January 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 26

Who, What, Where & how Around the Parks

s t r ateg i e s

Special Park Districts
A creative alternative for greater
agency autonomy
By Paul Gilbert

ould you like your
agency to be indep e nde nt ? Wou ld
you like your governance board to
be committed first and foremost committed to parks? Would you like to be able to
better avoid " mission creep " ?
If these goals mesh with your agency's vision, becoming a special park district might be an option worth looking
into. At the NRPA Congress in Minnesota, this subject was explored in a session
co-led by Tom O'Rourke, executive director of the Charleston County Park District; Larry Blackstad, chairman of Three
Rivers Park District; and myself. It was
clear from the attendance and response
to the session that an increasing number
of local park and recreation systems are
looking into the option of shifting from a
department of local government to an independent agency. While not a perfect fit
for all park systems, this approach does
offer an interesting alternative.

What is a Special Park District?
Park districts are special units of government created to provide a range of
services, including open space protection, land conservation, environmental
education, leisure and other services,
as defined in their enabling legislation.
Most are established as a result of
state-enabling legislation. And most,
but not all, are primarily focused on
natural resource protection. Some of the
larger park districts are multi-jurisdictional, encompassing a number of counties and cities.

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JANUARY 2011

Unlike a local government park department, a
special park district exists as its own local government under law. So, while
a park and recreation department
may have an advisory board, the decision-making chain of command goes
from the head of the park department to
a city/county manager, and from there to
the city council or elected county government officials who control budget
and policy-making decisions. A park district or authority has an executive director that reports directly to a governance
board, either elected or appointed, that
acts to pass budgets, create policy, and
set strategic direction.

Unlike a local government
park department, a special
park district exists as its
own local government
under law.
Pros & Cons
There are over 400 park and recreation
agencies that have their own independent governance boards, and around 50
of those are multi-jurisdictional. They are
a very diverse group of agencies. Some,
like forest preserves, are purely natural resource focused, while others are
community recreation focused. Many,
as a result of their enabling legislation,
have their own taxing authority-giving

www.NRPA .ORG

them a very high degree of independence; others do not have this authority.
Given this diversity, it is difficult to define
pros and cons, but there are a few overarching differences that come from being independent.
On the positive side, a governance
board that is focused only on park issues
(as opposed to broader city or county
issues) can evaluate decisions based
purely on what is beneficial for parks.
Furthermore, if more than two jurisdictions comprise the district, the agency
is more likely to rise above the kinds of
disputes that often take place between
local governments.
There are some cons to the independent governance structure, however.
One significant drawback is that an independent park district must provide
or contract for all government services
(e.g., legal counsel, HR, retirement plans,
etc.). Also, without the organizational tie
to the local government, you may not be

January 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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