5.1.1 – Comprehensive Revenue Policy 
Standard: There shall be an established revenue policy that is periodically updated regarding fees and charges for services and the strategies and methodologies for determining fees and charges and levels of cost recovery.
Suggested Evidence of Compliance: Provide the policy on fees and charges, the current fee schedules or cost-recovery procedures, and the most recent review or update.
COMMENT: Need: What are the Cost-recovery Procedures?
RESPONSE: The most recent update to the PRC user Fees is now included as EOC 8.
Cost recovery goals are established during the budget process. At that time, the Coordinator – Fiscal Operations, First Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner will look over the most current NRPA Agency Performance Review for the national average percentage of operating costs recovered from earned/generated revenues. Westchester County Parks, Recreation & Conservation (PRC) establishes a budget with the goal of surpassing the national average by 10 percentage points while also following guidelines set by the County Budget Department. These guidelines change from year to year and may include requirements such as expense increases capped at 5% or fee increases capped at 2%. Once the expected expense budget is set, PRC calculates anticipated revenues if no fee increases were to be implemented. If PRC’s anticipated revenues reach the percentage goal of covering expenses, no fee increases will be requested. If the anticipated revenue does not reach the percentage goal, there are a number of avenues that can be taken 1) reduce expenses so fee increases aren’t necessary 2) review fees which have not been increased in recent years and propose an increase to make up the shortage while still providing affordable facilities 3) seek additional ways to generate revenue such as charging for new programs.
COMMENT: The Comprehensive Revenue Policy says that there aren’t Program Specific Cost-recovery Goals. If this is the case, how do staff know what their goals are for revenue/expenses for their given area of responsibility?
RESPONSE: Staff in various divisions of PRC have the revenue/expense goals for their given area of responsibility based on the adopted operating budget. This information is available to staff and the public online via the Department of Budget website. It is also shared with staff through their division Director. The goals for revenue/expenses are set department-wide and are determined by division/facility. They are not determined by individual programs such as Movies Under the Stars or Bicycle Sundays. PRC policy is to keep those programs free of charge based on their popularity and revenue collected in other divisions helps to absorb these expenses On average, PRC generates 70% of its revenues from User/Participant fees (parking, golf, camping, pool/beach admission) and Facility Usage Fees (facility rentals, picnic areas, special events, and film/photo shoots).
REVISED AGENCY EVIDENCE OF COMPLIANCE:
Narrative:
PRC maintains a comprehensive revenue policy which is reviewed and updated annually. This policy outlines fiscal purpose and goals, and identifies areas to allocate public resources and user fees.
Fees are reviewed annually during the budget process which begins in June and concludes with final approval by the Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) and the County Executive in December. After soliciting input from facility managers, directors and senior management, proposals for fee changes are reviewed and take into account such factors as usage and demand, and comparable costs at similar non-county facilities. If PRC is not proposing any fee increases no additional steps are required. If fee increases are being proposed, they are presented to the Parks Board for approval. The last fee increase was approved by the Parks Board on October 19, 2023 for implementation in January of 2024.
A comprehensive fee schedule is updated yearly, approved by the Commissioner and available to staff on the intranet. Fees are also available to the public on PRC’s website.