Starkville Soccer Association organizers will work with Starkville Parks and Recreation Department officials to secure private sponsorships to offset higher costs after commissioners more than doubled the group’s per-player fees in October.
Starkville Parks Commission members said Thursday that more per-player fee increases are coming for seasonal and yearly sports as the organization looks to increase revenues and stabilize its financial bottom line.
The need to increase per-player participation fees was first suggested by aldermen after the city granted Parks a $60,000 bailout in September when the organization fell $57,000 short of its Fiscal Year 2013-2014 budget and was unable to pay its utility bills, payroll or retirement expenses on its own.
In October, SPC agreed to increase SSA participation fees from $6 to $15 beginning in 2015.
SSA President Sean Owen expressed concern to commissioners Thursday over the increased fees as his organization must pass on the costs to the parents and children it serves.
The organization currently institutes participation fees ranging from $65-$95 depending on the player’s age, he said, but with more younger children playing soccer than older, a flat $75 charge for the youngest age groups would be required to break even in the future.
SSA’s own fees run high because of dues to the state’s soccer association and the organization’s willingness to reinvest funds back into the park system since Parks itself is experiencing financial trouble, he said.
Recent SSA projects for the parks department include improvements to the system’s bathrooms and concessions, and the purchase and installation of soccer equipment, including goals and anchors.
“There are a lot of things we’ve done to make Parks better that we don’t claim any credit for. We understood … that Parks didn’t have the money to do those things,” he said. “It’s hard to keep doing the things to make y’all look better when you raise fees.”
Owen suggested commissioners invest its portion of Starkville’s two percent food and beverage tax revenues into improvements that will save money on utilities and other costs. Specifically, he said SPR could cut its electric bills by upgrading its older, heavily used lighting systems with newer, LED-based technology.
Commissioners bemoaned increasing all sports’ participation fees but said the move is required to generate additional revenues. They did, however, agree to work with SSA Sponsor Manager Jennifer Prather to identify potential field sponsors in order to offset the fee increase.
“We have a firm belief that we will not take someone’s money unless we can give them a return on their investment. We have so many teams and can only put up so many banners. I don’t think (Parks) has done field sponsorships in years,” she said. “We need the ability to raise sponsors, thereby finding a way to recoup the money instead of passing it onto our players.”
Increased revenues are needed after commissioners approved a FY 2014-2015 budget that outlined an $82,595 shortfall between income and expenses. The department is expected to ask aldermen to pitch in more money for future utility bills and almost $61,000 in late payments to Starkville Electric Department.
“I wish it didn’t cost anything,” said SPC Chairman Dan Moreland in reference to per-player participation fees. “The more kids here playing, the more are not going to be out there on the streets and in trouble. It’s a dollars-and-cents issue. That’s what we had to do.”
Parks is two months into its current fiscal year budget and previously posted an almost $2,000 deficit in October. Documents given to aldermen earlier this month showed the autonomous city department fell $1,939.32 short of that month’s $86,659.67 revenue stream. Not including retirement contributions and insurance costs, it spent $46,643.70 on salaries, its largest expenses. Utility costs were the second-largest cost, as the report shows Parks spent $30,000.
While SPR transferred $78,366.67 from its general fund to cover expenses, its own revenue streams contributed little to the month. Parks earned $7,808 from facility rentals and a combined $485 from fees associated with basketball, flag football and ceramics.
Rental and fee revenue streams combined for only $8,293 of the $86,659.67 the department listed for October’s total income.
To offset rising utility costs, Parks instituted a new rental pricing structure last month 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.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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