Eric, I should have requested the financials first. I just made a request of the park district's financial report under the Freedom of Information Act by email. I will review it and get my questions anwered that way. If you want I will send you comments on what I find. It seems to me that if any taxes are collected and provided to the park district then they must support the programs to some degree. So the only way they could be break even, or be profitable is if they cover all of their prorated costs. The simplest answer would be that the park district does not use any tax money, but I doubt that.. Let me know if you want further comments from me after I see the financials..

Ray

Ray,
Your question asked about programs. Recreation programs are generally not subsidized. From what I learned in my undergraduate work and my 3+ years working full-time in the recreation field, taxes are generally (not always) used to pay for land acquisition and building and park maintenance. This would include your parks or building and grounds workers and yes possibly your higher administration jobs. The ones that don't bring in any revenue. Most recreation supervisors or people working in revenue generating positions will have their salaries covered by the profit made in the fees for service programs or revenue generating facilities (i.e. Pelican Harbor and Bougton Ridge GC). Some park districts work differently. I did work for 5 summers at the Bolingbrok Park District. If you have any other questions, let me know.