Increase in youth program fees

WAUPACA – The youth program in the City of Waupaca and neighboring townships will see a slight increase in funding due to an adjustment for the cost of living.
Representatives from the Townships of Dayton, Waupaca and Farmington, along with the Waupaca Parks and Recreation Department and the Finance Department reviewed methods for sustainable funding for youth programming this past July, said Laura Colbert, the parks and recreation director, in a memo presented to the City Council.
The formula that had long been used to determine youth program fees did not account for the rise in the cost of living.
The memo from Colbert went on to state: “This collaborative decision reflects our shared commitment to providing reliable funding for youth programming, maintaining equity across participating municipalities, ensuring fiscal participation. We believe this approach will strengthen the long-term sustainability of youth programs and provide clarity for future budgeting processes.”
The current fee is $16.86 per resident, which had remained unchanged for a number of years.

“We’re increasing by cost of living and this is good practice so that we don’t ask them for thousands of dollars down the road to bring it back up to where we need to offset our costs,” Colbert said at the Oct. 7 city council meeting.
The townships agreed to the increase as long as the participation numbers continue to grow in each township and that they are paying equal to what the city is contributing.
They will also be meeting in July before budgetary meetings to ensure that the fees associated are reviewed and adjusted as needed.
The increase will bring the cost to $17.96 per resident in each of the townships, which was found using the new formula that accounts for inflationary change.
The rate will be decided for the next year based on the status of the previous year’s inflation factor and ensuring the funding reflects inflationary changes.