Garbage pick-up, public safety, water, and sewer have gone the way of regionalization, with the rise of shared services in some Metro Detroit communities. Rarer still are the sharing of recreation departments, but the cities of Eastpointe and Roseville see sharing theirs as a way to save money and improve quality.
"We thought this was kind of contemporary," says Eastpointe City Manager Steve Duchane, who says the Michigan Parks & Recreation Department has no record of other cities combining recreation services.
The neighboring cities have formed a recreation authority that would oversee all that the two cities' recreation departments offer: senior activities, sports, and enrichment classes.
If the authority is to have any authority, however, voters in the two Macomb County cities must approve a 20-year assessment of 1 mill, or about $35 in taxes a year for a home with an equalized value of $35,000 -- half of market value. The election is Nov. 8.
If voters reject it, the cities will cease recreation services at the beginning of the year, when the money runs out.
"This has been a very difficult decision for the city council," Duchane says.
"You don't think of joining forces until you're in a financial situation," he says. "Both departments are already combining on some things…So it's logical to share services more formally. Each one running a smaller program is more inefficient."
In addition to sharing programming, the cities would share one main recreation center, the one currently in Roseville at 11 Mile and Gratiot. Eastpointe's current center is at 8 Mile and Gratiot.
"It's actually more centrally located, and this would logically let us have one bigger, better center." Even though a recreation center isn't typically a targeted area for combining services, Duchane expects to see more of it.
"I think it's an evolutionary process," he says. "There's already sharing of service, mutual aid. Recreation is just not the first thing people have thought of."
"It's a different twist. I don't think people are opposed to it… .It's just something different, something you don't think about until you're in a financial situation that makes you think about it."
Source: Steve Duchane, Eastpointe city manager
Writer: Kim North Shine
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