Elgin parks programs goes online
Remember how, four times a year, the Elgin Parks and Recreation Department seasonal brochure would appear on your front stoop or driveway or be attached to your doorknob?
Those days are gone.
In an effort to go green and save money, the city is cutting back on its quarterly mass deliveries to 35,000 households and instead putting the brochure on the city's Web site, cityofelgin.org.
In late February, when the spring brochure for recreation programs normally arrives, residents instead will receive a postcard informing them of the change and directing them to browse the online catalog and sign up for spring programs.
The move is another way the city hopes to shave costs - in this case $70,000 a year - in light of its budget woes.
It also dovetails with the city's ongoing effort to become more "green."
"The brochure keeps getting bigger and bigger. Most people are probably only interested in three or four pages in there, depending on their ages," said Randy Reopelle, director of the city's parks and recreation department. "We print up a lot of these that probably don't get viewed by people, to be perfectly honest."
The city instead will print up about 15,000 brochures, which hover around 70 to 80 pages, that can be picked up at city hall, the Centre, the Eastside Recreation Center, or the Gail Borden Public Library.
City spokeswoman Sue Olafson said the move will save 50 percent on the overall cost of printing, design and distribution.
The city, like many other municipalities, is facing a budget crunch during these tough economic times as revenues have dipped from property taxes, sales tax and a share of the state income taxes.
For example, sales tax revenues are down $1 million compared to last year.
"It's also about sustainability, printing only what's necessary," Olafson added. "There's a huge green effort underway here at the city."
Olafson said research shows that about 4,100 customers each season sign up for parks and recreation programs. Those users typically are younger parents who have access to the Internet.
"We're trying to streamline some work and make it more efficient and convenient for residents," Olafson said.