Viewed in isolation, the outlook for Wisconsin’s state parks system could seem bleak.
Nearly one in four full-time parks positions is vacant, the result of years of hiring freezes. The number of seasonal workers dropped again this summer, and operational budgets for the parks have stagnated over time.
All this comes at a time when park usage remains strong.
Yet compared to state parks elsewhere – and to other public entities in Wisconsin – the Wisconsin parks system doesn’t look so bad off.
There’s even some good news. The two-year state budget that started July 1 designates some new money for the operation of expanded facilities at several state parks.
And the worst of the staffing crunch could ease soon. State parks Director Dan Schuller said that he’s been given the go-ahead to start filling some vacant positions and that recruitment efforts are under way.
“Operationally, we’re holding our own,” he said.
For park users, perhaps the best news is that admission fees – $25 annually, $7 daily for in-state vehicles – have been unchanged for six years and are not expected to rise in the next two years.
Nationally, budget cuts have socked parks in other states.
California plans to close up to 70 of its 278 state parks by next July. Washington just instituted its first-ever entrance fee – $30 annually – after lawmakers wiped out all state parks funding.
Georgia has cut financing for parks by almost 50 percent in three years, and some user fees have doubled in Arizona, which also has closed some parks.
“No one came through the recession completely unscathed,” said Joe Elton, president of the National Association of State Park Directors, who calls the cuts in some states “pretty draconian.”
Total funding for Wisconsin’s parks system for the next two years will be $49.4 million, essentially unchanged from the prior two years. That’s not ideal – there’s no inflationary increase – but maintaining the status quo is considered a victory these days when schools, cities and other taxpayer-funded entities are taking big hits.
The parks system budget funds 47 state parks, as well as state trails, forests and recreation areas.
Within the parks system budget, there’s some shuffling of dollars. Spending on employee benefits will drop 3 percent over the next two years, reflecting Gov. Scott Walker’s shifting of more health care and pension costs to state workers. At the same time, the operations portion of the budget – the money needed to run the parks – will go up 3 percent.
Parks officials say it’s a coincidence that the savings in benefits and the increase in operations money both equaled 3 percent. The two were not directly connected.
How can Wisconsin add amenities when other states are closing parks?
Schuller pointed to the state’s longtime user fees, which provide a stable funding source and help insulate the parks system from the ups and downs of state budgets. (Several states have no entrance fees, including Iowa. Wisconsin began charging for admittance in 1961 – $2 a year.)
Park fees and other park revenue now make up about 74 percent of the parks system budget, with 21 percent coming from state general funds. The state’s share continues to drop over time.
Also, “we have a staff that works extremely hard,” Schuller said.
Few would quibble with that. Park employees are known to log extra hours and work on their days off, especially at parks that are down to just one or two full-time employees.
Currently, the equivalent of 49 full-time positions in the parks system are vacant out of 212, or 23 percent, according to parks officials. There are about 630 seasonal workers this summer, down from 883 in 2007 and 650 two years ago.
Figures from the National Association of State Park Directors suggest Wisconsin’s parks system is indeed a frugal – some would say underfunded – operation. Wisconsin’s spending on park operations, from all sources of revenue, ranked second-lowest in the nation in relation to the state’s total budget in 2009-10, behind only Arizona.