Health & Fitness
Shelby Township PRM expands services with $871,026 in savings following consultant investment
Despite five fewer employees and more than $800K in budget reductions, Shelby Township Parks, Recreation and Maintenance has expanded services.
Despite five fewer employees and more than $800,000 in budget reductions, the Shelby Township Parks, Recreation and Maintenance Department has expanded services thanks in part to the business model set by Mark Nottley of Municipal Consulting Services in 2010.
At the April 16 Shelby Township Board of Trustees meeting, Shelby Township Parks, Recreation and Maintenance Director Joe Youngblood will break down how his department reduced annual costs by more than $400,000 while adding more programs in youth sports, expanding the parks system and maintaining the township’s stellar facilities.
“The programming and facilities we have, because of our Parks, Recreation and Maintenance Department, are unlike any in Macomb County,” Township Supervisor Rick Stathakis said.
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“From our first-rate youth sports programming to the beautiful parks and township grounds, Director Joe Youngblood and his employees are a major part of what makes Shelby Township a great place for families.”
Youngblood will highlight how the Nottley Report helped reduce costs by streamlining his department’s staff for an annual savings of $290,342. And those recommended changes were furthered by Youngblood, who implemented departmental changes for an additional annual savings of $113,858, for a total annual savings of $404,200.
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“With our employees buying in and implementing the plan, we’ve realized an $856,026 return on the $15,000 investment the township made in the PRM Nottley Report,” Youngblood said.
“And by streamlining our staff, we actually offer more programs like, our new lacrosse leagues, enhanced others, such as adding a second baseball season to accommodate more than 1,000 players, and expanded our infrastructure.”
That expanded infrastructure includes the new Chief Gene Shepherd Park, new dugouts at Lombardo and Woodall parks, new state-of-the-art basketball courts at Mae Stecker Park and more than eight miles of new hike and bike trails in River Bends Park.
“Our Parks, Recreation and Maintenance programming and services are part of why Shelby Township is the crown jewel of Macomb County, and they keep getting better,” Stathakis said.
