From the Daily Journal:
Take your pooch to a dog park in Johnson County, and it’s likely that user fees paid for all or part of the cost.
Local parks departments increasingly rely on fees as tax dollars have dwindled in recent years. The departments are making up for fewer tax dollars with the money that you pay to swim, play in a softball league or take a fitness class.
Your property taxes may be down or at least steady because of the property-tax caps. Parks departments hope you’re willing to pay extra to let Fido run around a fenced-off park or to get an individualized swim lesson.
They’re using fees to build new dog parks, fix up sports fields and pay for general operating expenses. In Franklin, user fees pay for nearly half of the parks department’s $1.8 million budget, compared to less than a third of the budget five years ago.
http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/local_story/User_fees_are_filling_money_ga_1334280789/
