Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Discussion
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER MAYOR'S REQUEST TO SUBSIDIZE YOUTH SPORTS REGISTRATION FEES FOR CARSON RESIDENTS
Body
I. SUMMARY
Since the passage and adoption of the City’s Utility User Tax in 2009, Measure C, revenues had been intended to offset the cost of participating in seasonal youth sports operated by the Community Services/Parks and Recreation Department. Measure C afforded the opportunity for City Council to subsidize the cost of youth sports for the benefit of Carson residents by caping league registration fees at $25 per participant; exclusive of uniforms, photos, and awards.
During the July 5, 2022 meeting of the City Council, the Mayor requested staff bring back an item for the Council to consider a full subsidy of the $25 per participant youth sports league registration fee for all Carson residents. II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
CONSIDER the Mayor’s request to fully subsidize the youth sports registration fees for all Carson residents.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE another action that the City Council deems appropriate.
IV. BACKGROUND
Since the passage and adoption of the City’s Utility User Tax in 2009, Measure C, revenues had been intended to offset the cost of participating in seasonal youth sports operated by the Community Services/Parks and Recreation Department. Measure C afforded the opportunity for City Council to subsidize the cost of youth sports for the benefit of Carson residents by caping league registration fees at $25 per participant; exclusive of uniforms, photos, and awards.
During the July 5, 2022 meeting of the City Council, the Mayor requested staff bring back an item for the Council to consider a full subsidy of the $25 per participant youth sports league registration fee for all Carson residents. If approved, participants would still be required to register at their local park or via online and provide proof of residency, such as a utility bill, property tax, lease agreement, or a bank statement. However, the subsidy would not include the cost of uniforms, pictures, and the trophies.
As expressed by the Mayor, the subsidy would be applied to Youth Sports programs beginning October 2022 through July 2023; one year of sports seasons. Since registration for fall sports has already begun, staff recommends that the subsidy commence with the following season, beginning in October 2022 through July 2023. Specifically, the subsidy would apply to: Winter 2022 Youth Basketball; Spring 2023 Baseball and Softball; and Fall 2023 Soccer, Football, and Softball seasons.
It should be noted that approval of such a subsidy will ultimately impact the City’s and Department’s ability to maintain minimal levels of cost recovery within the youth sports cost center. Furthermore, staff predicts that by subsidizing the fee the programs could experience inconsistent and declining attendance, reduced accountability of participants, and future expectation by the public of extending the waiver beyond the proposed year of subsidy.
Staff believes that a possible alternative to the subsidy could include an expansion of the scholarship program approved at the July 5, 2022 City Council meeting. That program seeks to award scholarships to income eligible families and youth who may otherwise be financially challenged to register for fee-based programs offered by the City’s Community Services/Parks and Recreation Department. Utilizing an income verified scholarship model would ensure that Carson’s most financially vulnerable youth are given priority in the consideration of fee waivers and subsidies to participate in youth sports programming. V. FISCAL IMPACT
Should the City Council approve this proposal, approximately $100,200 in revenue would not be realized (Exhibit No. 1). This estimate is based on Youth Sports participation data during the 2017 sports season, which was the last year all the parks provided Youth Sports programming (Carriage Crest Park temporarily closed thereafter due to construction). At that time, there were a total of 4,715 Youth Sports participants. During the most recent sports season, 2021-2022, a total of 3,965 children participated, with the difference due to the pandemic and Carriage Crest not offering baseball and basketball. The percentage of resident participants has been approximately 85%.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Youth Sports Participant Comparisons (pg. 3)
Prepared by: Gloria Marroquin, Recreation Program Manager, and Michael Whittiker, Community Services/P&R Director