June 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 61

Operations
Revisiting the Multi-Use Pass
Smart planning can provide benefits for agencies and users alike
By John L. Crompton

T

he multi-use pass is a staple pricing option offered by almost all park
and recreation agencies. Such passes are most commonly manifested
in annual, seasonal or multi-use access to facilities such as swimming
pools, golf courses and art complexes. However, when managers are asked why
multi-use passes are offered, typical responses are, " I am not sure I know why
we do it except that it has always been done here, " or " We do it because every
other leisure agency does it and it is expected of us. " In short, their adoption
often appears to be attributable to tradition and inertia.
The adoption of multi-use passes
should be purposive and goal-directed, rather than arbitrary. Clearly,
those who purchase a pass would not
do so unless they believed it would
save them money. However, an
agency is the steward of resources
entrusted to it by the citizenry, so
before such passes are issued,
it is mandated to identify
the benefits that accrue to
taxpayers and pay-pervisit users, in addition to
those that the pass purchasers receive.
These passes are a form of differential pricing because they enable
different users to pay different prices
for the same service. Their use has
long been part of the field's conventional wisdom, but with many agencies experiencing their biggest budget
cuts since the early days of the tax
revolt three decades ago, questions
regarding their equity and efficacy
are emerging.
Differential pricing is the fulcrum
responsible for balancing the weights
assigned to each of the two principles
that guide all public park and recre-

ation service pricing decisions. The
" Benefit Principle " states that those
who benefit from a public
service should pay a price
that covers the cost of
delivering a service. At the same
time, providing

tax-supported services is justified because they are part of a community's
mandate to " protect the health, safety and welfare " of its residents. This
directs that, as far as possible, no residents should be excluded from participating because they lack the funds to
do so. Thus, the " Ability to Pay Principle " directs that a lower price may be
desirable for those who are economically disadvantaged so they are not excluded. Effective implementation of
differential pricing depends on it not
arousing resentment from a threshold
number of stakeholders, which would
create antipathy and loss of goodwill. Communities evaluate fairness

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