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REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION <br />CO(JNCilK££i]i\;G <br />mar 2 8 1994 <br />^•IVOfOROIIIODATE: March 23, 1994 <br />ITEM NO: <br />Department Approval:Administrator Reviewed:Agenda Section: <br />Name Ron Moorse Administrator’s <br />Title City Administrator Report <br />Item Description: <br />Funding of Summer Recreation Program <br />Background <br />The School District Community Education Department has proposed a change in the funding of <br />the school district’s summer recreation program. The program has been provided free of charge <br />to the participants through subsidies from both the communities and the school district. The <br />school district has subsidized the program through excess fees generated by other programs. <br />The school district now wants to eliminate the use of excess fees to subsidize the summer <br />recreation program. The school district has proposed two funding options. <br />1. <br />2. <br />The cities double their contribution to the program. This would increase the <br />city ’s contribution from $2,700 to approximately $5,400. <br />The cities continue to subsidize one-half of the cost of the program and the <br />participants in the summer recreation program are charged a fee of $10 to $15 to <br />cover the remaining cost of the program. <br />User Fees <br />For the past 10 to 15 years cities and other governmental jurisdictions have been moving toward <br />the use of user fees to enable the costs of a program or service to be paid by those who directly <br />benefit. The use of user fees also helps to make clear the cost of the program so that potential <br />users or customers can determine whether the benefits are worth the cost when deciding whether <br />to participate in a program or purchase a service. <br />The disadvantage of user fees is the potential for restricting participation by those who can not <br />afford the program or service. This can be addressed by setting fees at a level which enables <br />the generation of excess revenue to subsidize the fees of low income participants. <br />It is not uncommon for a program such as the summer recreation program to be funded by <br />participant fees. It is staffs recommendation that the funding of this program move in this <br />direction. However, we may want to phase in the fees over a several year period. Staff has <br />suggested to the school district that one option for funding would be to divide the funding into