Parks advisory meeting focuses spotlight on budgetary matters

By ohtadmin | on August 31, 2023

DAVISON TWP. — The Aug. 14 meeting of the newly enhanced parks advisory board brought some of the financial issues to the forefront that has led to the need to examine the parks budget.

Parks and Recreation Director Casey Reed presented an overview of current and past budgets for the parks in Davison Township.

The parks system includes the Lake Callis Recreation Complex, the Davison Dog Park, the Black Creek Trail, the Robert Williams Nature and Historical Learning Center, the Kitchen School and Veterans Memorial Park.

A look back a previous budgets shows the parks fluctuate from year to year in revenues and expenses, some years coming in under budget, some years over with a more than $500,000 deficit project for the 2023/24 fiscal year.

Reed said she broke down expenses and revenues by park for the past two fiscal years and put the results into a report made available to the Davison Township Parks Advisory Board and the public on the parks and recreation social media account.

For 2022/23, Reed said the park total expenditures were projected at $1,021,125, with the number actually coming out at $712,187.31, making the parks under budget by $308,937.69.

Revenues for the same period were projected at $176,850, but the actual revenues were $306,528.68, making the parks overbudget by $129,678.68.

Reed said the actual expense for the Township Parks and Recreation Department was $405,658.63.

When the audit is completed in the fall, Clerk Michael Leffler said the township will know exactly where it stands with those numbers.

In 2021/22, Reed said expenditures were projected to be $885,865.00, but were actually $712,014.68, making them under budget by $173,850.32

Revenues in 2021/22 were projected at $181,251, while the actual number was $300,494.87, making them overbudget by $191,243.87.

The actual expense for the Township Parks and Recreation Department in 2021/22 was $414,519.81.

Estimates for the 2023/24 budget total are projected at $919,375.73, with projected revenues of $193,350. The expected cost for the Township Parks and Recreation Department in the current fiscal year, ending June 30, 2024, is $726,025.73.

Reed said parks are not typically a way to generate revenue for a community, but rather they are a resource a township or city invests money in.

“Most people here are pro-parks people, they want the parks to exist,” said Leffler. “I’m not expecting this to be Cedar Pointe…I’m not expecting to turn a profit. But what’s the number in it? What is a number the township can live with? What are the citizens willing to pay for?”

Randy Stewart, retired Davison Township zoning and building administrator, questioned how parks and recreation is overbudget if it came under.

“If (the board) approved the budget and (Reed) came in $300,000 under the approved budget, how can you say she’s overbudget,” he asked.

Leffler said he doesn’t know until auditors from Plante Moran complete the audit of the 2022 fiscal year.

“From Plante Moran last year, Randy, they lost over $500,000,” he said. “I don’t have an audit for this year, yet. Numbers don’t lie for them.”

Leffler said the township doesn’t have a tax for the parks and the money to fund it comes out of the general fund. If the parks were shut down, taxes would not be lowered as a result.

Trustee Matt Karr defended having parks in Davison Township, which he said are as important as having police and fire services.

“I think having parks and rec is a great thing to have,” he said. “Some years it might cost us $600,000, some years it might cost us $400,000. It’s never going to fully pay for itself, but park of my job is to make sure this community is good in more ways than just police protection.”

Karr added the township is not “in one bit of financial trouble” and has plenty of money to pay for the parks system.

“If we ever got to the point where we don’t have enough money to pay for the police, of course parks and rec is probably the first thing you’re going to look at,” he said. “Maybe at that point we go to a millage.”

One resident pointed out the 2020 Census has Davison Township at 20,000 residents. If each resident paid $20 per year, he said that’s not a lot of money.

The next meeting of the parks advisory board will be Sept. 11 at 5 p.m. at the Davison Township Municipal Offices, 1280 N. Irish Rd.

Images of the report compiled by Reed can be found on the Davison Township Parks and Recreation Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DavisonTwpParksandRec