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CityofDowne_y AGENDA MEMO
Item No.
APPROVED BY
CITY MANAGER
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
BY: JASON CHACON, DIRECTOR OF PARKS & RECRE ATION
DATE: FEBRUARY 28, 2023
SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF DISCOUNTS FOR RECREATIONAL CLASSES FOR
FAMILIES WITH MULTIPLE CHILDREN ENROLLED
BACKGROUND
The City Council requested that Parks & Recreation staff research possible discounts for families with multiple children enrolled in City recreational classes.
Currently Downey's Parks & Recreation Department offers various sports, art, and fitness classes for youth ranging from 3 to 16 years of age as well as adults. Recreational classes are taught by contract instructors at City facilities. The only staff led programming offered are day camps and seasonal aquatic programming.
Contracted instructors are compensated at 70% of total fees collected (which is industry standard), while the City retains 30%. Any discount or scholarship program applied toward contract classes would need to consider the total compensation provided to contract instructors at the end of each seasonal session.
DISCUSSION
Staff researched several surrounding cities discount offerings and found the following:
•Paramount, Bell Gardens, Bellflower, Whittier, and Santa Fe Springs are among the cities surveyed who offer scholarship programs. These scholarship programs include various levels of qualification requirements such as:
o Financial hardship as required by the school district for free or reduced lunch.
o Financial hardship based on income limits as established by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
CONSIDERATION OF DISCOUNTS FOR RECREATIONAL CLASSES FOR FAMILIES WITH MULTIPLE
CHILDREN ENROLLED
FEBRUARY 28, 2023
PAGE2
Typical scholarship program requirements include:
•All youth must be residents of the City or attend a school in the City's school district. •An application process must be completed by families in order to qualify for scholarships. Requirements include submittal of proof of residency, and income verification.
•Scholarship limits can be a fixed dollar amount per family per fiscal year and must reapply annually.
•A designated staff member manages the application process, by reviewing all documents, manages data, and notifies families upon department approval. This staff will also process instructor payments and funding allocations for contract instructors.
•Funding
o A designated amount is allocated in the general fund each FY in order to support the scholarship program.
o Grants, and or donations from local stakeholders are used to support the scholarship program.
Summary
Funded Requires
Offer Grant or by the application
City Sibling donation general to be
Discount Scholars hi funded fund submitted
Bellflower • • •
Bell Gardens • • •
Paramount* • $30,000 •
Santa Fe Springs • • •
Whittier* • $15,000 •
*Paramount will cover from 60% up to 100% of class costs depending on qualifications. as funds remain available.
*Whittier offers a $50 allowance per child, per season with a $200 cap, as funds remain available.
,f CONSIDERATION OF DISCOUNTS FOR RECREATIONAL CLASSES FOR FAMILIES WITH MULTIPLE
CHILDREN ENROLLED
FEBRUARY 28, 2023
PAGE3
Requires
Offer Grant or Funded by application
Sibling donation the general to be
Cit Discount Scholarshi funded fund submitted
La Mirada None None NIA NIA N/A
Montebello None None NIA N/A N/A
Norwalk None None N/A N/A N/A
Pico Rivera None None N/A N/A N/A
RECOMMENDATION
If the City Council would like to move forward with providing a discount to families with multiple children enrolled in City recreational classes, staff recommends the implementation of multi-sibling discounts for seasonal day camps and aquatic programming at 20%.
•Seasonal day camp is 10 weeks, at a rate of $150 per week for residents. Staff recommends a multi -child discount of $30 for residents ($120 per week). •Aquatic swim lessons are $64 per session (2 weeks) for residents Staff recommends a multi -child discount of $13 for residents ($51 per session).
Staff recommends this option, so that residents may have a discount available to them for recreation classes, while not being as staff intensive as a scholarship program would entail.
FISCAL IMPACT
With the recommended multi sibling discounts, it is estimated that there would be a $2,000 decline in revenues per fiscal year associated with seasonal day camp. Aquatic programming revenue would decrease approximately by $1,500.
Should the Council want to implement a scholarship type program, a line item would need to be created out of the general fund to compensate contract instructors. This option could be capped by a certain dollar amount per family per fiscal year or overall amount per fiscal year. The overall amount allocated would be up to the City Council's discretion.
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES
Quality of Life, Safety and Infrastructure