A bill that would increase and add fees for Recreational Basketball is up for a vote at the October 4th Mayor & Council meeting.
Existing fees for individuals who take part in Rec Basketball will increase from $45 to $65 while the fee for families of three or more players will go from $110 to $170.
Additionally, a fee for taking part in Jersey Basketball Association – referred to as traveling basketball – will be established at $95 for individuals and $260 for a family of three or more. Players whose families fall under special circumstances, which are on a case-by-case basis, will not be charged any fees for joining the Joint Basketball Association.
Second Ward Councilman Joseph Petrosky provided information on the reason for the increase. He stated, “Recreation is involved in traveling basketball . . . Last year, basically the traveling went from free, it didn’t cost anything. Now this year we’re going to be charging – both traveling and Rec.”
The councilman went on to explain that a recommendation was made that anyone who played in traveling basketball would also have to play Rec Basketball. He sais that there was a similar situation with girl’s softball where some players just wanted to play traveling softball and not rec softball. He remarked, “It hurt our league. They don’t want to see the same thing happen to basketball.”
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Ken Blum said, “Basically . . . we took the cost over the last couple of years and averaged them out with the [number] of sign-ups and the league was running a deficit. So we need to make sure that we collect – at least – the registration fee that can properly support the league.”
The public hearing and vote on Ordinance 2548 are set to take place during the 7 p.m. October 6th municipal meeting located at 110 East Westfield Avenue.
A copy of Ordinance 2548 is available below:
Download RP Ordinance 2548