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ELK GROVE, Calif. -- Funding shortages have changed the formerly lush grass and a vivid scenery to a now harsh landscape at Elk Grove's Edie MacDonald Park.
Edie Park is one of 97 parks overseen by the Cosumnes Community Services District (CCSD), and one of 11 parks in the underfunded Benefit Zone 3. The parks in that zone have been victims of a funding shortfall that has devastated the aesthetic of some of the neighborhood parks.
After reductions to lawn care and watering were put into place to help meet a budget, parks have developed dry grass, widespread browning out, premature leaf drop, and have had a lack of repairs for drinking fountains and basketball hoops.
The state of the Benefit Zone 3 parks now
“We have 97 award-winning [parks] and we are accustomed to maintaining our parks at a high level,” said CCSD Parks Superintendent Steve Sims. “This is backwards to how we’re accustomed – to be honest, we don’t like maintaining our parks at this level that’s occurring in Benefit Zone 3.”
Including the impacts to the aesthetics, there have also been reductions in staffing hours and contractor services since July 1.
“It’s a little bit more than dead grass. That’s what people see right away,” said Sims. “There’s been service cuts to these 11 parks that include reduction in watering, reduction in mowing, other landscape services, and reduction of staff time allocated for these particular parks.”
Zone 3 has had the same assessments since 1997
The parks in Zone 3 are short on funds. Their maintenance is funded by the neighborhoods that they are located in through landscape and lighting assessments.
Current assessment rates for Zone 3 were put into place about 20 years ago, with no increase by residents since 1997. It’s current rate is $132.25 per Equivalent Dwelling Unit. Over time, the expenses in the zone increased by more than what the zone took in from the assessments.
Issues with funding were identified around 2009. Since then, the district has been attempting to help the area through reserves, cost cutting, and efficiency efforts, but by 2015-16, they realized those efforts were not going to fix the problem.
Unlike water and electric bills that could be raised based on need, the district has to get any fee increases approved by the communities. In order to increase those rates, the communities have to voluntarily approve an increase in their assessment by 50 percent plus one.
“We don’t have that ‘as needed’ luxury of raising our revenue to meet our expenses,” Sims added.
Benefit Zone 6 has also been identified as an area with funding shortages, however, their shortage was less severe and has had less severe reductions to service.
Park maintenance depends on more than a single person
Some of the biggest expenses that parks have are those for the landscape and tree trimming contractors. A reduction in contractor services was one of the ways the district was able to save funds, but it came at the cost of turf fertilization, weed control, shrub pruning, and a 50-percent reduction in mowing at non-sports field parks.
There are a lot of costs involved in operating and maintain a park. Landscapes need water. Sprinkler systems need maintenance, and graffiti in parks needs to be removed.
Depending on the park, the amenities available also add into the total costs:
- Restroom maintenance
- Baseball field maintenance
- Playgrounds requiring inspection, cleaning, and repair
- Repairs to sidewalks, benches, and drinking fountains
- Fertilizing, weed control, and mulching
“They’re expenses that increase. That’s one of the flaws in the system, as expenses increase beyond our rate of revenue, it becomes problematic for us,” Sims said. “As our expenses go up, we can’t just simply go out and raise our fees.”
“It’s a myriad of ways we maintain all those different little features within a park. It’s not just one guy who shows up and does everything. It’s a myriad of folks who contribute to maintaining the park as a whole.”
How can residents save Elk Grove parks
According to Sims, the best thing a resident can do is let the CCSD know that they want to help. It can be through grassroots groups that champion the effort to help the parks or a message to the district.
Sims added that part of the efforts from the district is letting people know how the parks get funded. He said that in most cases the district can take property taxes and deliver a well-maintained park. However, with the current assessments, funding can only change if the property owners agree to a change.
Ideally, the assessment increase will be something that can restore the parks but also replace playgrounds when needed and withstand expense increases.
“The way I look at it, we get one shot to make sure [to] get an assessment approved and we better make sure that assessment rate we formulate is adequate to prevent us from having to come back again.”
Those interested in communicating with the district about the issue can contact the Cosumnes CSD’s Park Maintenance Hotline at 916-405-5688 or hotline@csdparks.com.