A Study of the Park and Recreation Problem of the United States

Cover

Contents

Foreword

Supplemental Foreword

Introduction

Recreational Habits and Needs

Aspects of Recreational Planning

Present Public Outdoor Recreational Facilities

Administration

Financing

Legislation

A Park and Recreational Land Plan

A Study of the Park and Recreation Problem of the United States

FINANCING STATE PARK SYSTEMS

The following discussion will apply particularly to the problem of financing State park systems. All that has been said in the previous discussion will apply in this connection.

Table B shows the amount of funds available to State park agencies in 43 States for the past few years and the proportion derived from various sources. New York State has not reported this information. Its expenditures for parks and park ways during the past few years have amounted to from about $5,000,000 to $7,000,000 annually, a sum greater than the annual combined expenditures of all other States. It will be noted that funds available from regular and special appropriations (the latter included in the column headed "Other") constitute 72.7 percent of the total, from bonds 3.8 percent, from concessions 3 percent, from direct operation of facilities 6.9 percent, and from other sources as indicated by the table, 13.6 percent.

Legislative Appropriations. General appropriations are the customary source of funds for recognized public services. This method of obtaining funds for recreation is almost universally accepted at all levels of government. Of all methods it is the most sensitive to public opinion and control.

Fish and Game Fees. In a few of the States where State parks are under the jurisdiction of an agency which also has responsibility for fish and game, a certain proportion of fish and game fees has been allocated for State parks. Until recently the total budget for State parks in Nebraska and Missouri came from this source, and at present this is the only source of State park funds in Kansas. This arrangement has resulted in opposition from the sportsmen and in inadequate financial provision for the park program. Missouri in 1937 and Nebraska in 1938 made specific appropriations for State parks and these States will no longer be dependent on fish and game license receipts. Since the State park program does contribute to the interests of hunters and fishermen through its game protection policy, in stocking and improving streams and by opening these Streams to fishing, it is reasonable that a certain portion of fish and game fees should be allocated to State park work, but the amount should be in approximate relation to the service rendered this interest.

Gasoline Tax, Automobile License Fees, Fines, Etc. In Oregon, where the State Highway Department administers the parks, they are financed from State highway funds which are built up from gasoline taxes and automobile license fees. A State law provides that all parks and recreational grounds must be so situated as to be accessible to and conveniently reached by and from State highways. There must be a relationship between roads and parks, but whether roads should determine the location of parks or parks determine to some extent the location of roads is a pertinent point in State planning.

In Washington, State parks have been supported by 75 percent of the fines and forfeitures collected outside incorporated cities and towns for violations of the motor-vehicle act. A law was passed in the 1939 session of the legislature allocating to the State park funds, in addition to previous allotments, 20 cents from each automobile driver's license fee. This agency also receives income from a shore protection fund.

As in the case of fish and game fees, the State park agency is entitled to a portion of automobile taxes of various kinds since a large proportion of travel is for recreation and State parks are the destination of a considerable number of automobiles. Furthermore, since the roads in a State park are public roads, there is no reason why highway departments should not take responsibility for their construction and upkeep. This arrangement has been made in a number of States and has recently been authorized in relation to Custer State Park, South Dakota. The planning of such roads, however, should and usually does remain the prerogative of the State park authority.

Figure 38.—Rocks and surf, Harris Beach State Park, Oregon.

Bonds. Bonds have been issued by some States for the acquisition and development of parks. California, for instance, issued bonds in the extent of $6,000,000 in 1928, which sum was matched dollar for dollar by gifts from other sources for the acquisition of park lands. Other States have provided for permanent improvement in this manner as is indicated by table B. This has long been an accepted method of financing capital expenditures for various public services by all levels of government.

Special Tax Levy. The special tax levy, in which a definite millage is assessed against property for park and recreational purposes, is a means which has been used for stabilizing the financing of such service in a number of cities. In 1863 the Minnesota Legislature authorized the Board of Park Commissioners of Minneapolis to levy a 1-mill tax for their purposes in the original park act. Other levies have been added from time to time and this millage has been increased until today the following millage taxes are in effect:

Jacksonville, Fla., in 1926 obtained authorization for a tax levy of 1 mill for recreation purposes which was increased to 1-1/2 mills in 1937. Los Angeles in 1926 secured a tax levy of .4 mills for the Playground and Recreation Department, which was increased to .6 mills in 1936. In 1926 a tax of .7 mills was provided for the Park Department which is still in effect. In San Francisco, the Recreation Department is supported by a .7-mill tax with provision that the City Council can increase it to 1 mill, and the Park Department receives the proceeds of a 1-mill tax. Other cities have used this method of financing.

The Cook County Forest Preserve District, Illinois, finances its operations to a large extent from a mill tax levy of 9/40, established in 1915.

No State park authority has as yet secured such a mill tax as a means of financing the regular expenditures of its park system, but Indiana in 1923 secured authorization for such a tax for the "acquisition, operation, development, improvement and beautification" of Dunes Park in northwestern Indiana. This tax was in effect for seven consecutive years and provided for a levy of 2 mills on all taxable property in the State. Similar provision was made for the acquisition of Wolf Lake State Park in 1937.

