Youth services ask: restore coordinator post, extend CCE outreach funding and modest local increases

Kate Shanks Booth and Teresa Albert presented the youth services and recreation partnership budgets to the Expanded Budget Committee on Sept. 18, asking the legislature to restore a lost coordinator position and convert a one‑time Cooperative Extension enhancement into a permanent allocation.
Why it matters: Youth services argued that the department’s current workload will increase when Deputy Director Teresa Albert retires (June 2026) and that restoring a Coordinator of Community Youth Services will distribute workload, preserve technical assistance to municipal youth commissions and maintain grant and agency oversight.
Staffing request and costs: The department said the total salary and fringe for the position is about $112,124 and that internal savings identified by the department reduce the new‑cost ask to $98,639. The department proposed offsetting about $13,500 from internal savings and requested the remaining $98,639 from the county.
Urban Outreach and funded agencies: The department also requested that $30,000 awarded for a two‑year Cooperative Extension (CCE) Urban Outreach program be returned to target as ongoing funding after the program grew from roughly 4 participants in 2023 to 54 in 2024 and had served 45 students by mid‑2025. Youth Services requested a 3% local increase for funded agencies and municipal partners to help cover rising costs.
Recreation Partnership: County administration recommended funding the Recreation Partnership’s contractual increase driven by minimum‑wage changes; the partnership reported over 7,000 individual registrations in 2024, exceeding pre‑COVID participation.
What’s next: Committee members asked for documentation of agencies funded, and department staff said they would send a list. County administration noted a discrepancy between the department’s requested numbers and the administration recommendation and clarified the recommended amount should be $98,639 after internal offsets.
Ending: Youth Services emphasized that restoring the coordinator post would stabilize service delivery across municipal partners and funded agencies and would help with grant management and regional collaborations.