Item 4A. 2027 Proposed Scott County – Three Rivers Partnership Budget

Recommendation:

NO ACTION REQUIRED; THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.

Patricia Freeman, General Manager of Scott County Parks, and Shaan Hamilton, Three Rivers Park District Director of Finance/CFO, with input from a variety of Park District and Scott County staff

Background:

On December 16, 2010, the Park District and Scott County entered into a joint powers agreement that defines the roles and responsibilities for operations and maintenance of all regional park facilities in Scott County. The agreement requires the preparation and adoption of an annual budget. The staff listed above, along with Brad Chock, Director of Maintenance, Lynn Stoltzmann, Director of Facilities, Tom Balk and Justin Markeson (supervisors for the parks in Scott County), and other staff have met and developed budget recommendations for 2027.

2027 Budget Overview

The recommended 2027 Scott County-Three Rivers Partnership budget strives to:

• Continue to provide high-quality services at four regional parks (Cleary Lake, Spring Lake, Doyle-Kennefick and Cedar Lake Farm), two park reserves (Murphy Hanrahan and Blakely Bluffs) and 16 miles of regional trails.
• Continue natural resources management throughout Scott County

The recommended budget includes staffing, supplies, and services to meet these goals and is funded primarily by a contribution from Scott County, park user fees, and grants from the Metropolitan Council.

The 2027 budget totals $4.17 million. The following table compares the 2026 and 2027 budgets.

The proposed budget includes increases in revenue from park user fees and the Scott County contribution.

• Park Use Revenue - An increase of $110,127
  • Golf Revenues - An increase of $91,000 based on historical trends. The 2027 golf revenue budget is 90% of the 3-year actual average ($692,046) and 82% of actual revenue in 2025 ($765,811).
  • Other Park Use Revenue – An increase of $19,127 based on historical trends.
• Met Council Wellness Grant - A decrease of $36,640 because the grant is ending in February 2027.
• Scott County Contribution - An increase of $163,099 to fund the increased operating costs for staff wages and benefits, supplies, equipment operation, and maintenance.

Proposed expenditures include costs for operations at existing parks. No new staff is being proposed and minor increases in some expenditures are included based on historical usage and cost.

• Wages and Benefits - An increase of $161,086
  • Includes funding for 24.38 FTE positions based on existing compensation This is a decrease in FTE for the Wellness Programmer due to the grant ending. Health Insurance increase of more than 10%.
• Supplies – a decrease of $31,540 primarily due to an alignment with the 5-year average in facility operations
• Contracted Services – an increase of $109,465
  • Internal Service Fund – Increase of $99,937
    • Scott County’s contribution to the Internal Service Fund was not aligned with actual costs. The Park District plans to realign the costs over several years.
  • Electricity – Increase of $14,625 due to higher electricity rates Other – Decrease of $4,950 due to other miscellaneous changes
  • Other Charges – Decrease of $1,425 due to an alignment with the 5-year average in facility operations.

Commissioners will not be asked to approve the budget at this time. The Scott County contribution will be included in the Scott County budget. The Partnership budget will be reviewed and approved by the Three Rivers Park District Board once Scott County has approved its budget. Both approvals are expected to occur in December and January.

Attachments:

Scott County Budget Presentation for Joint Mtg - Sept 1 2026.pdf