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Parks staff recommend holding program fees steady as city adds 3.5% convenience fee for credit‑card payments
Summary
Parks and Recreation staff recommended keeping program fees unchanged for 2025–26 while the city begins charging a 3.5% convenience fee on credit‑card transactions; staff warned reenrolling memberships caused temporary membership losses and said scholarships remain available.
The Parks and Recreation Commission was asked on April 10 to consider program fee adjustments for fiscal year 2025–26. Staff recommended holding program fees steady this year due to a new citywide 3.5% convenience fee for credit‑card transactions and recent administrative changes required to implement the fee.
Parks staff said credit‑card convenience fees are being implemented across the city and will effectively raise program costs for most users who pay by card. To move the department’s membership system to the new fee structure, staff canceled and re‑enrolled about 4,000 memberships, a process that will temporarily reduce recurring revenue until membership is rebuilt. “We will lose some of that funding until we rebuild our base back, and that will take a while,” staff said.
Staff emphasized the department’s longstanding priority of keeping youth fees affordable and noted scholarship resources are available for families who need financial help. Commissioners did not propose significant fee increases at the April meeting and voted to receive and file the fees report.
