Taneytown parks advisory board approves 20% funding deduction for leagues that violate blackout dates

The Taneytown Parks and Recreation advisory board voted by consensus on June 10 to adopt a fiscal penalty for sports organizations that schedule games on designated blackout dates.

The board’s action — described during a lengthy discussion of conflicts between the Taneytown Athletic Association (TAA) and city events — establishes an automatic 20% deduction per blackout-date infraction from an organization’s annual allotment, to take effect with the next fiscal-year allocations on July 1. Lorena, a Parks & Recreation staff member who presented the item, read a submitted comment saying, “Follow them, you get it. Don't follow them, you don't get it,” and summarized the board’s direction: “an automatic 20% deduction per infraction, what have you, and then consideration of future field use if it continues.”

Why it matters: Board members said the policy aims to protect public-safety and event operations by creating an enforceable consequence for leagues or coaches who arrange makeup games during large events. Members described multiple recent incidents when teams and parents attempted to cross closed areas, drove over grass and through event setups for prime parking, and failed to follow posted alternative access routes. S3, a committee member, said of one episode, “If you're gonna act that way, how about we just call the police and you and your kid don't play today?”

Details and scope: The advisory board discussed several penalty structures — fixed-dollar fines, percentage deductions and scaled penalties tied to the size of an organization’s allotment. Members raised concerns about equity: a fixed fine could disproportionately affect smaller leagues, so the group favored a percentage tied to each organization’s allocation (the 20% figure was proposed as a “slap on the wrist” that would not cripple programs but would produce a meaningful deterrent). The board directed staff to notify league leadership, add the policy to the TAA agenda next month, and implement the deduction tied to fiscal-year allotments beginning July 1.

What the policy does not do: The advisory board framed the change as forward-looking; members explicitly said it will not be applied retroactively to incidents that already occurred, and that the board will retain discretion (including non-monetary remedies or additional enforcement steps) if violations continue. Staff will provide TAA with the notice and enforcement procedure and will return next month with the item on the agenda for further discussion with TAA representatives.

Next steps: The policy will be published and shared with league contacts; staff will place the item on next month’s agenda for follow-up discussion with TAA. The board also agreed it will re-evaluate the approach once the Memorial Park expansion provides an alternate entrance/parking configuration expected to reduce these conflicts.