Starkville Parks and Recreation’s recent financial woes bled over from the end of Fiscal Year 2013-2014 to October as the independent group ran almost $2,000 over budget in October.
Board support for a future financial bailout similar to the $60,000 given in September when Starkville Park Commission fell $57,000 short of its yearly operating budget is unlikely to form this term as Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins said Tuesday he would not support an additional financial advance.
Perkins has fought against any excess city expenditures in the past, from major-ticket items like construction of a new city hall to minor costs associated with board travel. He did, however, lobby last year to increase the city’s yearly Parks allocation by almost $100,000 and voted this fall to bailout the financially struggling department.
When aldermen approved September’s bailout, the board mandated Parks pay its loan back and authorized a $5,000 decrease to the city’s monthly Parks allotment beginning in April. To pay the full amount back, the decrease must continue into the next fiscal year.
Aldermen also requested that Parks representatives deliver more-specific financial updates to the board and ordered a comprehensive review of its cash flow by the end of the calendar year.
Tuesday’s report to aldermen by SPR Director Herman Peters showed Parks fell $1,939.32 short of October’s $86,659.67 revenue stream. Not including retirement contributions and insurance costs, the department spent $46,643.70 on its largest expense: salaries. Utility costs were the second-largest expense, as the report shows SPR spent $30,000.
While Parks transferred $78,366.67 from its general fund to cover expenses, its own revenue streams contributed little to the month. The department earned $7,808 from facility rentals and a combined $485 from fees associated with basketball, flag football and ceramics.
Combined, rental and fee revenue streams accounted for only $8,293 of the $86,659.67 the department listed for October’s total income.
Parks instituted a new rental pricing structure in October for its numerous pavilions and the Needmore Center, which increased costs in instances by more than 50 percent dependent on the time and day of the rental.
Aldermen previously suggested Parks increase its per-play participation fees for those youths and adults choosing to play league sports with the city. The board cannot mandate the increase since Parks is independent department managed by an autonomous board of directors.
Peters told aldermen Tuesday that increased pavilion fees and any excess monies garnered this winter will be put to the side to help mitigate the $5,000 reduction of city funds beginning in April.
Peters previously told The Dispatch he did not want to see participation fees increase as they might financially exclude some families. He did, however, tell aldermen Tuesday that Parks increased other fees for local soccer and baseball associations.
In a September email obtained by The Dispatch, Starkville Soccer Association officials told parents and coaches that SPC and SPR officials wanted to quadruple its yearly field rental fee.
The email acknowledges that because of increased fees, SSA would have to engage in vigorous fundraising efforts.
“We don’t want to get to the point where (participation fees) are so expensive that kids can’t afford to play. We want to have it where everyone can participate,” Peters told aldermen Tuesday. “Hopefully the increase in pavilion rentals in the spring, when people start using the parks more, when it’s time to pay the money back, we can have some way to pay it back. That’s my main thing: working to get ahead. If by chance during the winter if we have extra money, we’ll put it back and hold it to pay (off the advance).”
Perkins grilled Peters over Parks’ financial statements and finally concluded by asking the director if he foresees asking the city for a future bailout.
“I can’t answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’ but we’re working hard,” Peters said.
“The board has been very accommodating and assisting. We’re hopeful the commission can get a hold of its revenue so no further requests (for monies) come forward,” Perkins said.
Peters, who leads SPR’s day-to-day operations, does not control its finances or bill payments. That responsibility falls upon SPC.
Commissioners approved a FY 2014-2015 budget that outlined an $82,595 shortfall between income and expenses, and the department is expected to ask aldermen to pitch in more money for future utility bills and almost $60,000 in late payments.
“I don’t know if the commission understands that, but I do as director,” Peters said.
Tuesday’s report shows SPR still owes Starkville Electric Department $61,000 in late payments.
Parks’ financial health and SPC Chairman Dan Moreland’s leadership were scrutinized in the 2013 election cycle when an audit revealed fiscal anomalies, including the fact that the former GOP mayoral candidate issued an unauthorized $35,000 cashier’s check to help pay the department’s J.L. King Splas Pad construction bill.
The department also exhausted its improvement budget, an annual allotment of $180,000 funded by the city’s 2 percent food and beverage tax, by late May 2013.
Before voters decided June 2013’s mayoral election, another report estimated Parks owed SED more than $100,000 and forecasted overdue fees and expected usage at $180,000 for the fiscal year.
Peters said the entirety of Parks’ increased monthly allotment this past fiscal year went to help reduce its SED arrears.
Aldermen continued to probe Parks for other areas of potential savings Tuesday, like outsourcing mowing and maintenance work, but Peters said staff already handles a majority of those projects.
“If there’s cleaning needed, sometimes I do it myself,” he said.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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