Some cities and towns will see less money under new York County recreation formula

All municipalities in York County will see a spike in their county funding for recreational programs next year, but many are unhappy with the funding formula the County Council voted to adopt Monday that will see their base funding drastically reduced going forward.

Under the new formula, the town of Clover will receive 17 percent less from York County in 2016 to support its rec programs, the towns of Hickory Grove, McConnells, Sharon and Smyrna will see a drop of 29 percent each, and the city of York’s rec offerings will see a reduction of as much as 33 percent.

Clover Mayor Donnie Grice told the council prior to the vote that the new formula would cost the town’s recreation budget $34,000 in base funding, and could lead Clover to either increase fees for its programs or even reduce town staff to make up the difference. Despite the cuts in county funding, two-thirds of the people who use Clover’s recreation programs and facilities are county residents who live outside the town limits, Grice said.

“Instead, we should increase funding for all of York County,” he said.

But the council still approved the changes by a 5-2 vote, with Bruce Henderson of Clover and Robert Winkler of York opposing the measure.

The new formula divides the $1.1 million in county recreation funding between the four school districts based on a mix of population, tax base and participation in both youth and adult programs. The county has long provided money to municipal programs that serve county residents, since York County doesn’t offer its own recreation programs.

To cushion the blow, the county moved $597,600 out of the general fund budget this year to give every municipality an increase in rec funds.

Winkler said he thought the new formula was “logical,” but thought a 30 percent cut was “an extreme burden to put on a municipality.”

He said the figures used for the York school district should include participation in rec programs offered by the four smaller towns in the district and not just those of the city of York. Under the formula, 80 percent of the district’s funding goes to York and five percent each to the other towns.

Henderson moved to amend the motion to allow some of the Clover district’s funding to be spent on the Lake Wylie Athletic Association, which runs programs for more than 1,000 participants a year in the unincorporated lakeside community. Those figures would boost the district’s participation rate and its funding share.

Councilman Michael Johnson opposed the motion, saying it opened the door for any non-municipal organization to ask for county rec funds.

“The YMCA probably does as many recreational programs as any municipality in the county,” Johnson said.

Currently, funds are distributed by “a number somebody took out of the air,” Johnson said. “You don’t have to show how many children are involved or what your tax base was. It’s just that somebody in a room said, ‘Give my area more than somebody else.’”

Councilman William “Bump” Roddey said many municipalities were using the county money as a way to fund departments the towns don’t want to adequately budget for themselves.

“If they’re not willing to do it, they come to the county to ask for money for maintenance and staff,” Roddey said.

Henderson’s motion died when no one else on the council would second it.

Before they voted, council Chairman Britt Blackwell said “personal agendas” shouldn’t drive how the funding is spent, and said Winkler had it right.

“Your district got hit harder than anybody’s, and even you say it’s fair,” Blackwell said.

But Winkler corrected him. “Well, I said it’s ‘logical,’” he said. “I don’t know about fair.”

This story was originally published October 5, 2015 at 10:25 PM with the headline "Some cities and towns will see less money under new York County recreation formula."