June 2011 Eastman and Interlake Workshop

A Rationale for the Delivery of Municipal Leisure Services

The Important Basic Questions

• How do we justify spending public tax dollars on recreation services?
• How do we know which need is higher priority?
• What portion of the cost should we charge users?
• How can we make our decisions more consistently?

Back to First Principles

• In order to answer these and other important questions, we must go back to basics

Who Sponsors Leisure Services?

Role of Local Government

• Legislate an Appropriate Framework within which to live work and play

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• Collect Taxes from citizens on one basis and use funds to deliver services back to citizens on a different basis

Tax System

Tax System

Tax System

Tax System

Tax System

Why Transfer Wealth?

Direct Benefits

To Users of a Service

Indirect Benefits

to All Citizens

Definition of A Public Good (Or Bad)

A collective good that is characterized by benefiting all citizens indirectly such that no citizen can escape those indirect benefits

Examples of Public Goods

• Fire Suppression
• Police Protection
• Garbage Management
• Public Schools
• Streets and Roads
• Public Pools (Baths)

In Terms of Parks and Recreation?

A local government should use public recreation services as a vehicle for achieving certainly socially worthwhile goals and objectives; where such achievement clearly results in some form of indirect benefit to all residents of the community

Example of Socially Worthwhile Goals

• Use recreation to foster a sense of community (i.e. to connect citizens to their community emotionally)
• Community identity
• Community pride
• Community spirit
• Community culture

Example of Objectives under First Goal

Foster Sense of Community through

• Special events
• Spectator sports
• Spectator arts
• Social occasions
• Mixing of generations and sub groups
• Stewardship of natural resources
• Stewardship of historic resources
• Serving family units

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Another Example of a Goal

Use recreation to foster growth and development of local citizens

• Physically (fitness and wellbeing)
• Creatively
• In terms of leadership
• In terms of responsibility
• In terms of team work

Example of Objectives under Second Goal

• Foster Better Citizens through
• Skill development programs
• Fitness programs
• Leadership development
• Social recreation for teens
• Seniors programs
• Child’s play

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Separation of Public and Private Realm

Public Realm

• Needs driven
• Focuses on indirect benefit to all
• Measures costs and benefits in units of social value
• Decisions protect interests of citizens

Private Realm

• Demand driven
• Focuses on direct benefits to users
• Measures costs and benefits in dollars
• Decisions protect interests of investors

Application of this Rationale

• Be more accountable (evaluate services)
• Set Fees and Charges Policy
• Prioritize local needs
• Deal with issues
• Justify decisions to taxpayers
• Make long range plans

Use it Annually at Budget Time

1. First evaluate how you are allocating resources to meet the indirect benefits
2. Then prioritize which benefits most need to be improved next year
3. Then strategize (and budget) to achieve the highest priority benefits to a greater degree

In Summary

It all comes back to a clearer understanding of what business we are in.

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We are in the citizen building and community building business; not the fun and games business.