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Parks staff reports surging demand, asks council to back program-driven budget increases
Summary
At Wednesday's budget workshop, parks staff told the council rentals and program hours rose sharply in FY26 and proposed shifting FY27 line items — including boosted contracted-instructor pay tied to revenue — to expand programming, finish pickleball courts and support the community center planning. Council sought usage and resident-priority data before final approval.
Hayden, the parks presenter, told the Indian Trail Town Council at its budget workshop that Parks & Recreation saw "approximately 20%" increases in rentals and "about 25%" growth in rental hours in fiscal year 26, and that residents account for roughly 60% of amenity use.
The presentation framed rising demand, waitlists and faster registrations as evidence to expand programming and invest in facilities. Hayden listed FY27 priorities for the parks team: opening the new pickleball courts, launching “Rock the Trail” and other music adjustments, reintroducing a comedy night, expanding special-needs offerings, and advancing community-center planning.
A notable line-item change the department flagged was increasing the contracted-instructor budget from $76,000 to $113,000. "Contracted instructors allow us to expand programming quickly," Hayden said, adding that the department uses an 80/20 revenue split: "If we do not bring in the revenue, we do not expend this line item." Hayden projected that expending the $113,000 would correlate to roughly $141,000 of program revenue if participation meets expectations.
Councilors pressed for more detail about who benefits and how resident priority is enforced. Hayden said athletic rentals currently receive resident priority while most other facilities operate on a first-come, first-served basis; he offered to supply residency breakdowns for rentals and tournament use. Council members emphasized wanting clear metrics on local benefits before committing new recurring dollars.
The parks team also described grant-seeking, sponsorships and a proposed communications support role that could reduce outside marketing costs. Staff said no new full-time or part-time positions are requested for FY27 but that staffing adjustments and contracted instructors would support expanded program delivery.
The council asked staff to return with finer-grained usage and resident-priority data as part of the next budget package; personnel and revenue conversations will be on the agenda for the following workshop.
The next procedural step: council will review the detailed parks line items and residency figures at a subsequent budget meeting before voting on the manager’s recommended budget.
