The Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Budget Committee unanimously approved the 2022-23 proposed budget May 17.

This is the district’s largest budget, Skyler Archibald, the district’s executive director, said, with a proposed $3.88 million in total revenue and expenses.

After meeting earlier this month, the committee increased the contract services line in the administrative budget from $40,000 to $60,000. The committee added $7,500 of expenses for youth programs’ supplies, and added $2,000 of longevity pay on the community center budget.

Longevity pay is awarded to employees who hit a 10-year milestone of employment with the district and provides them with 5% of their gross annual income from the previous year as a bonus.

After a board shake-up, the purchase of the former Broadway Middle School and two years of the pandemic, the district appears to have turned a corner.

The school is now up and running for preschool, sports and office lease, pandemic restrictions are for the most part lifted and the five board members have served harmoniously.

“I believe we’re in a strong financial shape,” Archibald said. “I think that’s due thankfully to increased tax revenue, strong grants and grant efforts, and good fiscal responsibility by the district staff and board working together. I feel confident in the position we’re in right now. We’re trying to be optimistic, hoping we’re going to have a normal year.”

Budget preparations began in mid-January this year and have been reviewed by department heads.

“The budget represents our best efforts to fiscally prepare and account for the district’s programmatic and maintenance needs over the next 12 months,” Archibald wrote in the budget message. “It is anticipated that we will continue to regain the traction lost during the pandemic and even increase our fitness offerings as we make our way into the 2022-2023 fiscal year.”

The largest portion of the department expense is administration, budgeted at about $685,000. This covers the executive director and director of finance, among other full-time personnel, for a total just over $500,000.

Overall, the district has 65 employees, up about 18% from last year.

With a new finance manager, human resources coordinator, lifeguard staff, patron relations specialists, youth program leaders and maintenance leaders, more hiring is on the horizon at the district.

“We are budgeting for a patron relations specialist to help provide the high level of customer service that our patrons have come to expect,” Archibald said. “We are also budgeting for two maintenance department employees to be added. Both will work to maintain the cleanliness and professional appearance of the building.”

Current staff is budgeted for a 5% cost-of-living adjustment. “You’ll see a pretty significant increase across the board in personnel expenses,” Archibald said. “I think everybody in our community knows that it’s a competitive environment for employees. We decided we really needed to increase our wages.”

Maintenance and aquatics each see about a 10% rise in personnel costs.

Youth program personnel are budgeted at $628,900, compared to last year’s $475,000.

Park district revenue is generated from property taxes, timber taxes, donations and grants, program fees and facility rentals. The district’s permanent tax rate is 0.9280 per $1,000 of assessed value, generating about $1.89 million in tax resources to be collected.

This is the first full year of the Sunset Recreation Center, which will begin the first year of its cost recovery process. The district purchased the property from the Seaside School District in January 2021 for $2.15 million.

The capital improvement fund will have $388,000 after this fiscal year, Archibald said. “That’s a flexible amount we can use down the road, either at the SRC or other locations in the district,” he said.

The district financed the building for $2.5 million even though the cost was $2.15 million. “We knew that excess would be needed for repairs,” he said.

Heating is No. 1 on the list, with the roof and exterior likely to follow, he said.

“In the SRC we are budgeting for a capital improvement to address the inefficient operation of the building HVAC system,” he said.

Budget committee member Kyle Gorman praised the staff efforts and called the budget “awesome … really easy to follow. It’s all right here.”

With the committee’s unanimous approval, the budget will go before the park district board next month.

A personnel services breakdown will be included in the budget as an addendum.

“It was a very nice budget process thanks to the great volunteerism and expertise offered by the budget committee members and the preparation of the budget by district staff, particularly finance manager Chris McCollister and director of operations Darren Gooch,” Archibald said. “While the budget is the largest amount in SEPRD history, we are mindful of our fiscal responsibility and opportunities for growth in the coming year with programs, improvements and the exciting potential of the Sunset Recreation Center.”