Photo Credit: Patrick Hoagland
Is your agency constantly perceived as being a lower priority than other services? Do your plans sit on the shelf due to a lack of support and funding? Do the community’s elected officials undervalue parks and recreation services? Do you have difficulty passing tax levies?
These perceptions are most likely due to a lack of consensus among the community and its leaders toward parks and recreation facilities and services. One major key to gaining respect for the value your agency offers and receiving more funding to satisfy park and recreation needs is to have a clear vision and plan of action based upon a true consensus. Without this type of master plan, elected officials’ knowledge base is limited to their specific interests, “squeaky wheels” of organized groups that attend council and board meetings, and the opinions of a few voters as these officials campaign door-to-door. This article will focus on how a park and recreation agency can build a public trust and the community support required to elevate a level of importance among elected bodies, allowing the agency to implement its vision.
Steps For Success
There are four steps to any public-improvement project, whether it is that of a park, city hall, fire station, or any other publicly funded project.
