York County council leans toward 1.5-mill countywide recreation tax to fund parks but members differ on aid for municipalities

York County Council considered recommendations from a Parks Master Plan committee at an April 8 budget workshop and signaled majority support for a proposed 1.5-mill countywide levy to fund parks operations and capital needs.

Why it matters: Council faces choices that will change how recreation is funded across York County, affect municipal partners and determine whether the county sets aside capital for new parks, including Woodend, and maintains existing passive parks and services.

Josh Edwards, the county manager, summarized work from the Parks Master Plan consultant and the HEP committee. He said the consultant recommended a three-phase approach: address immediate operational needs (already funded in FY25), identify funding for current and future parks operations and capital, and study the recreation tax and its implications for municipal funding. The committee recommended a countywide 1.5 mills added to the general fund millage to support county parks operations and to set aside capital funding.

Edwards described two possible ways to help municipalities that currently receive unincorporated recreation payments: a capital-assistance approach using some of the new millage proceeds for municipal capital projects, or a stipend/reimbursement program tied to actual registrant data. "If we were to take that general report... and let's just say we're looking at youth recreation, there's about 10,000 or so registrants based on those reports," Edwards said, then explained staff would use average fees ("around 50 and $70") to estimate stipend amounts. He said that estimate put potential stipend costs in the neighborhood of $750,000 for the coming fiscal year.

Several council members supported the countywide millage but differed on whether to retain the unincorporated tax in addition to a countywide levy. Councilmember Audette said he favored keeping the unincorporated tax while also adopting a countywide 1.5 mills, noting the per-household cost for unincorporated residents would be modest: "That's $23.38 a year per person in the unincorporated area of the county. That's what 1.5 mills is. Dollars 23.38¢." Councilmember Huckabee and others said they would support funding the ag facility from sources other than the Economic Development (ED) fund and preferred using the capital fund (account 1420) instead; staff said they would identify the best funding source.

Councilmembers raised concerns about transparency and accountability for municipal use of funds. Multiple members said municipalities already collect hospitality/tourism taxes and other revenues that support parks, and they urged staff to require registrant-level data before distributing stipend or reimbursement money. "I think there's a lot more information to gather to draw the conclusion," Councilmember Litton said, calling for a careful approach.

Committee recommendations and related budget items: staff told council they plan to include a set-aside from Bethel Lake Wylie funds to build out the Woodend park (Edwards said about $3,000,000 is available to spend on Woodend). Edwards said the county had set aside funding for operations this fiscal year and that the Parks Master Plan consultant urged setting aside capital funding for future projects.

Where council landed: a majority indicated support for budgeting a 1.5-mill countywide levy in the manager's recommended budget, while several members emphasized they do not want to immediately "pull the rug out" from municipalities. Staff said they would return to council with a proposed allocation and a design for either a stipend/reimbursement or a capital-assistance program tied to registrant data.

Ending: staff will include the 1.5-mill proposal in the recommended budget materials unless council instructs otherwise. Management will work with municipalities to collect registrant data and propose a transparent reimbursement or capital program before funds are distributed.