recreation department-will have to “ante up and chip in,” Rickett said. And although he estimates support from the community will be abundant, attempting to organize volunteers and establish an efficient system will be like trying to herd cats.
Perhaps most disturbing for Rickett, he said, is that the county is indiscriminately eliminating and crippling popular programs at the expense of the county’s youth.
“The services for children are being targeted,” he said.
Youth league sports, Rickett said, are a “three-legged stool. Right now, we’ve got two legs (county support and parks and oversight from a director of parks and recreation) that have been chopped off.”
Gordonsville Little League and East Orange Little League have operated independently from county influences forever, and currently have about 600 children playing on baseball and softball teams.
Chris Haney coaches a Gordonsville Little League Major League team, and currently serves as president of the league; his 10-year-old son participates in baseball and other youth sports. According to Haney, Gordonsville and East Orange Little League teams are strong, successful programs which have traditionally been run by an organized network of volunteers.
“We have an active, diversified board,” Haney said. “We don’t have just one person running it.”
But that’s Little League-the world’s largest organized youth sports program with a history dating back to before World War II. In that case, there’s a chain of administration that originates at a national level. Other Orange County youth league sports don’t have the same history and support to help them stand alone, without guidance from the parks and recreation director, according to Haney. When it comes to organizing and administering sports programs, county officials have simply “pawned it off on the public,” he added
It’s not impossible for volunteers to organize in time to run successful youth basketball, football, soccer and other sports, he added, but it’s unlikely it can happen soon.
“It’s really hard to find someone who has the time to do the all clerical work-and where are they going to play?” Haney said. There are time consuming details that have to be solidified long before games begin, like paperwork for insurance, registration, affiliation paperwork, not to mention lining up coaches, referees and facilities.
“Expecting the public to step up just because (the county) let someone go is a poor decision,” he said.
According to Rolfe, in other localities sports programs are organized largely by volunteer members of the community, with minimal organizational support.
“I think we’re moving closer to what other communities are doing,” he said.
But, Haney said, “All the counties around us have parks and recreation staff to run the programs for the children.”
Next up: the county’s relationship with the Orange Boosters and Booster Park.