Alternative Funding Mechanisms for Public Recreation: An Analysis of the Montana State Parks Opt-Out Fee
type: CreativeWork
description: Financing remains one of the greatest challenges facing public parks and recreation managers in the United States. Managers are confronted with the challenge of providing more services for a growing population with dwindling public financial support (Fretwell and Frost, 2006). Adequate funding has been described as the most important factor in the delivery of recreation at the local level (Gladwell, Anderson, and Sellers, 2003). While public recreation funding originally came primarily from general tax revenues at the federal, state and local levels, shrinking appropriations over the last few decades have caused agency managers to experiment with alternative funding sources. Much of the focus in recent years has been the increased utilization of user fees. User fees in parks and recreation areas vary from general (entrance into parks) to specific (camping fees or boat dock fees). User fees have been shown to generate revenue and increase economic efficiency and equity, but opponents contend that they pose a disproportionate burden on low-income groups (More, 1999; Samnaliev, More, and Stevens, 2006; More and Stevens, 2000) and turn a public good meant for everybody into an excludable private good (Samnaliev, More, and Stevens, 2006). In 2003, the State of Montana took an alternative approach by enacting an opt-out fee during vehicle registration to fund state parks. Several other states, including California, Michigan, Arizona, and Washington, have experimented with a vehicle registration fee based on the Montana model. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Montana opt-out fee to determine if it is a viable alternative funding solution to increase revenue, improve efficiency, and ensure equity in the provision of public recreation. Utilizing a case study approach, the origins of the opt-out fee, including the authorizing legislation, and budgetary implications are reviewed. Since the literature on public recreation opt-out fees is limited, this analysis of th…
abstract: Financing remains one of the greatest challenges facing public parks and recreation managers in the United States. Managers are confronted with the challenge of providing more services for a growing population with dwindling public financial support (Fretwell and Frost, 2006). Adequate funding has been described as the most important factor in the delivery of recreation at the local level (Gladwell, Anderson, and Sellers, 2003). While public recreation funding originally came primarily from general tax revenues at the federal, state and local levels, shrinking appropriations over the last few decades have caused agency managers to experiment with alternative funding sources. Much of the focus in recent years has been the increased utilization of user fees. User fees in parks and recreation areas vary from general (entrance into parks) to specific (camping fees or boat dock fees). User fees have been shown to generate revenue and increase economic efficiency and equity, but opponents contend that they pose a disproportionate burden on low-income groups (More, 1999; Samnaliev, More, and Stevens, 2006; More and Stevens, 2000) and turn a public good meant for everybody into an excludable private good (Samnaliev, More, and Stevens, 2006). In 2003, the State of Montana took an alternative approach by enacting an opt-out fee during vehicle registration to fund state parks. Several other states, including California, Michigan, Arizona, and Washington, have experimented with a vehicle registration fee based on the Montana model. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Montana opt-out fee to determine if it is a viable alternative funding solution to increase revenue, improve efficiency, and ensure equity in the provision of public recreation. Utilizing a case study approach, the origins of the opt-out fee, including the authorizing legislation, and budgetary implications are reviewed. Since the literature on public recreation opt-out fees is limited, this analysis of th…
author: Judy, Caleb
keywords: Public Administration
date published: 2010-04-01T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:42:33Z
provider: Kennesaw State University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Kennesaw State University