Keith Greene, chairman of the Catoosa County CommissionCatoosa County, Ga., officials met with leaders of local recreation leagues Monday night to discuss forming an advisory committee that could help the county spend recreation funds more responsibly and standardize play.
Attendees included County Manager Mike Helton, County Commission Chairman Keith Greene and the presidents of the county’s three recreational leagues.
“Right now there’s a lot of disconnect in how we operate,” Greene said. “The only way we can make the county better as a whole is to work together. What I want is to create a collaboration between the county and the leagues.”
Right now, the county contributes $15,000 annually to each league. The leagues oversee sports including baseball, football and basketball. However, the leagues say that amount sometimes doesn’t even cover their utility bills.
Most of their funding comes from the state’s special local option sales tax, which awards each league $500,000 every five years. After being cleared by the county, leagues can put this money toward operations and facility upkeep, and what remains can be spent on improvements and additions to their parks.