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Fees for Parks, Events Set to Increase

by ARLnow.com | February 25, 2013 at 4:05 pm | 877 views | 27 Comments

Fees could soon be going up on bocce players, race runners and adult sports competitors in Arlington.

Along with advertising a property tax increase, the Arlington County Board on Saturday voted to advertise new parks and police fees. Among them:

New $100 per team adult sports league surcharge, to go to county’s Field Fund
New $10/hour bocce court rental fee
Tennis rental fee increase from $5 to $10/hour
Baseball and multi-use field rental fee increase of $5/hour. New rates range from $35 to $130/hour
Trail event permit fee increase from $50 to $150 (impacts trail races)
Police special event per-officer special event fee increase from $50 to $60/hour (impacts road races, etc.)
Enjoy Arlington non-resident fee increase from $10 to $20/class

If included in the final FY 2014 budget, the county expects the parks fee increases to generate an additional $158,188 in revenue, and the police fee increase to generate an additional $110,000.

novasteve

The county can make even more in revenues if they appraise my car for more than they did last year too. I think for the first time in recorded history a car went up in value during last years tax season.
- FATKIDSPECIAL
  
  you get some rimmmmmmmmmmmmmsssssssss?
grumpycat

GOOD
- Rob
  
  Indeed. I’m all for this type of revenue acquisition.
Bad Bocce Boys of Bluemont

The right to bocce is constitutionally guaranteed……this will lead to a revolt !!!

You do not want to mess with The Bad Bocce Boys of Bluemont…..
- DCBuff
  
  Damn those bocce-haters!
jim

Great! the people who use the services should pay for them.
- FATKIDSPECIAL
  
  okay, then the people with kids should be responsible for schools.
  - jim
    
    i actually completely agree… but i’m not going to win that battle.
    - FATKIDSPECIAL
      
      unfortunately, point i’m trying to make is that a la carte government doesn’t work. the team/field fees hits 20-30 somethings the hardest, a group already paying way more into the system than they’re taking.
      - Igor
        
        Those 20-30′s also have the most earning potential of any group and should be able to pay more. Stop being spoiled.
      - FATKIDSPECIAL
        
        so you’re arguing for a regressive fee/tax to implement a progressive philosophy? if you want to distribute the cost by users means, which is not a terrible idea, you do it through property and income taxes.
    - drax
      
      And people who are getting mugged should be responsible for the police!
      And people who whose homes are on fire should be responsible for firefighters!
      And more nonsense.
novasteve

As a protest to these fees, the arlington community should strive to get fatter as the county wants to tax good health activities!
- jane
  
  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001935/
Rory14

I don’t have a problem with these fees. They target those who use the services, as opposed to taxing everyone.
On the other hand, politicians usually resort to fee raising in order to get some revenue without having to raise taxes (which is never popular). Our board is so forward looking it is doing both at the same time! Bravo.
- novasteve
  
  Nothing smarter than taxing those who exercise. Must be reverse psychology
http://www.facebook.com/mickey644 Mickey Coe

PIA fees are nothing but an aggravation to taxpayers….
- ph7
  
  It does eliminate overcrowding of park resources. Kind of like congestion tolling on the Hot Lanes. Only downside (aside from aggravation, as you mention) is it can exclude the poor, because, from a health and public policy standpoint, a kid shouldn’t be excluded from using public tennis court because his immigrant parents are poor. Maybe they have a discount card for the poor – I hope so. Kids not engaged in sports will impose a tax on citizens one way or another, through idle disciplinary problems, health burden caused by inactives, etc.
  - Becoming Indifferent
    
    You can’t have everything.
FATKIDSPECIAL

that lazy river seems like a better idea every day….
Sin Nick

The PDF on police off-duty fees linked in the article has this intriguing addendum way at the bottom, in a chart:
“Up to a $4,000 waiver is available for certain groups.”
Awfully coy. Why not name which groups? Or what would qualify a group for the waiver?
Becoming Indifferent

The hits just keep coming!
drax

They need to build bocce courts all over the county and bring in lots of revenue.
Dirk

I used to play softball in the county… the fields suck!!!! Rocks everywhere, low lighting, etc… The staff you had to deal with was equally as bad. FFX and Loudoun have way better leagues….
LocalPollo

If i wanted to pay to use this stuff i would have joined the country club. aw well I’ll just get fat
8 mile

How about they turn off the lights at Long Bridge when no one is using them? No need to have those fields lighted at such a high cost only for 5-10 guys to play pickup soccer.

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