After several years of financial strain, the Vashon Park District will not only be able to meet its operating expenses this year without borrowing money, but also has set aside funds for future needs.
This news is a departure from previous years when the district routinely took out loans to help cover operating expenses and, at times, incurred other debt as well. The district has faced criticism from several quarters — ranging from community members to state auditors — for some of its financial decisions, and in recent elections, islanders have voted in candidates who emphasized fiscal responsibility. Now, the board has retired some of its debt, with more to be paid off this summer, and has money in its new reserve accounts for operating, as well as unexpected needs and capital projects. And, for the first time in many years, the district will not need to borrow money to cover expenses while waiting for its twice-yearly property tax payments.
The Vashon Park District board hired Executive Director Elaine Ott-Rocheford in 2013 in part because of her financial acumen, and last week she spoke about the progress the district has made since then.
“The overall financial health of the district has never been better. We are operating from a standpoint of reserves for planning and managing our cash-flow needs as opposed to responding after the fact,” she said. “It is nice to be out from under the debt.”
The district ended 2017 with $280,000 to carry over into this year and with nearly $55,000 in its operating reserve account, $89,000 in its permanent reserve account and $30,000 in its capital reserve. By the end of this year, Ott-Rocheford said, the permanent reserve is expected to hold $310,000 and the capital reserve $97,000.
For 2018, the board approved a $1.3 million spending plan, which includes a $78,000 increase in levy funds over last year. Maintenance is the largest expense category at $538,000, followed by administration at $340,000 and the summer pool at $74,000. The most visible change to the district reflected in its budget is the pool, which opened early this month under an inflatable dome for year-round swimming. The winter pool season is budgeted at $54,000. Ott-Rocheford emphasized her appreciation of the Seals Swim Team, who were behind the effort to cover it.
“I am grateful to the Seals for their fundraising effort and their hours and hours of volunteer work to make this happen,” she said.
Another change in the district’s budget that made headlines last year was the Commons Agreement, the park district’s agreement with the school district for community use of school facilities. Previously, the park district paid the school district $100,000 annually as part of this agreement. This year, after the parties renegotiated the agreement, the park district will pay $50,000. Another notable change involves park district programs, which are only a small portion of the budget. At $21,000, the allocation is up from $9,500 last year — and more changes will be coming. For the last five years, Ott-Rocheford said, this portion of the budget has included only enough to cover the costs of Concerts in the Park. But in a 2016 survey about the park district, many islanders expressed the desire for more programs. This year, the district is in a position to begin acting on that and will host an open house in March for community members to tell staff and board members what they would like to see.
“We will be launching more programming in 2018 and expanding it in 2019,” Ott-Rocheford said.
Vashon Ski School is now a park district program, and the district is waiting to hear on a grant to bring back programming to the skate park, with the hope of offering programs there as early as March. More pool programming is also anticipated in the future.
In planning for what programs may come next, district leaders want to hear from community members and will consider what needs on the island are not being met, including programs for seniors and people with disabilities — two particular areas of interest mentioned frequently inthe 2016 survey.
Another change in the budget for this year will be noticeable to employees, but not to the public. The board voted last year tomake changes in the retirement benefits it provides. Soon, eligible employees will be able to participate in the Public Employee Retirement System, which Ott-Rocheford said is a plan that guarantees a lifetime return comparable to, if not better than, Social Security. She noted that the Vashon Park District was the only taxing agency in the Puget Sound area that did not participate in the Washington retirement system. This change will mean that the park district will now pay about 3 percent more for each eligible employee than it had previously for retirement benefits. Ott-Rocherford called this benefit change a “big deal” and said it would be an important recruitment and retention tool.
Finally, the district is slated to pay $54,000 on bonds and loans this year. In June, the district will make its last payment on a non-voter-approved bond from 2008 used for its lodging accommodations as well as its final payment on the loan the district took out to install the modular restroom at the VES Fields.
“That is very exciting. Those are very big things,” Ott-Rocheford said. “We are shifting from debt to saving and planning.”
On the park district board, commissioner Bob McMahon has recently filled the treasurer position. He credited previous treasurer Scott Harvey with doing considerable work on establishing the reserves. He added that when he and Karen Gardner were elected to their seats in 2015, the district was still borrowing money and faced a long list of projects that had not been dealt with because of the high cost of the VES Fields.
“We really worked hard to get our spending down and be more sensible about things,” he said. “It is good not to borrow money and to have a cushion.”
