With four spacious parks, each offering its own unique amenities, and numerous recreation programs for people of all ages and interests, the Oxford Twp. Parks and Recreation Department has a lot to be proud of.
‘I couldn’t ask for a better place to work in,? said Director Ron Davis. ‘We’re really fortunate to have a community that supports us like they do. But we don’t take it for granted.?
Despite his department’s good reputation, Davis won’t just assume his proposed millage renewal is going to automatically pass during the Aug. 5 primary election.
‘I think apathy’s a big problem. Not just in this community, but across the board ? just getting people out to the polls,? he said. ‘People can’t take it for granted that it’s going to pass. If we do, then it may not pass.?
The department is seeking a renewal ? no increase ? of 0.8538 mills to be levied for 10 years beginning in December 2010 and ending with the December 2019 levy.
‘I understand it’s a bad time, but we didn’t know a year ago (when the decision was made to place it on the ballot) that the economy was going to be this bad,? Davis said.
Although the current millage expires with the December 2009 tax levy, Davis wanted time to regroup ‘just in case (the renewal) doesn’t pass.?
‘I wanted to have a 12-month period as a buffer to try to get it passed again,? he explained. ‘I didn’t want to take things for granted and expect that people we’re going to pass it next year.?
The millage represents approximately 52 percent of the department’s overall budget.
‘It’s everything,? Davis said. ‘If it doesn’t pass, you can close the doors and that’s it. If we don’t have this millage, we would fall under the general fund and we all know the financial condition of the township. Parks and rec. would be the last thing they would fund.?
‘The parks and rec. would be obsolete. It would be done. There’d be no parks and rec.?
The other roughly 48 percent of the department’s budget is derived from revenue sources such as pavilion rentals and user fees for various programs.
Over the last five years, the department’s registered more than 40,000 people in its programs from not just Oxford, but Romeo, Flint, Lake Orion, Clarkston and Davison.
‘We recruit from probably a 45-50 miles radius,? Davis said. ‘People come from all over because some of our programs are so unique. Our department offers just as much as Southfield or Troy. It’s amazing what we do with what we have to work with.?
Davis wished to stress to voters that this millage proposal in no way represents any kind of tax increase. It’s simply a straight renewal of what the department has been receiving.
‘It’s our goal to work within our means and I think we’ve done that,? he said. ‘That’s why I didn’t want to go for an increase. Let’s get what (the voters have) supported. Let’s not be greedy.?
Financially, Davis said his department is in ‘good shape? and always responsible.
‘We’ve made some cutbacks here, but it hasn’t affected the quality of our programs or what the people expect in our parks when they show up,? he said. ‘We don’t spend anymore than we have. We work with what we have.?
Davis noted the parks and rec. millage is lower than all the township’s other millages, which include police, fire, library and operating.
‘And I would say we’re just as important,? he said. ‘When people come to our community to buy a house or start a family here, the two things they look at are schools and parks. They don’t look at police, fire, sewer, water or library, it’s parks and rec.?
Losing the parks and rec. department would be detrimental to the community, in Davis? opinion.
‘If you don’t think the parks and rec. is important, look at the communities that lost theirs,? he said. ‘All they’ve done is increase their police force.?
Davis was referring to increases in vandalism and other crimes committed by juveniles with nothing to do.
‘You cut us out and watch what happens,? he said. ‘That’s not a threat. That’s just a reality.?
Parks and rec. plays a ‘huge role? in social, family and health issues, according to Davis.
‘We are a key part of this community,? he said. ‘I just hope everybody else sees it that way when they go to the polls.?
Davis noted that should his department ever close due to an inability to get a millage passed, people should not automatically assume that it can be brought back to life when the economic times are good again.
‘Once it’s cut out, it’s heck getting back,? he said. ‘It’s like anything else in life, once you give something up, it’s tough to get it back.?