RESEARCH How COVID-19 Impacts Park and Recreation Funding By Kevin Roth
T
he time is now. We have written in these pages, delivered in presentations and imparted in our classes the importance of making the case for your work. The public’s strong support for parks and recreation is not enough to guarantee your agency receives the needed financial and staffing resources to deliver on its mission. At any time, every dollar of your agency’s budget is at risk.
In 2017, NRPA commissioned a study (nrpa.org/LocalOfficials) that found local elected and appointed public officials freely acknowledge that they target park and recreation agencies for substantial budget cuts when their city, town or county faces a fiscal crisis. This is despite the fact they wholeheartedly agree that parks and recreation significantly benefit their communities, especially in enhancing quality of life and promoting healthy lifestyles. We know this is not a theoretical idea. A 2018 Penn State study (nrpa. org/RecessionImpact) examining the impact of the Great Recession found that local park and recreation agency funding plunged an inflation-adjusted 21 percent in the years between 2009 and 2013. No local government service — public safety, education or 18
Parks & Recreation
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transportation — suffered as much. Even worse, park and recreation agency funding (and staffing) were slow to rebound during the economic recovery. These research findings demonstrate just how precarious park and recreation funding is, especially when the economy hits a downturn. In recent years, we noted that it was just a matter of time before the economy would fall into a recession, when local governments would face squeezing tax revenues and rising demand for local government services. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has extracted a high human cost across our nation and around the world. In response, local, state and federal governments have had to redirect their financial resources in their battle against the virus. At the same time, tax revenues plummeted at all three levels of government, as business activity halted and employers laid off workers. It will be some time before we fully understand COVID-19’s economic impact, but we know it will be staggering. And, even the best minds can only guess at this time on the strength of the
eventual economic recovery and when business activity and tax revenues will return to “normal.” What is not speculative is that local and state governments will be facing tremendous fiscal pressures over the coming months and years. As a result, policymakers will be facing difficult decisions on the budgets and staffing of their jurisdiction’s services.
Making the Case for P&R You have a compelling story to tell. Park and recreation professionals at more than 10,000 agencies across the United States advance their communities in many different ways. You have a positive impact on the lives of millions of people every day. Striking dollars from park and recreation budgets deprives people of open spaces to exercise for no or little cost, a place for hurried individuals to reconnect with nature and community resources where one can get a nutritious meal. Also significant in any “making the case” argument is the economic benefits that your agency brings to your community. Sparking economic activity and creating jobs is park and recreation’s number one priority. Unfortunately, mayors, county executives, city managers and council members may not be aware of how the work of park and recreation professionals and their agencies bring economic prosperity. This is where the latest NRPA research report comes in. The NRPA
