Airway Heights admission tax to help fund Parks and Recreation

By AL STOVER

Staff Reporter

The Airway Heights Parks and Recreation Department has projects on its agenda but paying for them is one of the obstacles that prevented them from being completed. That could change, however, with the department getting a new revenue source.

At its May 4 meeting, the Airway Heights City Council passed the first reading of Ordinance C-852, which amends the city’s municipal code to designate the admissions tax as a funding source for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

According to the ordinance, the city will dedicate the revenue it receives from the admissions tax as a permanent funding source to enhance the Parks and Recreation Departments’ services, activities and leisure experiences.

The city collects a tax on a sale or charge made to each person who pays an admission fee to attend an event.

Parks, Recreation and Community Services Director J.C. Kennedy said he had been lobbying for the admissions tax to be used as a funding source for the Parks and Recreation Department since the city established the tax back in 2008.

“This is a tax that people pay while they are enjoying a recreation activity in the city, so it makes sense that the tax should go back to the department,” Kennedy said.

As the city was preparing its 2015 budget, Kennedy spoke with City Council and explained why his department needed a stable funding source.

“I’ve got all these projects that cost millions of dollars but almost no funding stream to do any of that,” Kennedy said. “Once I got the chance to talk, they listened.”

The ordinance will also help the city accomplish one of its 2015-16 community goals: to expand recreational services, programs and improvements for Airway Heights. Kennedy said having a dedicated revenue source will allow the department to prioritize projects as it prepares to update its master plan.

“There are residents who embrace the Parks and Recreation Department and they want to see us grow and expand our programs,” Kennedy said. “Now we’ll have a dedicated funding source to do this. Hopefully that revenue will grow and we can start making improvements.”

Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.