Page 331 - FortWorthFY22AdoptedBudget

Horizon Issues

Parks and Recreation
The park inventory will continue to increase with the continuous growth of the City. Due to numerous challenges
related to quality and reliability of service provided by contractors, the Park & Recreation Department may need
to consider the option of bringing a portion or all of the contract mowing in-house, which would result in increased
costs.

There is no identified maintenance funding for the three Panther Island Bridges, which include enhanced
landscaping and irrigation. These areas were planned to be maintained by a Public Improvement District (PID),
but the PID has not been established yet. PARD will assume the maintenance responsibility until the PID is
established.

Equipment repair costs continue to be high due to aging fleet in the Park Operations Division. Extended repair
time associated with older equipment adversely impacts productivity. The Park Operations Division struggles to
maintain routine maintenance duties while repairs are being completed. Additionally, there are large mowers
which have been neither operable nor repairable for two mow seasons, causing the Division to resort to renting
smaller mowers to make up for the deficiency. The use of smaller mowers has caused productivity to drop by up
to 67% in some areas, resulting in increased labor hours to complete mowing tasks. As such, there are increases
in equipment rental and overtime costs.

As put forth in the 2020 Park, Recreation & Open Space Master Plan, goals include providing new parkland and
facilities to meet park, recreation, and open space needs in developing and redeveloping areas of the City.

The provision of special and traditional-use facilities to meet growing customer expectations, while achieving
equitable service delivery for a diverse demographic population, will require deliberate emphasis and policy focus.

While program participation and attendance for outdoor activities are on the rise, the long-term effects of COVID-
19 on venue revenue and attendance, facility program participation, adult programming for indoor sports, and
youth sports participation are still unknown. It is likely that predominantly indoor programs, such as Summer Day
Camp, After School Program, classes, Youth Sports, and contract instructor programs, may see a decline for
another year.

There is also an anticipated decline in group tours due to field trip elimination by schools, and a decline in tourism
(especially international and interstate) for at least a year for special use facilities.

Planning and Data Analytics
The Planning & Data Analytics Department will continue to implement and enhance existing technology. The
Department is focusing on the development and implementation of a citywide data strategy that will allow the
City to advance its analytical capabilities which include technical training, system enhancement, performance
measurement, data integrity, and enhanced data integration across departments.

Appraisal district costs, primarily Tarrant and Denton counties, will continue to increase due to payroll costs and
appraisal review board compensation.

The Lean Leader training process is very hands-on and does not lend itself to virtual platforms. Thus, the Lean
Leader process improvement training has been eliminated for the near future due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The
program will be revisited in a new format during the next fiscal year.

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