A $15 increase in registration fees to participate in sports at the Brantley County Recreation Department caught many in the community off guard.
County Manager Joey Cason discussed the reasoning during the Tuesday, February 4 county commission meeting.
“We’re doing this to do away with gate fees so taxpayers will not be paying to use their facilities every time they go watch games,” said Cason. “We’re also eliminating the cost of having two teenage kids sit at the gate, which was about $2,700 last year. When we host tournaments (GRPA — Georgia Recreation and Parks Association), though, we would have a gate fee because that would help offset the cost of the officials.”
By eliminating the gate fee, officials opted for the registration fee increase. Currently, the coach and son/daughter are admitted free of charge. Husbands/wives of the coaches and grandparents pay $2. The cost for children is $1.
“Right now for basketball, it is costing the recreation department $256.98 per child to play in direct cost,” said Cason. “The $45 registration fee is basically 17% of the cost to play on direct cost. This isn’t stuff going on during the week at the rec office with the secretary taking phone calls or this team’s canceling and all of that type of stuff.
“Brantley County taxpayers are subsidizing that. The national average recommended by National Parks and Recreation is 24.6%, so we’re well under the national average on that as far as our fees are concerned.”
The new cost went into effect for baseball/softball sign ups. Many families are asking for discounts for multiple children playing.
“I’m meeting with the advisory board to talk about that,” said Cason. “I should have a recommendation for the board when we come back in March concerning if we’re going to offer any kind of discounts in the future for multiple children.”
