Cost of Service and Fee Studies for Parks & Recreation
Know what a member actually costs you, and what you can defend charging.
Erick Gamez, Founder
Know what a member actually costs you, and what you can defend charging.
“We haven’t touched our membership rates in six years and we know we’re underwater.”
“We can’t tell you what one member costs us once you load in staff, facility, and overhead.”
“Council is going to ask for the analysis, and right now the answer is a spreadsheet nobody wants to defend in public.”
“We’re not sure if we should raise the rate or restructure the tiers.”
Program-level accounting your finance team and your board can both read, with the allocation logic documented rather than assumed.
Fully loaded cost per member and per program, including staff, facility, utilities, maintenance reserve, and administrative overhead, set against what each brings in.
Cost recovery targets by benefit band, plus pricing scenarios with breakeven attrition, so the recommendation holds up at the council meeting.
Fully loaded cost per member and per program, including direct staffing, facility allocation, utilities, maintenance reserve, and administrative overhead, compared with the revenue each brings in.
Each program and membership tier grouped by who benefits, with a target recovery percentage for each band. We use your numbers and a framework your board can follow.
Three to five pricing scenarios, each with its breakeven attrition: how many members you could lose at that price while still covering the cost. We also model options such as resident and non-resident rates, peak and off-peak rates, family tiers, and annual or monthly billing.
Monthly close, program-level P&L, and budget support for agencies and facilities without a finance department of their own.
We start with three years of membership counts and revenue by tier, monthly churn, the current fee schedule, the facility or program budget, and hourly utilization data. If information is missing, we address it at the start of the engagement.
We construct the fully loaded cost per member and per program and show you the allocation logic, so the method holds up when someone asks how you got there.
Rates at comparable agencies and at the private alternatives your members would switch to, then the pricing scenarios with breakeven attrition for each.
A written report your team can put in front of a board or council, and, if you want it, we present it.
Fee changes at a public agency have a timing component as well as an analysis component. Arizona municipalities must meet advance notice requirements before a governing body can vote on a new or increased fee, and the schedule ties to your fiscal year. We build the calendar backward from your adoption date so the analysis is ready in time. We are not your attorney, and we will tell you when a question needs legal advice.
Bring us the fee schedule you have been meaning to revisit. We will tell you what a member really costs and what you can defend charging.
Bring us the fee schedule you have been meaning to revisit. We will tell you what a member really costs and what you can defend charging. We will get back to you within one business day. You can also text or call (480) 430-2772.
Rather just talk it through?
Book a Free Intro CallSkip the form and grab a time on our calendar that works for you.