Fountain Hills budgets add park attendants and a street maintenance technician to meet rising event and infrastructure demand

Town staff told the council the FY26 proposed budget includes additional staffing for parks and streets to support increased community events and maintain infrastructure.

Kevin (community services) said park usage and weekend tournaments have grown substantially — his team runs roughly 35+ tournament weekends annually — and that existing part‑time park attendants (about six people) cannot reliably cover simultaneous events at multiple parks. The FY26 proposal adds part‑time attendant hours to ensure coverage for events, restroom maintenance and trash removal; staff said special event fees and rental revenues offset part of those costs.

Justin (public works/streets) explained a proposed full‑time street maintenance technician to replace a vacancy previously shifted to facilities work. He said the street crew is currently operating at a bare minimum and the role cannot be done as part time because of training, equipment and continuity needs; the annual all‑in cost (salary and benefits) was described as roughly $90,000 and would be paid from the streets fund.

Other personnel supplements discussed include community center seasonal staff to support programming and two training captain positions in the fire department (budgetary break‑even), plus a streets position described earlier. Council asked for specifics on how program revenues (community center fees, field rentals) offset seasonal and part‑time costs; staff said work is underway to identify cost recovery on a facility‑by‑facility basis and will bring more granular numbers next year.

What’s next: staff will include the proposed positions in the FY26 tentative budget and will provide more detailed revenue/cost recovery analyses for parks and the community center for future council consideration.