B.C. Parks fee increase
BC Parks just recently increased their fees. While i suppose it's something that was overdue (it's been 5 years), i find it funny that they claim they have to do this due to an increase in users!! A d...
Forum Discussion
Does $30 per night cover completely the costs of running the CG, or is the campsite being subsidized at a few dollars per camper night from the provincial government? Or is the camping fee supposed to also supplement the costs of building new parks, expansion, etc.
Do the fees collected stay with the park, do they get lumped into the entire park system budget, or do they get dumped into the province general fund?
Over and over in the US, I've learned that the government entity running the CG subsidizes the operation of campgrounds. Raising the camper nights from 10,000 to 15,000 could require an increased subsidy from the province government. I don't know how BC runs their parks.
And provincial parks have been hit by the same inflation of costs for supplies as have all of us.
Texas ran into that issue several years ago - and the state legislature actually cut the subsidy to the state parks 'Because they have more income'. The legislature cut TPWD funding by approx. 2 1/2 time of the increased income - i.e. for ever $100,000 of increased income - the legislature reduced their TPWD funding by $250,000.
TX state parks camping fees try to cover the direct cost of camping only - and are not setup to cover the costs of running the park, staffing, major maintenance or improvements. That is where TPWD had to find a way to cover cost with what was actually reduced income.
RV Parks are not like retail business which buy and resell goods.
They are like hotels - which have a very high upfront investment, and try to get a ROI to cover operational costs and repay the investment. Luckly for us - government run parks almost never have to cover the investment costs of construction and installation. Also government run parks almost always are not allowed to build up cash to pay for improvements or expansion.
Do the fees collected stay with the park, do they get lumped into the entire park system budget, or do they get dumped into the province general fund?
Over and over in the US, I've learned that the government entity running the CG subsidizes the operation of campgrounds. Raising the camper nights from 10,000 to 15,000 could require an increased subsidy from the province government. I don't know how BC runs their parks.
And provincial parks have been hit by the same inflation of costs for supplies as have all of us.
Texas ran into that issue several years ago - and the state legislature actually cut the subsidy to the state parks 'Because they have more income'. The legislature cut TPWD funding by approx. 2 1/2 time of the increased income - i.e. for ever $100,000 of increased income - the legislature reduced their TPWD funding by $250,000.
TX state parks camping fees try to cover the direct cost of camping only - and are not setup to cover the costs of running the park, staffing, major maintenance or improvements. That is where TPWD had to find a way to cover cost with what was actually reduced income.
RV Parks are not like retail business which buy and resell goods.
They are like hotels - which have a very high upfront investment, and try to get a ROI to cover operational costs and repay the investment. Luckly for us - government run parks almost never have to cover the investment costs of construction and installation. Also government run parks almost always are not allowed to build up cash to pay for improvements or expansion.
