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Parks staff present FY26 fee increases and $21.3 million operations plan; PAC recommends approval
Summary
Commissioners heard a detailed presentation on proposed FY26–27 parks budget and fee changes, including about $475,000 in fee revenue increases and a $21.3 million gross budget. PAC voted to recommend the fee package and the FY26 proposed budget to City Council.
The Ann Arbor Parks Advisory Commission on the meeting’s discussion of the parks budget and fee schedule recommended that the City Council adopt proposed fee adjustments for fiscal 2026 and supported the parks department’s FY26 budget plan and FY27 outlook.
Parks manager Josh (presenting) outlined a two-year budgeting process and said the department is proposing a FY26 operating budget of $21.3 million, made up of approximately $8.9 million from the parks millage and about $12.5 million from the general fund. Staff told commissioners they identified nearly $475,000 of additional fee revenue the department believes is achievable next year through modest adjustments across several program areas, and also flagged nonrecurring and fleet-related costs that will add pressure to the general fund.
The presentation broke fee proposals into categories: pools and swim school, ice rinks, day camps, golf, senior center and park rentals, and river/livery operations. Staff said ice-rink participation and golf rounds have shown strong post-pandemic growth; swim lessons, day camps, and some rentals have also grown and were targeted for modest increases. Staff also described a one-time fleet shortfall tied to replacing older vehicles and a desire to shift to greener vehicles; that gap was estimated at roughly $166,000 beyond what had been paid into the fleet reserve.
Commissioners pressed staff on access and affordability. Staff said a scholarship program is under development and will return to PAC in the fall of 2025; meanwhile staff said they would continue to pursue resident/nonresident pricing differences, bulk- or punch-pass options for frequent users, and limited program-level accommodations for scholarship recipients. Staff also said they will continue to work with Treasury on payment-fee mechanics and examine whether bundling or single-charge approaches (for example, packages rather than repeated swipes) can reduce processing fees charged to patrons.
After discussion, PAC moved and approved two recommendations to forward to City Council: one recommending approval of proposed FY26–27 fee adjustments, and the second recommending approval of the FY26 proposed budget and FY27 plan. Both recommendations were approved by the commission in the meeting.
