Parks staff: budget flat for FY27; department relies heavily on grants and volunteers

Operations superintendent Stephanie D'Arcy provided a high‑level parks budget overview covering FY25 (the most complete year of available data) and FY27 planning context. D'Arcy said the county budget is flat for FY27 with no net new positions and a planned 3% salary savings; she characterized the county’s fiscal posture as a structural deficit where revenue growth is slower than expenditures.

D'Arcy reviewed revenue and expenditure highlights: the parks division records revenue from charges for services and reimbursements (noting Davis Creek produced nearly $200,000 in FY24 but showed $0 for FY26 while the park was out of service), over $5 million in cumulative grants managed in recent years, roughly $80,000 in donations in FY25, and roughly $3.5 million in services and supplies spending. She noted the division has about 45 FTEs with two current vacancies and that salaries and benefits account for about 61% of the budget. "The budget this year will be flat. We are not we're not cutting. We're maintaining services, but we're not increasing either," D'Arcy said. Commissioners asked about restricted revenue, capital funding mechanisms (RCC/RC tax vs. general fund), and items the department submitted as above‑base requests; D'Arcy said several above‑base requests — additional staffing for South Valleys and extra fuel‑reduction funding — were not approved for FY27 and will be resubmitted.