Overview of Operations

The Park District serves all people of every age and ability. The District serves a population of 212,497 with 85,815 households residing within the Park District boundaries.

Property taxes from homeowners and businesses make up half of the revenue of the operating funds for the Park District (55%). Fees paid for services (like golf, ice skating, swimming, camps, etc.) make up 35%. Because the District is a public taxing body, we are obligated to provide services to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay fees. The remainder (10%)comes from other  sources like grants, donations, sponsorships, and advertising.

Property taxpayers are called the "owners" of the Park District, and the communities of Rockford, Loves Park, New Milford, and parts of Cherry Valley and unincorporated areas of Boone and Winnebago Counties within the boundaries are residents of the Park District. As such, they are entitled to resident discounts on most recreation fees because they contribute to the District through their property taxes.
 
About 7 cents out of each tax dollar collected goes to the Rockford Park District.

The first tangible benefit is maintaining strong property values. You have already discovered the many personal as well as community-wide benefits.

Resident fees are discounted in most cases, with non-residents paying up to 50% more for admissions to facilities, lesson programs, and golf rounds.
 
Only residents can qualify for Fun For All Kids, a sliding scale subsidy program for families to participate in fee charging programs and facility admissions at a reduced cost. The same income guidelines are used to determine eligibility for fee assistance as those used by the Federal Government and school districts to provide free or reduced-cost lunch, and families provide income documentation and proof of residency. Subsidy levels are 50% and 75% with the head of household contributing the remainder. There is a cap on the annual amount a family can access.
 
There is a multitude of free services provided by the Rockford Park District. Many thousands of people enjoy the Music in the Park summer concert series, public gardens, parks and recreation paths, playgrounds, entertainment and cultural events. The museums are all open one day a week for free admission to visitors. Harkins Aquatic Center is open free of charge for residents. 

A resident is defined as one who either resides, or personally owns real estate within the Rockford Park District. If your residency is in question, you can bring in a copy of your tax statement for verification when registering to receive the resident discount. The tax statement would indicate "Rockford Park and Bond" to be eligible for the discount. The Customer Service department has the ability to electronically identify new developments through the Winnebago County Assessor's office.

If you reside within the Park District boundaries, you are considered a resident and are entitled to the resident discount.

Non-residents (visitors, tourists, those living outside the Rockford Park District boundaries) are welcome to participate in programs and services at the regular fee. You may be asked to provide proper identification in order to receive a resident discount at facilities charging admission.

For programs and services requiring registration, the Park District has 75% participation from residents, and 25% from non-residents. These non-resident participants come from nearby communities (within 20 miles), primarily Winnebago and Boone counties.

• Aldeen Golf Club and Practice Centre
• Elliot Golf Course and Driving Range
• Ingersoll Golf Course and Learning Links
• Sandy Hollow Golf Course
• Sinnissippi Golf Course (9 holes)

Full time, year around employees number 177. These employees take care of parks, work in security, maintain equipment and buildings, perform office functions such as collecting money and paying bills, hiring and training of staff, communications and promotion, computer support, and registering customers.
 
The Park District is one of the area's major employers during summer months, hiring about 1,300 seasonal employees. Many of these workers are retirees working at golf courses from April through October. There are also college and high school students and teachers working at swimming pools, Magic Waters, camps, playground and sports programs, a variety of special events, security, and park maintenance.
 
The full time employees support, supervise and direct the efforts of the seasonal employees, who make up most of the front-line workers delivering service to customers, most often paid minimum wages.