This method of financing, in which a definite millage tax is assessed against property for park and recreational purposes, is important as a means of establishing revenue. Usually the rate of the levy, a maximum return, or both, are established by law. It is a common instrument with cities, counties, and metropolitan districts. Even though subject to fluctuation—dependent on relative completeness of tax collection and on relative stability of valuations—the certainty of returns year after year made possible by this method has great and distinct advantages. It makes possible long-term and orderly planning and programming of acquisition and development, and is an important factor in assuring stability of employment and establishing a planning and administrative organization of high caliber. Legislators at times look askance at special levies, claiming that they tend to make the allocation of available funds less flexible. Despite these objections, a mill tax, where it may be established, appears to be a desirable form of park financing.

Severance Tax. An appropriate special tax for the support of parks and recreation is a tax upon the removal and use or sale of certain natural resources of the country. Taxes on the sale of timber and other forest products is one application of this principle. Indiana uses the entire income received from sales of sand, gravel, coal or minerals from the bed of navigable waters within the boundaries of the State for this purpose. Receipts from this source for the year ending June 30, 1937, amounted to $66,639.32 and in 1936 amounted to $117,578.60. The receipts from this source are deposited in the rotary fund of the State park authority and may be used for any purpose deemed necessary by it. California has provided that 30 percent of the net receipts from the royalty on oil taken from State lands and the ocean shall accrue to a special State park fund. It is anticipated that in the near future the State park division of the Department of Natural Resources will receive the revenue from this source, which it is estimated will amount to $1,250,000. Since there is a growing conviction that natural resources are the gifts of the Creator to all the people, it is fitting that all the people should receive direct benefits from their removal and sale. Recreation, because of its primary importance in contributing physical, mental and spiritual benefits to the people, should be given large consideration in the allotment of revenue from this source.

Sale of Products. State parks under the jurisdiction of forestry agencies usually share in the income from the sale of forestry products, privilege taxes, and fines and forfeitures in connection with the forestry laws. This applies to North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Florida, and New Hampshire. Ten other States not under forestry departments have authority to sell products as a means of financing. However, since one of the objects in establishing parks is to preserve the natural character of the landscape, commercial exploitation of the natural resources on the area is recognized as contrary to good park policy and thus little can be realized from this source.

Operating Income. Another source of income is that which results from the operation of certain facilities and accommodations to the public on recreational areas. There is rather general acceptance of the policy that only those enterprises will be established in an area which contribute to the enjoyment of the area and which are in keeping with the public interest. It is well to recognize that no park system has ever been made self-supporting through a system of fees and charges and a determined effort in this direction inevitably will restrict the service of the park agency and diminish the public benefits which accrue from it.

Figure 39.—Aerial view, Jones Beach State Park, Long Island, New York, showing west bathhouse and swimming pool in foreground.

Commercial enterprises are projected on the profit basis. Governments engage in certain proprietary activities such as the operation of water supply systems and power plants in which it is expected at least that expenses will be met. In the essential functions of Government, however, the primary consideration is public service; and financial returns must be considered subordinate to the purposes for which any particular agency is established. Since provision of opportunity for recreation is an essential function of Government, policies and practices should be determined accordingly. Certain services provided in parks, however, can be considered proprietary. These include the operation of refectories, hotels, restaurants and similar public accommodations as desirable adjuncts to the recreational program. Such services are expected to be self-supporting and may reasonably be expected to show a profit but subject to such public controls as will prevent undesirable advantage being taken of the exclusive opportunity for profit usually enjoyed by the park concessionnaire.

Certain other accommodations may likewise be supplied in connection with the recreational program. In this category are the provision for the checking of clothes and valuables for swimmers, the supplying of cut wood for picnickers, the rental of boats, horses, bicycles, etc. In other words, for services involving the protection of personal property, the consumption of material goods, or the exclusive use of expensive equipment, it is the accepted general practice to make a charge.

From this point on there is the widest possible divergence in the policies and practices of various public recreational agencies. Most agencies strive to render the utmost public service and to keep at a minimum both the number and amount of charges. Some agencies make it practically impossible for the public to enjoy any of the facilities without immediate payment, charging for all parking, the use of picnic tables, and the use of all sports areas and equipment. A few State park agencies charge for admission to the area itself. In a number of parks in one State, a parking fee is charged for every car which remains within the area for more than half an hour. This is tantamount to an entrance fee, since no one can give more than cursory inspection to the area in that time.

Such policies not only seriously limit the service rendered to the public and especially to those most in need of the service, but they are contrary to the purpose for which these agencies were established and, therefore, endanger future public financing. The impression is thereby created among legislators and the public that the agency is not performing an essential public service, but one which is proprietary in character and, therefore, is entitled to less and less support from public taxation.²

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² A full discussion of the policies and practices regarding fees and charges is available in Fees and Charges for Public Recreation, National Park Service, 1939, available from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., price 40 cents.

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In a study of fees and charges for public recreation made by the National Park Service, 158 agencies reported for 1937 a total income of $6,370,625 from fees and charges, which was equivalent to 15.8 percent of their operating expenditures. The 23 State agencies included reported $1,500,697 from this source, which was equivalent to 38.2 percent of their operating expenditures. This source of income represented a figure equivalent to 24.7 percent of the operating expenditures of the county and metropolitan agencies, and 11.1 percent in the case of municipal agencies. The funds available from all sources to the 211 agencies reporting averaged $303,276 for municipal agencies; $416,405 for county or metropolitan agencies; and $102,604 for State agencies. The agencies selected for this study were chosen because they represented well-organized systems.

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Last Modified: Mon, Aug 9 2004 10:00:00 pm PDT
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