Member jurisdictions will be asked to chip in $5.26 per resident over the coming year to help fund the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority’s fiscal 2025 budget.
But the agency – also known as NOVA Parks – plans to recoup nearly 90 percent of its overall costs through fees charged for use of same facilities and services (such as pools, golf courses, batting cages and snack bars) rather than from tax subsidies.
The subsidy amount, up from $5.17 per resident currently, will help support the spending plan presented to the body’s board of directors by executive director Paul Gilbert, who last week outlined a $39.55 million budget proposal, up from the adopted fiscal 2024 budget of $36.76 million.
“In every category, the use of the parks has increased dramatically since the pandemic,” Gilbert said in a prelude to the presentation. “Much of the increased expense this year is a response to this increased use.”
Created in the 1950s, the regional body complements local parks in Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church. Jurisdictional subsidies are based on the number of residents, with the top three localities being Fairfax County (59% of the combined population of all member locales), Loudoun County (22%) and Arlington (12%) assessed the most.
At the proposed assessment rate, the jurisdictions collectively will kick in just under $4.5 million in funding for the fiscal year that begins July 1. But unlike, say, transit systems, which frequently recoup less than 30 percent of operating costs from users, the regional-park body has managed to nearly balance its budget each year through user fees.
“While contributions from the local governments are important, NOVA Parks has long relied on our entrepreneurial ability to fund the growth and development of the regional-park system,” Gilbert said.
Baked into the budget is a nearly 20-percent increase in expected revenue from golf operations. The authority’s courses saw a steady decline in player counts from 2007 to 2019, but COVID brought back many people to a sport/recreation activity that could be conducted outdoors.
There also has been an increase in demand for aquatics programs, which the budget anticipates will see higher revenue in the coming fiscal year, and the agency has worked to increase margins on its food service, Gilbert said.
But other areas have less opportunity for growth. The budget estimates only small increases in revenue from light shows and facility rentals, as both are approaching capacity.
“Having limited growth potential in these two significant areas of operations puts more pressure on the rest of the system to provide the needed growth,” Gilbert said in his budget message.
The draft budget can be found at bit.ly/4a0LMGW.
