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Parks ranger and volunteers urge restoration of county volunteer‑coordinator position
Summary
Dane County park staff and volunteers said cutting a long‑standing volunteer coordinator would imperil 54,000 volunteer hours logged in 2024 — the equivalent of roughly 22 full‑time positions — and hamper stewardship of prairies, burn crews and invasive‑species work. A park ranger and union leaders urged supervisors to restore the position.
A Dane County park ranger and volunteer leaders urged supervisors to restore the county’s volunteer coordinator position, saying volunteer labor supplements core park operations and that cutting professional coordination would reduce thousands of hours of productive work.
Chad Hayden, a Dane County park ranger speaking as an individual, said the volunteer coordinator’s office marshaled about 54,000 volunteer hours in 2024 — a figure he equated to roughly 22 full‑time positions. Hayden told the committee that volunteers carry out tasks such as prairie seed harvests, burn crews and invasive species removal that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive for the county to staff.
Hayden also emphasized safety and liability concerns: a professional coordinator ensures volunteers are trained and that prescribed burns and other safety‑sensitive tasks follow DNR and local rules. He told supervisors there is no LTE replacement that provides the same professional capacity as the P‑class volunteer coordinator.
Supervisors asked clarifying questions and acknowledged the counties’ difficult budget choices. The committee did not take a final vote on the parks amendment; supervisors requested additional information on cost‑benefit comparisons and whether any alternative staffing models could maintain the volunteer program’s reach.
If the board does not restore the coordinator position, Hayden and others warned, volunteer recruitment, training and safety oversight would suffer and the county would lose a large amount of unpaid labor that currently supports habitat management and public amenities.
