The Pandemic's Effect On Clarendon Hills Park District

CLARENDON HILLS, IL — Because of the pandemic, the Clarendon Hills Park District has seen a steep drop in the money it gets from the fees its programs generate.

The district budgeted $300,000 for such fees for the fiscal year that started May 1, 2020. Eight months into the year, the district has received less than a quarter of that money, the district's executive director, Don Scheltens, said in an email to Patch last week.

Because of the budget situation, the district furloughed two employees in April and another two in December, he said. All of them are part-timers.

Asked whether he expected more furloughs, Scheltens said, "(I) don't know at this time. We're hoping for an improvement in the facilities available and class registrations for recreational programs."

For the budget year ending April 30, 2020, the district employed eight full-time and 113 part-time employees, according to the district's annual financial report. Many of the part-timers are seasonal employees who are hired for the fee-generating programs. If the programs are canceled for the season, the employees are not employed.

The total revenue for the fiscal year ending April 30, 2020, was $2.8 million, according to the report.

The highest paid employee in the park district is the executive director, who made $116,000 this year, according to the district's compensation report. That is only slightly higher than Clarendon Hills' median household income of $112,000.