September 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 13

the consumer back. Secondly, embracing entrepreneurial approaches
can help us develop programs that
are " cash cows, " which provide
revenues that are greater than their
direct and indirect costs. These carry programs that may have limited
revenue potential. Thirdly, a determinization on the potential for establishing a revolving fund should
be made. This business approach
allows the agency to retain revenue
(year after year) from revenue positive programs; directly use the revenue for costs and to provide dollars
for programs that may not generate
positive revenue. Cesar Gomez,
parks and recreation director for
the city of West Park, Florida, says,
" The concept of the 'cash cow' programs to establish a revolving fund
to carry other programs is no different than the model that most college
campuses use, as they use revenues
from football and men's basketball
to often carry most of the entire
athletic department operational
budgets. Combined with donations,
endowments [and] sponsorships,
these two forms of revenue usually
carry an entire university's athletic
department. "

Driving Cost Down
In addition to producing brilliant
services, our goal must be to do
so at the lowest possible cost. This
means constantly evaluating all
program costs. The lower the program's expenses, the less is needed to be generated by the agency.
Overall, the question to be posed is,
" Where can I reduce my costs without negatively impacting services? "
As labor costs typically range from
60 to 70 percent of total operating
costs, the professional must match
use levels with the need for staff.

For some agencies, contracting programs may make the most financial
sense. In terms of supplies, is the
agency purchasing in the most efficient manner, are supplies enhancing the experience of a program,
and can the agency leverage " in
kind " sponsorships to reduce costs?
Finally, an active approach toward implementing conservationminded systems, such as low-flow
toilets and LED lights, reduces operations costs. According to Oscar
Carmona, director of parks and
recreation for Raleigh, North Carolina, " Having a revolving fund
has really allowed us to take on
more of an entrepreneurial and
creative approach to programming
and cost management. Staff know
that the more successful and profitable a program is, the more we
can invest back into our facilities
or equipment to better enhance our
customer experiences. In addition,
revenues are also used to subsidize
free or low-cost programming. "

Cost Recovery System
The single, most important aspect is
the implementation of a cost recovery philosophy. This philosophical
approach translates community
values into a " pro forma. " Overall,
it asks the community how it views
the value of individual programs
and if, and at what level, there are
both individual and community
benefits. Recommendations are developed to identify which programs
benefit the community and should
receive tax dollars and which are
to be supported by other revenue.
From a long-term perspective, this
provides the agency and community an action plan for financial
sustainability, as well as a logical
and rational approach toward price

setting. Geronimo Aguirre, parks
and recreation manager for New
Braunfels, Texas, states, " Now,
more than ever, future decisions
must be driven by past and current
cost recovery analysis in order to
make sound business decisions that
will have an immediate impact on
your financial bottom line. "

NRPA has identiﬁed three key
priorities for the ﬁeld: advancing
community health and wellbeing, equity at the center
and climate-ready parks.
NRPA has identified three key
priorities for the field: advancing community health and wellbeing, equity at the center and
climate-ready parks. We must face
that these worthy concepts all require money. To succeed at achieving equity, park and recreation professionals need to keep programs
relevant and make them brilliant,
stay on top of trends, understand
the needs of their community, view
users as consumers and develop a
cost recovery philosophy that is vetted with public input. While these
business approaches are needed
and critical to our success, the profession must never forget our roots.
We answer a myriad of social challenges and we need to truly believe
in our missions and be fully committed to ensuring those we serve
have equal access to the benefits of
local parks and recreation services
and facilities.
Chris Nunes, CPRE, is Director of Parks and Recreation at The
Woodlands Township, Texas (cnunes@thewoodlandstownship-tx.
gov). Donna J. Kuethe, CPRP, is the former Recreation Director
at town of Moultonborough, N.H. (retired September 2020) and
Executive Director at GP RED (donnak@gpred.org).

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September 2020 - Parks & Recreation

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