Small Town Fiscal Trends - Positive or Negative?

Read the Entire Article by Nathan A Schaumleffel, MS, CPRP, Deborah A. Smith, PhD, Irma O'Dell, PhD and Daniel G Yoder, PhD Go to www.ilparks.org. Scroll down to the "News Alert" section and hit the link uner "IAPD Web Extra." or Go to www.il-ipra.org. Click on the "Table of Contents" and then select "IPR Magazine X-tras."

Efforts in small Illinois communities to provide park, recreation and leisure opportunities may not be as adversely affected by small tax bases or a lagging economy as some scholars assume. That's the finding of a study that examined the fiscal trends and conditions associated with leisure service delivery in Illinois' small town public recreation agencies.

These findings are of particular interest in our post-9/11 economic environment, because they suggest that:

1. It is simplistic to assume that recreation services are always disproportionately impacted by economic downturns, and that

2. Small agencies are finding ways to maintain vitality and ensure program stability.

As administrators of public agencies look to the future, this research may prove valuable in their efforts to discern important fiscal trends that will impact their organizations.

September/ October 2004 - 29