York County residents urge council to preserve municipal recreation funding as budget hearing continues

Dozens of York County residents and municipal recreation officials on Monday urged the York County Council to preserve the existing recreation tax district model and the 1.5-mill funding that has for years supported municipal parks and recreation programs.

Speakers said the county'wide budget proposal to unwind the recreation tax district and replace most municipal funding with a $75-per-child stipend would sharply reduce operating budgets for municipal recreation departments and could force higher nonresident fees or restrictions on participation. "This bill, even with the $75 per child stipend, will leave our rec departments at a significant budget shortfall going forward," said Forrest Stone, a Fort Mill resident.

Why it matters: Municipal recreation departments, residents and local businesses told the council that municipal programs deliver a broad set of services beyond youth sports'adult classes, special-needs programming, senior lifelong-learning and volunteer-driven community events'and that a large share of participants are county residents who now access municipal facilities under the intergovernmental arrangement currently in…