February 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 55

1989 to 2003. In the years leading up to
the recession, park and recreation spending increased substantially, growing 14.7
percent from 2003 to 2008. But, this
trend reversed during and after the recession, as spending plummeted by 21.2
percent from 2009 to 2013.
When compared to other local governmental services, this decrease was especially poignant. For example, in 2013,
park and recreation spending accounted
for 1.9 percent of total local government
expenditures, down from 2.2 percent in
2000. Of the 10 local public services analyzed, only corrections (1.8 percent) and
libraries (0.7 percent) received a smaller
percentage of local government expenditures in 2013. On the flip side, local governments dedicated far larger percentages of their spending to education (42.3
percent), hospitals/health (9.6 percent)
and transportation (6.3 percent).
Examining spending levels paints a
picture of which services appointed and
elected local government officials view
as " essential " and which they see as a
" luxury. " Although local government officials may sing the praises of parks and

" In the years leading up
to the recession, park
and recreation spending
increased substantially,
growing 14.7 percent from
2003 to 2008. "
recreation, these are the very services targeted for the deepest and most dramatic
cuts when the economic situation necessitates government belt-tightening.
Investment in Parks and Recreation
vs. Capital Expenditures
Total expenditures on parks and recreation rose from approximately $35.5
billion in 2000 to $40.7 billion in 2008,
before falling to $32.5 billion by 2013.
Closer analysis finds that a sharp drop
in capital spending largely accounted for
the decline in total expenditures.
Capital expenditures fell from $12
billion in 2000 to $11.8 billion in 2008,

before taking a more dramatic plunge
to $6.6 billion in 2013. Capital spending
also slumped as a proportion of total
park and recreation agency spending,
from 33.9 percent in 2000 to a mere 20.3
percent in 2013. Because capital projects
often take multiple years to complete and
are likely contingent on bond referenda,
the precipitous drop in capital expenditures might suggest a lack of optimism
and confidence in the future on the part
of local officials and park and recreation
agencies. This is unfortunate because a
recession often is an opportune time to
make capital improvements for public
entities with financial flexibility, as the
price of materials and labor and the cost
of borrowing are likely to be depressed.
While operational expenditures rose
from $24.3 billion in 2000 to $28.9 billion in 2008, they pulled back during
and after the recession to $25.9 billion
by 2013. Relative to capital expenditures, operational expenditures accounted for an increasing proportion
of total park and recreation agency
spending, rising from 68.6 percent in
2000 to 79.7 percent in 2013.

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Parks & Recreation

February 2018 - Parks & Recreation

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