June 17, 2011 -- The latest plan by the Democrats on the Board of Legislators to change the fee structure at Playland Amusement Park for non-riders remains "financially and operationally irresponsible and fundamentally unfair" and will be vetoed, said County Executive Robert P. Astorino.
"For the Democrats on the board to change Playland's pricing structure after the amusement park has been open for a month and to eliminate a substantial source of revenue is financially and operationally irresponsible," Astorino said. "What's more, their plan is fundamentally unfair because it shifts the cost burden from patrons who use the amusement park to taxpayers who don't."
The Playland Amusement Park typically loses $3 million to $5 million a year. In 2009, former County Executive Andrew J. Spano initiated a spectator fee of $3 for county residents and $5 for non-residents. This fee is charged to patrons who don't buy an unlimited ride ticket when they come into the amusement park. The rationale was to create a less expensive option for patrons who don't plan to go on any rides but do use the amusement park's other facilities, while at the same time giving the county a source of revenue to cover the costs of non-riding patrons.
As part of the 2011 budget, Democrats and Republicans agreed unanimously to raise the spectator fee to $5 for residents and $10 for non-residents as a way of stemming the losses at the amusement park. Over the last month, the Democrats have twice passed bills on their own to change the December budget agreement.
Astorino successfully vetoed the first proposal, which called for eliminating the spectator fee for residents and lowering it to $5 for non-residents. Implementing that plan would have cost the county as much as $1 million in lost revenues.
The latest plan again calls for no charge for residents and $10 charge for non-residents. The lost revenues associated with that plan, which were calculated by the county's Budget Department as part of its fiscal analysis of the legislation, are projected at $377,000. Overall, the county already projects a budget gap for the government of about $100 million for next year.
"The question is: where is the money going to come from?" said Astorino. "Do we take it out of the Bee-Line buses or Social Services or Public Safety? It has to come from somewhere. Fees are the fairest way to pay for non-essential services. If people want to play golf, we charge them. If people want to go to our pools, we charge them, whether they go in the water or not because they are taking advantage of the facilities. Someone has to pay for the services and the fairest way is to charge those who use them. This is not a double tax on taxpayers, as the Democrats contend."
Astorino emphasized that the spectator fee only applies to the amusement park. Playland's boardwalk, seaside walk and the Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary are still open and free to the public.
In announcing his plans to veto the latest proposal from the board, Astorino rejected the Democrats' argument that the lost revenue will be recouped by attracting more people to the park to spend money and that county residents (who pay taxes) should not have to pay to use the park.
"Letting people in for free and making up the cost on volume is just a mirage," Astorino said. "The Democrats have provided no objective data to suggest revenues will increase."
According to the analysis by the county's Parks Department, the county receives an average of only 96 cents in additional revenue in ride fees from patrons who enter the park with spectator passes. That means 370,000 spectator patrons would have to come to the park just to make up for the lost revenue. Last year, total attendance was only 494,000. And that doesn't include extra expenses associated with larger numbers of patrons.
In addition, Astorino rejected a proposal from Legislator John Nonna of Pleasantville that fireworks be eliminated at the park to save money. This, he said, would lead to fewer people at the park and even bigger deficits and possible litigation from the county's fireworks vendor.
"Fireworks are one of the main reasons why people come to the amusement park," said Astorino. "Attendance goes up 15 percent on the days we have fireworks and on July 3rd and 4th, – traditionally two of our busiest days – it's probably the main reason people come to Playland. Eliminating fireworks would be like saying the Dragon Coaster is closed. It would be a disaster for attendance."
The spectator fees that are included in the county's 2011 budget ($5 for residents and $10 for nonresidents) remain in place for now. After Astorino's veto, it will then be up to the board to either sustain or override that veto. Twelve votes are necessary to override a veto.
"This is an example of the problems with any party having a super majority," said Astorino. "There needs to be a check on actions that are not thought through and are not in the best interest of the county at large."