Trustees debate summer camp fee increases; ask staff to rework numbers to cover 95% of last year’s costs

The Rye Brook Board of Trustees spent the bulk of its Feb. 11 meeting discussing proposed 2025 changes to day-camp and travel-camp fees and program structure, focusing on sharply higher bus and activity costs and how much of those costs the village should recover from users.

A summer-camp subcommittee — including trustees and Parks & Rec representatives — produced recommendations to increase day-camp rates by about 5% and travel-camp rates by about 10%, plus a standardized 10% discount for additional children. Staff produced an alternate, more-structured proposal intended to recover a larger share of costs; one trustee provided a third proposal seeking still higher increases to move closer to full cost recovery.

Trustees and staff reviewed recent cost drivers: bus costs that rose from about $11,006.50 in 2021 to $70,125 in 2024 (staff figures cited at the meeting), rising wages and higher admission fees for attractions. Staff said last year's day-camp fees covered about 84% of costs and travel camp covered about 78%; the subcommittee proposal would raise day-camp coverage to roughly 90.5% and travel-camp coverage to about 86% based on last year's enrollment and expenses.

Trustee Susan Epstein (a subcommittee member who prepared a detailed cost analysis) argued the village should move further toward cost recovery; she presented comparative daily rates from nearby municipalities and noted many communities have recently raised rates. Other trustees cautioned that large immediate increases risk pricing families out and suggested keeping camp affordable because municipal camps are a subsidized community service.

After extended discussion the board asked staff to rework fee schedules and present options that would aim to recover approximately 95% of last year’s costs for camps, and to return to the board with revised numbers. Trustees directed staff to also examine the second-child discount, trip schedules (including closer/shorter trips to reduce bus costs), and possible use of school facilities on inclement-weather days (which would carry a facility charge). No formal resolution to set fees was adopted at the meeting; board members said any final fee changes would be considered again in a later meeting and ultimately set in the budget process.

Trustees and staff agreed to revisit the topic at a future meeting with revised spreadsheets, make the fee structure easier to communicate (week-by-week and daily-rate clarity), and consider targeted scholarship or assistance options for families who cannot afford higher rates.