Published: February 06, 2010 08:00 am      

Park district may lower fees

EFFINGHAM — As the economy takes its toll on area families, those living outside of Effingham Park District might be struggling a little more if they want to participate in the district’s activities.

But the park district board is considering lightening the load for non city residents who want to participate in the district’s programs. Board members Thursday discussed adjusting, lowering, or maybe even eliminating fees for those out-of-district families.

The fee for out-of-district participants is $32 per program in addition to the $20 fee per program every participant must pay.

Although the fee may seem minimal, it can add up. A family with three children could pay almost $500 to participate in park district’s sports, depending on how many sports each child is involved in. If all three kids play in basketball, baseball and soccer, the fees add up quickly.

The program fee is $20 for each child to participate, take that amount times three for the number of children and again by three for the number of sports, and the total tally is $180. For out-of-district participants, another $32 per child per sport is assessed, which adds up to $288. Thus, the total cost for three children who live outside the city limits to participate in three sports is $468.

If the family lived within the park district boundaries, the family would only be required to pay participation fees, which would total $180.

Effingham residents who live within the park district pay about $150 to $250 a year in taxes to the district. Diehl suggested equating a family’s out-of-district fee to the amount an in-district family would pay in taxes. This would be most efficient if it were done as a flat fee for the year, Diehl said.

According to Diehl, this could be done by multiplying the estimated assessed valuation of an out-of-district home and the district’s tax rate. The term of the fee would apply during the district’s fiscal year.

Diehl said the Champaign and Urbana park district does something similar and asks out-of-district participants to bring in their tax bills so the district can equate the cost.

Diehl also suggested a gradual step for those who live near Effingham in areas such as Lake Sara or Heartville because even though they may have an Effingham address, they cannot take advantage of the cheaper fees in the park district.

A graduated step also was considered for surrounding towns, such as Mason or Edgewood, who have students who attend Unit 40 schools.

Diehl said the district does see a number of participants from outside the city limits, but he felt $32 was expensive for a family with more than one child who wants to participate in more than one sport.

The board was hesitant to make any decisions, especially since the district recently increased fees to participate in the various sports. Board members also had questions on how much revenue would be lost with the reduced fees, as well as how many out-of-district participants the district currently serves.

Diehl is expected to bring those numbers to next month’s meeting.

Samantha Newburn may be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 131 or samantha.newburn@effinghamdailynews.com.