HomeMy WebLinkAbout032626 email Parks and RecreationALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
My husband and I had careers in non-profit and private sector finance. We have also sat on various non-profit and small government boards and committees over the years as volunteers.
We’d like to share some thoughts on the precarious moment that the County's Parks and Recreation program has been put in.
1. The true value statements of any corporate entity is found in the distribution of its discretionary funds
2. Parks and Recreation programs may be non-mandated but an abundance of studies demonstrates that investments in such programs reduce costs in law and justice making them a smart,
high yield investment. The County Administrator and Finance Director appear unaware of these studies
3. As mentioned at this week’s meeting of the commissioners by Public Works staff, the issue of Parks and Recreation funding is a structural issue that has been left unresolved
since the Great Recession
4. The current funding “crises” is the manifestation of the commissioners’ inaction since they became aware of the issue in the budget making process last year
5. The commissioner’s deliberations on such matters are not well informed because of a lack of experience in financial planning in both the County Administrator and Finance Director.
This was self-evident during the development of the 2026 budget and at Monday's meeting. Additional support or reorganization is urgently needed.
6. There are numerous inequities in cost-sharing between the City of Port Townsend, high-demand users and beneficiaries like the school districts, and the County that should be
resolved in any financing strategy
7. The City of Port Townsend has benefited from a tax dedicated to recreation but it appears that this revenue has not been spent as earmarked. The City should assume responsibility
for the Recreation Center’s operation through a long-term agreement with the County or through a property transfer or sale
8. The commissioners unwisely approved the forgiveness of a general fund loan to the Department of Community Development in an amount greater than the gap in funding needed for
the 2026 operation of the Recreation Center. Bluntly, profligate spending at the Department of Community Development by the prior Director was rewarded at the same meeting that the
commissioners struggled with difficult service cuts to Parks and Recreation programs
9. Economic downturns should be budgeted for rather than reacted to. Unfortunately, the county finds itself in a reactionary position and with no discernable plan for financial
stability. Planning should now focus on parsing critical needs and mandated functions from discretionary programs in all departments and identifying unencumbered cash reserves in those
departments for redistribution or a freeze on general fund transfer
We leave you with one acronym: MPD
Cindy and Jim DiDonato