Department staff briefed the Recreation and Park Citizens Advisory Board on fiscal-year 2027 budget work, capital improvement project (CIP) timing and a planned public reservation system rollout.

A staff presentation noted that CIP first-draft recommendations are due to the county’s finance office on October 14 and that the division is preparing operational budgets concurrently with project cost estimates supplied by consultants and engineers. “Our first draft recommendations are due to the commissioners, are due to finance on October 14,” the presenter said.

Staff described the difference between operating funds (used for staffing, maintenance and ongoing programs) and CIP funds (used for construction and capital projects) and said large project cost estimates — for Snow Hill, Shannon Farm and the 3 Notch Trail — rely on consultants. The department also noted that software and registration systems require coordination with the county’s IT office.

Regarding the public reservation system, staff said training and back-end work are underway and that the department expects account creation and an initial public transition to begin in early December. The department also pointed users to online CIP summaries and presentations available from the Recreation and Parks web page for additional project details.

Board members asked about potential state funding impacts; staff said they had not heard of any changes to Program Open Space allocations that would cause immediate concern but noted some federal funding could be on hold. Staff invited board members to attend budget work sessions, which are open to the public and streamed online.