PEORIA, Ill. — The Peoria Park District presented the 2020 budget to the Board of Trustees at Wednesday night’s board meeting.
Some slight increases in fees are among the changes proposed to the Board. The increase of fees comes after a change in the Illinois minimum wage, which will incrementally increase from $8.25 to $15 by 2025.
“The minimum wage increase is absolutely the driver for us,” said Deputy Director Brent Wheeler. “With minimum wage jumping twice in the year 2020 and us being so dependent on part-time personnel, the only way to recover some of those costs was for these adjustments to be passed on.”
In the recreation area, where most of the price increases will occur, the PPD relied on part-time workers in 2019 for nearly 60% of working hours. The minimum hourly wages paid to these workers will be a minimum of $9.25 on January 1st and increase to $10 on July 1st.
The PPD was able to keep costs lower by expecting savings from the solar power initiative that was recently approved by the board.
“That’s a long-term project with long-term savings, but we are able to capture some of those savings in fiscal year 2020,” said Wheeler.
Wheeler also added that around $30,000 would be saved on electricity costs in 2020 thanks to converting to solar energy in 4 park district locations.
Among the increases in prices in 2020 is the Peoria Zoo, which will increase daily admission fees by $.75. Sports such as soccer, softball, tennis, and basketball will also see a slight increase in fees to participate.
A scholarship is offered for qualified families that have trouble paying the fees associated with park district resources.
“[The scholarship requirement] is actually 10% higher than [the national poverty rate]. If you apply for the scholarship, it can be applied to almost anything in our service menu,” said Wheeler.
The Board of Trustees will vote on the budget on November 20th at the next meeting.
