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Commissioners approve one full-time parks position for FY2025, trim several parks lines
Summary
During the June 24 Natrona County budget work session, commissioners approved converting one seasonal parks position to a full-time role starting next fiscal year, reduced selected mountain and lake park line items (including a $38,500 RMP implementation deletion and a $12,000 trails cut), and retained a $75,000 Title 28 match for a Pathfinder footbridge project.
Natrona County Commissioners on June 24 considered a Parks Department budget amendment from Mr. Brown that sought two full-time entry-level replacements for seasonal caretakers. After discussion of staffing challenges, safety and carryover funds in the lake budget, commissioners agreed to approve one full-time position for the coming fiscal year and asked the Parks director to provide additional justification when he returns from vacation.
Commissioners reviewed multiple park budgets. For Mountain Parks they discussed equipment and trail expenditures, noting prior-year variability driven by weather and construction. The commission removed a longstanding $38,500 RMP implementation placeholder, agreed to cut the trails expense by $12,000 (reducing that line from $42,000 to $30,000), and trimmed motor-fuel estimates by $5,000. Commissioners also asked Parks to prioritize capital equipment purchases for the lake fund and to spend up to $200,000 on a prioritized bundle of tractor/gator/implements and essential site repairs rather than funding the full requested package at once.
On grants and matching funds, the clerk and legal staff clarified that a proposed $75,000 line is a Title 28 match for a Pathfinder footbridge; Mr. Brown estimated the total project at about $150,000, and commissioners retained the $75,000 match in the lake budget.
Why this matters: the changes shift one seasonal position toward full-time staffing (with longer-term employment implications) and re-prioritize capital spending so Parks can complete critical repairs while trimming near-term discretionary requests.
Next steps: Mr. Brown will provide more detail on staffing needs and the commission asked Parks to report back on prioritized capital purchases and any unspent carryover spending during the fiscal year.
Representative decisions recorded in the session included the one-time approval of a single full-time parks position, deletion of the $38,500 RMP placeholder, a $12,000 reduction in trails expense, and retention of the $75,000 Title 28 match funding.
