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BACKGROUND For more than 20 years, the City has provided a Recreation Fee Assistance Program to enable eligible Pleasanton residents to receive financial assistance to offset costs to participate in the City's recreation programs and activities. At its inception, the program focused on low-income seniors and youth with an average of 30 applicants approved annually and a total City allocation of approximately $7,000. This program was recommended and is periodically reviewed by the Human Services Commission, and over the years the Fee Assistance Program has grown significantly in participation and funding. The Fiscal Year 2022/23 program had an annual budget of$30,000 and included the criteria outlined below. Eligibility: 1. Must provide proof of Pleasanton residency, living within Pleasanton's city limits (i.e., PG&E bill, water or garbage bill, rental agreement, etc.) 2. Must provide proof of additional assistance (i.e., school-lunch program letter, CalFresh, CARE Credit, FERA Program, CA Life-Line Program, California Head Start Letter, Medi-Cal eligibility letter, Social Security Statement with a Bank Statement, etc.). Maximum Allocation: • $250 per single household • $500 per family per household of two or more Co-Payment: • 25% of class/program fees required Residents signing up for City recreational classes and activities may do so online; however, residents who qualify for fee assistance are required to call the Library and Recreation Department rather than registering online. This often prevents fee assistance participants from accessing the high demand classes since online registration tends to fill up classes more quickly. Additionally, the 25 percent contribution can be a barrier for some residents who are most in need of financial assistance, and the $500 maximum allocation per family does not well serve larger families. DISCUSSION As the City's approved Recreation Fee Schedule is based on cost recovery categories that relate to actual costs for services, it is important to ensure that those most in need in the community are not excluded from participating in recreational activities due to cost. To assess the effectiveness of the current Recreation Fee Assistance program, staff surveyed current and former fee assistant participants and identified several key areas to improve the program for participants: the percent subsidy, the allocation per individual, the household maximum, and the ease of registration for classes and programs. Page 2 of 3