July 2019 - Parks & Recreation - 15

Funding: Communities committed to high-quality parks and
recreation for all residents ensure
that operations and maintenance
(O&M) spending is growing at a
rate equal to or greater than the
rate of the jurisdiction's population growth. Not only do you want
to see year-to-year funding increases, but also consistent budget
expansion (at least) over a threeyear period.
Staffing: Communities committed to high-quality parks and
recreation for all residents ensure
that park and recreation agency
full-time staffing is growing at a
rate equal to or greater than the
rate of the jurisdiction's population
growth. Not only do you want to
see year-to-year growth in an agency's full-time employee staffing, but
also consistent staffing increases
over (at least) a three-year period.
Access: Everyone deserves access to a high-quality park that is
within a 10-minute walk of where
they live. It is important that park
access is strong throughout the
community, including areas with
lower-income residents.
Dedicated
Funding
Sources: Park and recreation agencies
in communities committed to
high-quality parks and recreation
for all residents have access to dedicated funding sources (e.g., having
its own taxing authority, sales/
property taxes dedicated to the
agency) to fund at least some part
of its O&M budget.
CAPRA Accreditation: Park and
recreation agencies that meet the
standards set by the Commission
for Accreditation of Park and
Recreation Agencies (CAPRA)
demonstrate their commitment
to delivering high-quality park

and recreation amenities and
services to every member of the
community.
The Park Check risk assessment
tool rates your responses to these
questions to determine if your
agency's ability to deliver quality park and recreation amenities
and services to all members of
your community in the future is at
" low, " " moderate " or " high " risk.
Agencies taking the assessment
receive a customized three-page
report, the second page of which
details their risk profile based on
the five principles. For example, an
agency facing moderate risk may
see strengths in its funding, staffing and access, but may lack both
dedicated funding and the CAPRA
accreditation that would improve
its long-term outlook.
The customized report also includes links to resources that could
reduce your agency's risk profile.
More importantly, it can help con-

vince your community to raise its
commitment to high-quality parks
and recreation for all through
greater, more sustained funding.
Park Check is the first step to
truly ensuring your agency is providing great park and recreation
opportunities to every community
member. Other NRPA resources,
such as Park Metrics (www.nrpa.
org/publications-research/ParkMetrics/), Facility Market Reports
(www.nrpa.org/publications-re
search/FMR/) and our suite of
Best Practice Resources (www.
nrpa.org/publications-research/
best-practice-resources/), to name
a few, are available to take your
agency to the next level.
You can use Park Check today to
assess the risk level to the quality of
your services at www.nrpa.org/
park-check.
Kevin Roth, Ph.D., is NRPA's Vice President of Professional
Development, Research and Technology (kroth@nrpa.org).

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Parks & Recreation

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July 2019 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2019 - Parks & Recreation
