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Recreation budget tight; staff recommends operating Great Mills Pool one more year
Summary
Recreation and Parks staff briefed the board on capital and operating budgets, anticipated cuts, and recommended continuing year‑round operation of Great Mills Pool for at least one more year while the new CSM indoor facility opens.
Phil, speaking for Recreation and Parks, gave a brief budget update and told the board the department will submit its FY11 operating budget to the county finance department by the end of the following week.
Phil said the department has finished preliminary capital budget work and that the capital package had not changed since the commissioners' recent review. On operating funds, Phil said the department produced a baseline budget (maintain current services) and a separate 7% reduction list requested by county leadership "which is essentially a list of items that we would cut out of our budget or, or at least put on the list for the commissioners to decide," he said. He identified the parks division as the area that would take the biggest hit because it receives a large share of general fund support.
On Great Mills Pool, Phil provided cost and subsidy figures and the department recommendation: "It currently, it's about a $325,000 budget. It currently brings in about half of that cost in revenue from user fees." He said commissioners previously provided a $50,000 subsidy from tax dollars for the pool and that the department's recommendation was to operate the pool for at least one more year while the College of Southern Maryland's new indoor facility begins operation so the county can evaluate whether the CSM facility can absorb demand for swim lessons, teams and other users. "Our recommendation's going to be that we at least operate 1 more year and and see how it all works out with the 2 facilities," Phil said.
Phil said Recreation's enterprise funds currently help subsidize the pool and staff believe the department can cover the subsidy with other efficiencies for another year. He also noted that many recreation programs are enterprise-funded and self-supporting, while general-fund-supported staff positions are the main operating costs.
Phil told the board the museum division has been asked to prepare a 7% reduction list; because that division's general fund is small, a 7% cut would affect programming. He said operating budget decisions will depend in part on state-level budget actions that could reduce county revenues.
No formal board vote was taken on budget recommendations at the meeting; Phil said staff will present a list of proposed cuts at the board's March meeting.
