Kate Shanks Booth and Teresa Albert presented the youth services and recreation partnership budgets to the Expanded Budget Committee on Sept. 18, asking the legislature to restore a lost coordinator position and convert a one‑time Cooperative Extension enhancement into a permanent allocation.
Why it matters: Youth services argued that the department’s current workload will increase when Deputy Director Teresa Albert retires (June 2026) and that restoring a Coordinator of Community Youth Services will distribute workload, preserve technical assistance to municipal youth commissions and maintain grant and agency oversight.
Staffing request and costs: The department said the total salary and fringe for the position is about $112,124 and that internal savings identified by the department reduce the new‑cost ask to $98,639. The department proposed offsetting about $13,500 from internal savings and requested the remaining $98,639 from the county.
Urban Outreach and funded agencies: The department also requested that $30,000 awarded for a two‑year Cooperative Extension (CCE) Urban Outreach program be returned to target as ongoing funding after the program grew from roughly 4 participants in 2023 to 54 in 2024 and had served 45 students by mid‑2025. Youth Services requested a 3% local increase for funded agencies and municipal partners to help cover rising costs.
Recreation Partnership: County administration recommended funding the Recreation Partnership’s contractual increase driven by minimum‑wage changes; the partnership reported over 7,000 individual registrations in 2024, exceeding pre‑COVID participation.
What’s next: Committee members asked for documentation of agencies funded, and department staff said they would send a list. County administration noted a discrepancy between the department’s requested numbers and the administration recommendation and clarified the recommended amount should be $98,639 after internal offsets.
Ending: Youth Services emphasized that restoring the coordinator post would stabilize service delivery across municipal partners and funded agencies and would help with grant management and regional collaborations.