Report Prepared by: Michelle Reid, Recreation Supervisor
Title
SUBJECT: Approval of Department Name Change and Fee Schedule Modification
REPORT IN BRIEF
Considers the approval of department name change and fee schedule modification.
RECOMMENDATION
Recreation and Parks Commission - Adopt a motion approving the department name change and fee schedule modification.
Body
DISCUSSION
In the last 10 - 12 years, the Parks and Community Services Department has experienced transfers of the Code Enforcement Division and the Merced Community Action Network (MCAN) contract. The MCAN contract provided graffiti removal throughout the City. Much of the work of Code Enforcement and MCAN relates to community development or services, neighborhood cleanup, and beautification, all of which contribute to the "Quality of Life," in Merced.
The citizens do not always understand how "community services" relates to park development and recreation programming. As a result, staff fields calls and inquiries for social and health services, reducing time they are able to spend expanding current programming for the community.
Additionally, most parks throughout the City have the "Parks and Recreation" label on their stone markers, including the regional parks, such as McNamara Park, Rahilly Park, and Applegate Park, as well as Applegate Zoo. The differing names has occasionally caused confusion for the public when trying to locate the offices or contact staff by phone.
As a result, staff is requesting the department name be officially changed from "Parks and Community Services" to "Parks and Recreation" effective July 1, 2020.
The Parks and Community Service fees were last updated on June 2, 2008. Since then, California minimum wage has increased six times, rising from $8.00 per hour in 2008 to $13.00 per hour in 2020. The minimum is set to increase to $15.00 per hour by 2022. The result will be an hourly rate for part-time staff that has nearly doubled since the last d...
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