Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks Recreation Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Delray Beach parks budget faces higher water costs, staffing gaps and deferred maintenance needs
Summary
Parks & Recreation Director Sam Mitad told the commission that rising water rates, staffing shortages and deferred maintenance at tennis facilities and parks are driving a department budget increase and a $200,000 level-of-service request for added recreation coverage.
Parks & Recreation Director Sam Mitad outlined the department’s 2025-26 budget pressures Tuesday, citing rising water costs, difficulty filling entry-level maintenance positions, and deferred maintenance at tennis facilities as principal drivers.
“We have a current employee count of 95 full time staff positions and 70 part time,” Mitad said, later clarifying that about 85 full-time positions are currently staffed and some positions remain vacant. He said the department includes 17 divisions and is responsible for the marina, two golf courses, two aquatic facilities, five recreation centers, cemetery operations, beach maintenance and citywide special events.
Mitad said department-generated revenues total just over $9 million from multiple enterprise and special funds including about $2.8 million from the Delray Beach Golf Club, nearly $1 million from Lakeview Golf Club, $225,000 from perpetual cemetery care and roughly $150,000 from park impact fees; he said the department expects to exceed $10 million in total revenues for fiscal 2025-26 after fee increases approved earlier this year.
The presentation called out a $935,000 budget increase tied to higher water rates and usage for irrigation. Mitad said the department is pursuing reclaimed-water and well options in some locations: “We are looking at that right now at our Seacrest complex, which is our biggest user of the water. We're looking at well options. We've looked at reclaimed options.” He said cemetery irrigation is planned to shift to reclaimed water in the near future per staff planning.
Mitad requested $200,000 in level-of-service funding to add one recreation staffer at Catherine Strong Park to cover expanded hours after the addition of pickleball programs. Regarding cemetery operations, Mitad said the city employs a full-time cemetery manager plus four maintenance staff who handle burials and grounds maintenance.
The tennis center shows a roughly 10% increase in costs driven by deferred maintenance, including lighting upgrades, clay-court resurfacing (last full clay work cited in 2018) and fence replacement, which Mitad said has become costly. He described Lakeview Golf Course as an “executive course” that attracts newer and older players and provides steady, though smaller, revenue compared with the Delray Beach Golf Club.
Commissioners discussed outsourcing some maintenance work; Mitad said the city already has several maintenance contracts for medians, beach maintenance and cemetery work where appropriate and continues to evaluate contract options to supplement staff without expanding headcount.
No vote was taken; Mitad’s presentation will be incorporated into the commission’s continuing budget review.
