Revenue Shortfalls Mean The Time Has Come To Discontinue The Arboretum Fee

KEEP ARBORETUM FREE.ORG

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REVENUE SHORTFALLS MEAN THE TIME HAS COME
TO DISCONTINUE THE ARBORETUM FEE

February 25, 2011: New information from the Recreation and Park Department (RPD) reveals that the non-resident fee at the Arboretum and Botanical Garden is performing poorly compared to expectations. Given the devastating impact of this fee on non-resident attendance, the facts argue it is time to discontinue the fee and provide support for ordinance #110113 currently sponsored by Supervisors Avalos, Mirkarimi, Mar, Kim and Campos.

The Arboretum, now named the Botanical Garden at the Strybing Arboretum, was established by Helene Strybing as a gift to the City and was free for nearly 70 years until Mayor Newsom’s RPD directors, pushed to establish a fee for all as a means of turning the 55 acres of Golden Gate Park into a tourist revenue-generating destination.

Contrary to RPD director Phil Ginsburg's claim that the non-resident fee was initiated in 2010 as a pilot program, the initial effort to establish the fee was by then director Jared Blumenfeld in 2009 when it failed to gain support and was rejected by the Supervisors of the Budget Committee. It was at this point that Mr. Blumenfeld informed the Rec & Park Commission that, "We will start by charging non-residents."

In 2010, new director Phil Ginsburg re-introduced the non-resident fee in the midst of a fiscal crisis and tied it to firing gardeners from the Arboretum, claiming that it would generate $650,000 of revenue and $250,000 of net income. It was intended to be permanent until Supervisor Avalos, with support from his colleagues on the Board, introduced amendments demanded by citizens active in keeping the Arboretum Free that included a clause to ‘sunset’ the fee on June 30, 2011, and also allowing it to be eliminated by authority of law if new tax money was adopted which could be used by RPD at the Botanical Garden for operations and maintenance. This latter amendment led to Supervisor Avalos introducing ordinance #110113, to be heard shortly before the Budget & Finance Committee that can terminate the fee as soon as March 17, 2011.

Also contrary to Mr. Ginsburg’s recent claim that the fee was partially intended to support recreation directors, the RPD fired 166 recreation and assistant recreation directors (average pay $37,000/year) in August 2010, after the fee was passed by the Board, and then hired seven property managers and other senior managers at salaries of $125,000/year.

The fee has fared poorly: Analysis of gate returns suggest that the fee program is falling short. Now, RPD Director Ginsberg estimates that about $405,000 can be generated this year – a roughly 38% shortfall from the $650,000 promised. Mr. Ginsburg proposes to still deliver $250,000 of income, but this figure is a result of unsustainable accounting maneuvers such as counting capital costs and membership dues towards the fee program’s bottom line. By using accounting gimmicks and not reflecting the true costs of operating the fee program, RPD’s forecasts appear disingenuous. San Francisco law-makers are urged to consider the facts about the fee and not the failed promise and financial maneuverings of the RPD.

The impact of the fee has been harsh: Gate counts also suggest that non-resident visitation is down 70% from the pre-fee estimates the RPD was using. The severe drop in non-resident attendance means that many Bay Area visitors are permanently turned-off from the Arboretum. Resident attendance is also down with many visitors comparing the inside of the garden with a tomb. Hours of operation are down to 10am to 4pm since operating the gates now costs money - prior to the fee, gates were often open at 8am, and closed very late afternoon. All this is a grave disservice to the legacy of the Arboretum, to the citizens of San Francisco and to all who visit our city.

To maintain this misguided fee program is harmful: RPD’s forecasts regarding the fee have proven unreliable and to again depend on them to formulate policy would be careless. Our Mayor and Supervisors must direct the RPD to find a solution that keeps the Arboretum free and open to all as before and reverse the goal of converting it to a revenue-generating tourist attraction. The Arboretum is a special public garden occupying 5.5% of the Golden Gate Park and has been operated free for 70 years. The financial benefit of the fee is too little and the harm to the Arboretum is too great to follow RPD’s goal of making this under-performing fee program permanent. Eventually, RPD’s goal is to institute fees for all – including residents.

Keep Arboretum Free urges RPD, the Mayor and our Supervisors to work with the community to reverse the fee and find sustainable sources of funding for the RPD. A first step would be to implement ordinance 110113 to remove the fee program and halt the damage being done to the Arboretum.###

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