South Windsor Park & Rec Department Requests $3.7 Million Budget

South Windsor Parks and Recreation Department Director Ray Favreau issued a preliminary budget request of $3.7 million for the 2013-14 fiscal year at the Town Council’s regular meeting on Monday evening.

Of that request, just $1.6 million - the Parks Division and Administration - would be funded by the town, while $2.1 million would be generated through the department’s special revenue recreation fund.

The portion of the budget request funded by the town represents almost no increase (0.24 percent) over current spending levels, while the $2.1 million would require the department to generate some $270,000 in additional revenue over the current year, according to Favreau.

To achieve the flat budget for administration and the parks division, and given that 97.5 percent of the budget is tied up in employee salaries, Favreau said that the following measures - among others - had to be taken:

• Reduce secretarial overtime from 18 hours per year to 12;
• Eliminate the materials and supplies line item;
• Eliminate the uniforms and clothing line item.
• Eliminate the annual petty cash line item;
• Reduce the rental and leases line item by 10 percent;
• Reduce the repair and maintenance line item by 80 percent, which effectively wipes out professional development needs at the state and national level;
• Eliminate the recruitment and training line item.

“With these deep cuts, 99 percent of the requested funds for fiscal year 2013-14 is now needed to support salaries for our critical administrative staff - the staff that makes all the other departmental budgets work successfully,” Favreau said. “Our greatest concern is our ability to reclaim any of the … line items in future budgets without a dramatic spike.”

As for the special revenue recreation fund, Favreau said that the main goal is to provide “affordable, quality and self-sustaining programs and services.”

To generate the extra $270,000 as part of that budget, Favreau said that there would be increased enrollment opportunities at all day camp sites - including opening a second site at Trailblazers, added enrollment in before and after school programs, slightly increase some fees in areas such as Veterans Memorial Park.

Favreau also plans on increasing weekend and weeknight program and facility supervision with the hope that more people will make reservations, which will result in more revenue.

There were some challenges that the budget did not take into account, Favreau said. For example, the state is contemplating increasing minimum wage from $8.25 an hour to $9.75 an hour, which would directly impact the part-time staff - counselors and lifeguards - that the department hires for the summers.

Reactions from the town councilors were universally positive.

“You do a heck of a good job,” Councilor Ed Havens said to Favreau. “No one ever complains about your department.”

Deputy Mayor Gary Bazzano mentioned possibly having the softball field near Ayers Road reconfigured by the Parks and Recreation Department and increasing the budget accordingly.

John Caldwell, superintendent of parks, said that, outside of the fencing, it was possible for the department to take on the project.