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DeKalb committee approves several Parks & Recreation fee increases for athletics, defers remaining program fees
Summary
The PECS committee approved adjusted athletics and field rental fees (pages 1–6 of the Parks & Recreation fee schedule) while voting to defer recreation center programs and the remainder of the schedule for 30 days for more review.
The Planning, Economic Development and Community Services Committee approved a set of Parks and Recreation fee adjustments limited to athletic and field rental categories and deferred the remainder of the department’s proposed fee schedule for further review.
Director Ellis, speaking for the Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs department, said the fee update is intended to reflect pandemic‑era delays in updating fees and to align some charges with regional comparables. Staff presented a color‑coded substitute schedule and asked the committee to act on pages 1–6 (athletics and field rentals) and defer pages 7–15 for additional review.
Committee members approved the motion with one amendment: to exclude recreation center program fees (summer camps, after‑school programs, mini‑camps, instructional classes and similar items on the top of page 2) from the initial approval and defer those with the rest of the package for 30 days. Staff said approved athletic fee changes would take effect with the next season; rentals already paid would remain at the originally contracted rates.
Parks staff said the department’s operational expenses are far higher than current fee revenues: staff described annual operating costs near $800,000 and said fee collections historically covered only a small fraction of that amount. Staff also noted that many facility uses are in‑kind (interdepartmental or county‑internal) and proposed adding commercial rates to charge outside promoters using county fields.
Commissioners asked for additional context on usage and the revenue impact of proposed increases. Commissioner Ted Terry said commissioners needed attendance and usage data to judge registration fee changes. Commissioner Long Spears expressed concern about raising fees for youth programs without clearer evidence of improved services or increased staff support.
The committee approved the partial fee package and directed staff to return in 30 days with the remaining fee schedule and additional data on program volumes, revenue impact and potential equity concerns.
