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Essex County parks plan more playgrounds, zoo exhibit after steady revenues
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Summary
The county’s parks director presented a budget that relies on strong 2025 revenues — including Turtle Back Zoo’s more than $13 million — and funds renovations and playground reopenings while keeping professional‑services spending near last year’s level.
Dan Salvante, director of the Essex County Park System, told the Board of Commissioners that the parks department expects continued revenue growth and has a slate of capital work planned for 2026, including playground reopenings, athletic‑field and restroom upgrades and a new lemur exhibit at Turtle Back Zoo.
Salvante said the department’s 2025 gross revenues were strong: “Turtle Back Zoo was over 13,000,000, golf operations was 5.55,” and the arena brought in about $3.2 million. He said those receipts, plus modest fee increases recently approved by the board, undergird the department’s 2026 budget.
The presentation emphasized seasonal staffing at high‑use sites: deputy director Kate Hartwick explained that holiday‑lights programming kept zoo seasonal payroll high into January, accounting for dozens of seasonal positions listed on payroll. Salvante added the parks use a mix of full‑time, part‑time and seasonal hires to cover year‑round operations and peak events.
Commissioners pressed on vacancies and trust accounts. Commissioners noted small discrepancies between payroll counts and budgeted headcounts in several divisions; Salvante confirmed a handful of vacancies and said most will be filled. He also described several restricted trust accounts that pay for site‑specific maintenance and improvements — for example, a trust for Eagle Rock Reservation and a beautification trust covering the Boathouse area — and said user fees, private donations and conservancy groups help fund work at parks such as Brookdale and Branch Brook.
The parks director highlighted volunteer support as a major multiplier: “I would say at least 2,500,” Salvante said when asked how many volunteers assist county parks annually, adding some cleanup days draw hundreds of volunteers.
The department will also continue the arrangement with the Zoological Society, which provides subsidies for operations and an enhancement fund supported in part by a $2 user fee on each zoo admission that is routed into the recreation‑complex trust. Officials said that trust will be used for improvements to fields, courts and playgrounds across the reservation system.
The board did not take formal action at the hearing. Directors said they will return if commissioners request additional line‑item detail or follow‑up on staffing and trust‑account balances.
